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Roomers Revisited Ch. 01

By: satyricon.21



This follow-up happened because a guy, (I think: it's a neutral kind of name), called sgnatz, who is a litcrit I've learned to take notice of, gave me a push. I was sure I'd finished with Doug and his talent, but a message came thumping into my inbox... 'Take him five years down the line', it suggested, 'and see how everything's developed.' Sgnatz doesn't say much but he/she gets right to the point. I looked at the e-mail and thought, 'Damn. I should have had that idea.' So I carried on; it turned out that Doug's ability became less important to the plotline, which is why I'm posting it in "novels and novellas" and not "mind control".

I hope I've slipped in enough back-story so that you don't have to have read the first series to enjoy this sequel. On the other hand, if you're a 'Roomers' virgin, it would certainly help to scroll through it quickly. It's hard to appreciate where a story is going unless you know where it's coming from. And you might even enjoy it: though I say it myself, the original 'Roomers' is a pretty good piece of writing. A lot of you thought that too and wrote to say so. Thank you all: it's the only reason for doing it. Ask any author. 

Two points: remember to vote and remember I respond to non-anonymous feedback.

*

Outside my big bay window everything was kinda gloomy: Thanksgiving pumpkins sprouting outside people's houses, bright colored umbrellas with cold people huddled under them, but the rest looked real gray. The idiot weather girl on the tube was yapping on about a storm front moving in: like it's something fuckin' unheard of in November. Never understood why TV stations hire total dam' cretins for their newsrooms. I wriggled my toes in the pile of the sheepskin rug. Excellent feeling.

Shit, it's been a while, I guess. I been raking over old memories, how I got to be here, price I paid. Hell, other people paid way more, and there are days I feel kinda glum about that. The way I did it, I mean. But my life is pretty good: no stress to speak of, regular pussy, enough money to live comfortable. Slackers' paradise and then some. Tell the truth, I had the chance to start over, I'd probably do the same. Said right at the beginning I was selfish, remember? I wriggled my toes in the rug again and wondered what to do with the afternoon. A little gym time, light dinner, some reading, maybe thinking about Miss Latest Prospect. Knock at the door: speak of the goddam devil. 

'Make my day.' The door opened and a dark curly head peered through the crack. 'Hi, Kirsty, whaddya need?' She sidled in, shy but determined: her standard expression. Third floor back and damn near invisible, but she paid the rent on time, other kids seemed to like her. 

Sure was a serious girl though: never met a woman so set on wanting to understand everything. Used to ask me to explain stuff to her once in a while, plain couldn't get the idea that the real world is people, not goddam logic. Point in her favor though, she reminded me some of Ellen. Rang my bells like Christmas at Macey's, tell the truth: two long steps the right side of chunky, firm ripe body that you just knew would run for ever once you got it cranked up and properly lubed, sorta smile said she'd enjoy physical more than you'd think. Top of that, her voice was a goddam dream. 

Soft and husky, warm syrup over gravel. Downside, more inhibitions than a nun in a strip joint. I didn't mind that though. I never been one to bolt my food.

'Uh, hi, Doug.' Hesitantly. 

'Don't be distant, kid. It ain't as if we're strangers. You wanna beer, glass of wine maybe?' Approachable Doug.

'I don't want to be a trouble....'

'Jeez, girl, you need to relax some. Makes me real uncomfortable seein' you so jumpy and all. Siddown while I get the makings. Spritzer OK?' See? I ain't trying to get you drunk. Diplomatic Doug. I took everything in on a tray, turned the TV off. 

'You best mix, seein' as I got no idea how you like it. I'm stayin' with beer.' I watched as she fiddled with bottles and glasses, finally built her drink and leaned back a little.

'Uh, I wanted to ask about having someone stay over.' Well, bummer. 

'Found a boyfriend then? Way to go, kid.' Crimson tide, and she took a hasty gulp.

'Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just that my sister wants to come visit, and I was wondering... just for the Thanksgiving weekend, honestly, but I thought I'd ask because it's four whole days and I don't want to upset you and this is such a nice house and I really really like it here and...' She was beginning to gabble and I put a hand up.

'Kirsty, told ya way back: overnighters are fine, long as it don't look like they're movin' in permanent, weekenders are OK once in a while, it's a guy from outa town for instance, sisters at Thanksgiving always welcome. But hell, girl, holidays an' all: how come you're stayin' here?' Her eyes dropped.

'Uh, Mom and Dad are having some issues, and I don't want to go be caught in the middle and poor Tanya needs a break so I told her...' I raised my hand again. Her folks weren't my problem, thank God. 

'Well, hell, girl, tell your sister to carry on packin' and make sure she says 'Hi'. She's anything like you, she's gonna be a knockout.' More blushes.

'We're not alike at all really. Tanya's like my mom, but I take after Dad more, I guess.'

'He's a fuckin' knockout too, huh? Uh, excuse me, Kirsty.' She managed to giggle through the blushes and we chatted some about this and that, and that and this, and then she finished her drink and scampered off, call her sister, I guess. Except for the curly hair she sure did remind me of Ellen. I moved back to the bay window and looked out at the gray again. The rain was turning to snow and I mentally crossed the gym off my 'do today' list. Slackers can do that: no shame, no blame. The sheepskin rug warmed my feet as the memories of Thanksgiving five years ago trickled out of their box. 

*******

'You gonna tell me what all's in that package you brought with you?' I asked when my breathing had steadied. 'You want, you can tell me what's on your mind too, let Uncle Doug advise ya.' She done pretty good, like always: reamed me out real energetic, left me panting, but she seemed kinda tense to me, nervous maybe. My cock was kinda tense again too, and she nuzzled it, then turned her head.

'Always makes me feel special when you get hard again so quick. You're real annoying sometimes though. How come you know what I'm thinking?'

'Shit, Ellen, we know each other some by now, I guess.' Her eyes flicked up to my face.

'Doug Taylor, I've known you four years, and I love you to death, but damned if I know more than five things about you.' Just as it fuckin' should be, I thought. I'm not one to go slopping my life about everywhere. I rolled over and hauled her up, kissed her gently. Don't like the taste of my own cum much, but it was plain she needed coaxing some. Her hips rolled against my cock and she raised one leg slightly.

'Fuck me now, studly. I want slow and luxurious.'

'Sure. Gonna have to earn it though.' Her body tensed but I pinned her, let my cock brush the rim of her damp pussy; she wriggled and pushed up, managed to get half an inch into her but I pulled back. Cruel Doug. 

'Don't be mean,' she muttered, and tried to push up again. I held her down. 

'One inch for each thing you know about me, girl, and no guessin'.' I tried to sound stern but she giggled and relaxed.

'Hell, first thing is, you're a lot of fun. Never known a guy make me laugh so easy.' Aw shucks. I let her have an inch and then held myself still. 

'Next? You go too slow we gotta start over.' She rolled her eyes as I flexed myself inside her.

'Mebbe I wouldn't mind that either. Lemme see. You're real contained, you got enough money to live pretty good, you're real lazy except when you aren't, you'd run twenty miles rather than commit, when you say someone's a friend you mean it, and there's something in the back of your head that you don't let no-one see. How'm I doing?' Her voice was starting to quiver and I gotta admit, holding still was getting kinda stressful.

'Dean's List, kid.' I dropped my hips and drove into her slowly, loving the feeling of her inner walls stretching to take me, and she shut up and clamped her mouth over mine, purring deep in her throat. Her wiry little bush tickled me as I drew back and stroked into her again, then her legs lifted and locked over my ass, pulling me deep and holding me there.

'Slow and luxurious, like you promised,' she murmured into my mouth, and then bit her lip and settled down for the ride. Well, hell: I can do that real good, and seeing as how it was the second course I wasn't worried about shortchanging her. I held back some, kept it steady, and when after twenty minutes she tensed up, began thrashing around and squeaking, I felt kinda pleased. I was ready to go after her hard, so that's what I did, and we finished up together, hearts pounding, kissing some while our bodies calmed down. When I came up for air I was sorta surprised to see tears. 

'Damn, Ellen, what's wrong. Did I hurt ya?' She shook her head and tried to smile, then the goddam gates collapsed and she buried her head in my neck and started to cry for real. Well, shit. Exactly what I wanted. I was about to say something when there was a click, way soft, in the back of my head. That shook me some. With her and Candice taking care of me I hadn't bothered to go looking for fresh for a while, and there sure wasn't nothing else. I mean, I hadn't been concentrating on anything much: minimum gym time, light reading only, so what the hell was the talent sticking its nose in for? Sure, Chrissie visited once in a while, and that was a nice change, but everyone was good about it: hell, I'd even gotten reckless once, taken the three of them out together, and they'd whispered and giggled and got on real well. Hadn't wanted to share though, and a dam' good thing too: two at a time is the goddam max, you ask me. I realized the click had felt like a warning. Tread carefully, Doug.

'Shit, girl, let it out. Sounds like something's been buildin' up for a while.' She kept right on crying and I shifted and pulled her closer to me. 

'Jeez, Doug, I'm sorry. Too slow and luxurious, I guess, and so sweet afterwards, and I...' Her bottom lip wobbled and she broke loose, cantered into the bathroom. The door slammed and I heard her wailing again. Well, shit. Now it was my goddam fault for seeing to her too good. I heaved myself out of the sack and headed for the kitchen. This was a job for Mr. Walker's famous Scottish truth serum, little water, over ice.

When she came back I patted the bed, held out the glass to her.

'Get outsida that, kid, and then tell me what's hurtin'. Friends with privileges, remember? So this is the goddam friends bit, and we ain't gonna stop till it's fixed.' Firm but kindly, like a good friend ought to be. She wrapped both hands round the glass and drank thirstily, like a little girl with a coke. Her eyes were red and swollen and she had a tendency to hiccup once in a while, but she looked to have recovered some. Put the drink down and crawled into the crook of my arm, fiddled with the hair on my chest.

'No way to say it nice, Doug. I've been offered a real good job in Boston and it starts right after Christmas and I'm gonna have to leave Candice, and you, and you're my two best friends, and it's going to be so hard. Last year and a half I been so happy.' Well, shit. I hadn't even known she was applying for goddam jobs. She'd finished her doctorate in the summer, been working part time in Starbucks while she wondered what to do next, so I guess I'd half expected it, but not yet. Hell, I knew she had some money saved: wasn't as if she had to go find a career right away, leave me high and dry. I sighed and squeezed her ass in a reassuring kinda way. Maybe she'd visit some, maybe she wouldn't. Sure smelled like the end of a chapter though.

She was looking at me anxiously, wondering about my goddam reactions, I guess, and I racked my brains to try and think of something soothing but safe. Tiny, encouraging click and I promised myself I'd go to the gym next day, show some gratitude.

'Boston's less than three hours, kid. You thought of that? No law against visitin' friends, far as I know, nor friends visitin' you, come to that. It's what airplanes are for. Movin' on happens, and that's a fact. But layin' there cryin' sure ain't gonna cut it. You talked to Candice yet?' Nice touch that: thinking of others. Generous Doug. She craned her neck and kissed me.

'Not yet. You are so sweet sometimes. How come you make me feel better so quick?' By saying what you want to hear, dummy. But you ain't goin' anywhere at all, boy, I told myself. You'll be right here if she wants to visit, and that's gonna be all she wrote. Why go to Boston to get laid when you can be elbow deep in pussy at home? Best not to tell her that though.

'Shit, Ellen, real friends are rare as fuckin' hens' teeth, so when you find one you try to hang on. More 'n just you and me here though. You wanna talk to Candice by yourself, or do it together?' Look like you're trying to help them with their goddam problems and they'll think you're a goddam saint. She played with my chest hair again.

'Can we do it together? I mean, telling you was hard, and telling her's gonna be harder.' I filed that one away for later consideration.

'Sure, kid. One for all and all for fuckin' one. I'll fix dinner like I was plannin', we'll eat, talk some. It's what friends do.' Can't play that card too often, and she hugged me real fierce.

'You make me feel like I can handle anything.' Her hand slid down my chest and started playing with my balls. 'I'm gonna handle this now though, and then we'll shower and I'll go get some good booze for tonight. That work for you?' I nodded happily. BJ's always work for me. 

Dinner started out kinda stiff: Ellen knew what was coming, and I guess Candice sensed something, her being a real quick girl. I made sure their glasses stayed full, emptied mine a lot more slowly, produced a bong with just enough Oregon grass for dessert. Only had one small hit myself though. Didn't want to get too sloppy: I played it right, I'd be getting tag teamed later. Cunning Doug. The bong was a memory when Ellen jerked a thumb at the couch.

'Go relax, you two. I'm gonna finish clearing the table, fix a pitcher of juice, come join you.' She giggled slightly. 'Might as well plan for success.' Candice looked at her oddly, but we did what we were told, settled on the couch. She lifted my arm and draped it over her shoulder, leaned back, rested her head against mine.

'Why do I feel like I'm missing something?' she murmured. I squeezed her shoulder, let my hand drift down the outer slope of her breast.

'Ellen's call, Candice. Let her do it her way.' I twisted my head and nuzzled her ear, and she shivered delicately, slipped a hand into my crotch. Grass always brought out her straight side, she'd confessed once. Excellent discovery. I cupped her breast with my palm, felt the sharp little nipple growing against it. We'd have been fucking on the couch in about two minutes if Ellen hadn't come back. She put the tray on the coffee table, sat down the other side of Candice, put her arm round her.

You know I need to say something?' she whispered. Candice nodded.

Well, shit. Ellen was kinda stoned but she got to the bones of it and laid it out neat before her goddam lip started quivering again. Managed to point out how helpful and understanding I was being though, and Candice's hand burrowed deeper into my crotch as she started sniffling too. Then she turned and put her arms round Ellen, cradled her head, started crying quietly. I straightened up, poured some juice, wondered what the hell was coming next. After a coupla minutes Candice unhooked herself, put her arms round us and leaned back. 

'Uh, I need to say something too. I was going to wait till after Christmas, but I guess things have changed now. My contract here is due for renewal, but....' She hesitated and then went on slowly. 'I guess I'm trying to say that I might be moving on too. I never thought I could be as happy as I've been in this house, but I'm not going to get tenure here, and my career's important to me so ...'. Well, shit. This was definitely fuckin' not how I wanted Thanksgiving to be. Better try to rescue something from the wreckage though. Caring Doug. I moved between them, slipped my arms round to cup two soft breasts and wondered what to say. No clicks to help me, so I'd have to wing it. I let out a big sigh.

'Don't matter where you are, Candice, nor you neither, Ellen, ain't gonna change bein' friends. Might reduce the privileges some, but that's kinda secondary, you stop and think about it.' Women love to hear that sorta crap. 'Long as we think some, aim to keep it fresh and good, it's gonna work itself out. You remember this is home when you need it, believe what we got is special enough to handle goddam anything, well, hell, put it together and what have you got? Bibbety bobbety boo.' Pure bullshit of course, but a helluva speech, and I guess it worked, 'cause Ellen's hand reached up and stroked my face while Candice's drifted back down to my crotch. 

'Says the right things, doesn't he?' she murmured to Ellen. 'Not bad for a selfish lazy landlord.' They both wriggled closer and I let my head fall back while I thought glum thoughts. I wasn't careful, I was gonna end up with a whole bunch of friends with privileges, all fuckin' miles away, and maybe visiting at inconvenient times. My heart sank as I realized what this was gonna mean: gym time and heavy reading, plus thinking about what I wanted outa the deal. Work on that one later, Doug. Meanwhile, there was time to get through before they split, and women tend to splatter their goddam emotions round some when change is in the air. First thing to do was get them laid. A woman who's been well dealt with tends to shut up about her problems for a while. Been my experience, anyway. I let my fingers wander over the smooth curves of their breasts.

'That's the hard bit over, kids. Now we know what's gonna happen, all we gotta do is make it work. And it's Thanksgiving, and we're a kinda family I guess, and families celebrate Thanksgiving together. Anyone got any suggestions?' Ellen's tongue snaked into my ear and I felt Candice's hand struggling with the zipper on my Levis. I gave myself brownie points for calling it right.. 

'Right here to begin with and then move on?' she said to Ellen, 'or bed now?'

'Bed,' said Ellen firmly. 'I want comfortable tonight.' Good enough, I thought, and struggled upright, began to unbutton my shirt.

'Last one naked gets the refreshments at half-time,' I said, and headed for the bedroom. 

'I'm gonna miss this so much,' sighed Candice an hour and a half later. Right that moment I was thinking that I was gonna miss it some too, but hell, no point pissing into the wind. Didn't really want just one of them to stay, have to put up with her talking about the other the whole damn time. Better they go seek their fortunes and look forward to the visits. Those would tail off after a bit, but shit, in a college town that wasn't gonna be the biggest problem in the world. Finding some fresh might even be kinda fun.

We were laying over each other in my bed, recovering after round one. Tell the truth, rounds one and two had sorta slid into each other: soon as I quietened one down the other was wanting to go again. Dam' good job I'd had some practice, knew how to pull their triggers, or I'd have been needing CPR a long time ago. Fact is, two at a time can be real tiring, and I was kinda glad it didn't happen too often. Mostly it was Ellen coupla times a week, Candice coupla times a month, everyone together once in a while. They spent time together too, so no-one felt left out. I guess Ellen was the focus. You ever meet Ellen Calhoun, better have the vitamins ready. That girl liked sex more'n anyone I ever met except Annie. As if she'd heard me she wriggled round so's her mouth was hovering over Candice's tit, glanced up at me: I took the other one and Candice gasped, legs straightening, toes pointing, getting ready again. I ran my tongue round her nipple, felt her heart pounding hard and fast as Ellen's mouth slipped south and began to trace its way down her slender body. Candice's hand flew out and grasped my cock, and I felt Ellen's delicate fingers scratching gently right behind my balls. Everything got a tad confused then, but after a while I was kneeling, my ass on my heels, real fuckin' uncomfortable, Candice squatting on my cock, leaning back against my chest. Ellen between our thighs, her tongue flickering lazily from my ass to my balls and the base of my cock, before sneaking up to caress Candice's perfect clit. One hand was busy in her own crotch and there was a lot of moaning going on; I realized some of it was coming from me so I gave in and went with the goddam flow.


Roomers Revisited Ch. 02



The explanation / justification for my having the nerve to write a sequel to 'Roomers' is summarized at the beginning of Ch. 01. I hope I've slipped in enough back-story so that you don't have to have read the first series to enjoy this follow-up. On the other hand, if you're a 'Roomers' virgin, it would certainly help to scroll through it quickly. 

Two points: remember to vote and remember I respond to non-anonymous feedback.

*

Well, shit. Spring break round the corner and no-one lined up. I dug my toes into the sheepskin rug and stared out of my bay window, feeling kinda pissed. Said it before: downside of being a slacker is you tend to let things drift. I could hear the kids upstairs, voices cheerful as they made their plans. I stomped into the kitchen and opened another beer. I'd been putting in gym time, reading kinda serious, but... not enough, seemed like. Mebbe I hadn't been wanting hard enough. My ability sure hadn't thought to get off its ass. I took a swig and forced myself to calm down. Hell, you play the hand you got. Mebbe I'd go out later, see if I could find me a short term friend. I was wondering where to start when the phone rang.

'Yeah?' 

'Doug? Doug Taylor?' The room seemed to spin for a second. 

'Annie?' Hesitant laugh down the line

'Jeez, Doug, I'm sure glad you still got the same number.' 

'Annie, where the fuck are you?' Pause, then gabbling.

'Idaho. Doug, I never asked you for anything in my life, but what I need is outa here. Can you wire me some money?' Her voice quivered. 'There ain't another soul in the goddam world I can ask.' Now I ain't one for throwing money about, but shit, she sounded kinda desperate; tell the truth, I always been sorta grateful about what she done for me, and I'd sure missed her some. For a skinny little hippy she sure had her good points, and she sounded in real bad shape. Philosophical Doug.

'Sure, Annie. You better promise to come down here though, lemme take a look at you.' Well, hell, she was so grateful, send it to Western Union, stuff like that, sounded like she was almost crying. 

'Doug, I gotta go now. Send that goddam money soon as you...' She hung up in a hurry and I was listening to that long distance hiss you get on an empty line. I turned on the laptop, sent a thousand bucks to the office she'd told me, some hick town a hundred miles outa Boise, wondered if I'd ever see it again. I realized my goddam beer was flatter than Kansas and went to look for a replacement.

The replacement slipped down real easy and a two hit bong as well, and I was laying on the sofa wondering what coulda fuckin' happened. Hell, last time I seen her she was marrying ol' Ray, moving to Idaho to raise kids, live happy ever after. And she'd said "tickets". Definitely plural. The grass was hitting me and I closed my eyes so's I could think a little better. Knock on the door. If it ain't one thing it's a goddam 'nother.

'Door's open.' I heard it open and close. Whiff of scent. 'Hi, Kirsty, Whaddya need?' Cautious Doug. Thanksgiving had been a bummer. Sure, Tanya was a knockout, but a fifteen year old knockout might as well be on Mars, far as I'm concerned, and making moves on her big sister while she was in the house seemed like way too much effort. Fuckin' ability was jerking my chain, I decided. Sure, I invited them to turkey and pie, but putting up with goddam High School prattle, trying not to think about what I could have been doing, I guess I wasn't much of a host. Kirsty hadn't said much since, and I'd kinda let it slide. I was finding fresh every so often, Chrissie visited a coupla weekends, so it ain't as if I was crawling up walls or nothing. 

'Are you OK, Doug?' Slightly stoned was probably outside her orbit.

'Just dozin', Kirsty, wonderin' what to do. Whyntcha siddown, tell me what's on your mind.' She sank into a chair, nervous kitten look front and center.

'I need to apologize,' she said solemnly. I opened an eye.

'Real noble of you, girl, but you're gonna hafta remind me why.' Well, she started to explain how mean she'd been, leading me on and using me, and how I hadn't said anything, but she knew I was upset, and she knew it was because of her, and I was so kind and nice, and she'd wanted to say sorry, but she didn't know how to, and she really didn't want to offend me, and... I put my hand up and she stopped. Fuckin' relief too. Small click. Hadn't expected that.

'Kirsty, you gotta stop thinkin' everything's your goddam fault. Jeez, girl, I'd realized smackin' that blonde bitch down good was all you wanted, hadn't misunderstood you, that woulda been cool too. So forget it, or I'll throw your ass out on the street. Landlord's promise. You wanna beer, coke, anything?' I started to haul myself upright but she jumped up. 

'I can find stuff.' I listened to faint sounds from the kitchen, hoped she wasn't nosing about too much. She came back with the whole ball of wax: tray, bottles, glasses, napkins, potato chips, set everything on the table.

'Can I tell you something?' A woman says that, best not to argue. I hoped all this was leading somewhere, or it woulda been a good nap ruined.

'Sure, kid, go ahead.' That goddam red tide started in her cheeks, rolled down her neck.

'Uh, actually, getting even with Sonia wasn't really all I wanted.' I didn't react to that so she started explaining. 'You see, I hadn't thought about Tanya being so young, and that was dumb of me: I should have known you'd be responsible about that sort of thing, because you're that sort of person. And then when she'd gone and I wanted to talk to you some more you always seemed to be busy, and I had so much work, and it was hard to concentrate because...' Her voice trailed away. What the fuck? Time for a little push. 

'Why was it hard to concentrate, kid?' Interested Doug.

'Well, one thing was that people started inviting me to parties, boys mostly, and asking for dates and everything. That's never happened to me before, so I said yes to most of them, because that was what I'd wanted.' She stopped and looked at me carefully. 'I let them kiss me sometimes, but when they wanted to do more I told them that I was in a relationship already and some of them were OK about it and some of them were real mean but I didn't care. And I really do have a lot of work, and oh, yes, Sonia keeps asking me about you, and trying to be friendly, and that's such a good feeling, her wanting to know my secret I mean...' She was wanting me to help her along I guess, but a head full of grass ain't the best foundation. Jeez, how she did talk. Beautiful voice or no, more than a semester would drive me clean outa my skull. She took a deep breath and started over.

'Uh, you have a lot of girlfriends, don't you, Doug?' Hell, not that question again.

'Nope. I got friends who are women, and I spend private time with some of them. Not all of them, and not always, and I don't talk about them none. Not ever. You probably seen one of them, blonde girl, well dressed, comes for the weekend sometimes, only four or five times a year I guess, but we're friends all the way.' I stopped and waited. She was thinking. You're smart, one of the things you make sure you learn at college is how to think about stuff clearly. Long as it ain't Liberty fuckin' University of course, but that's a different planet. 'And what's this stuff about bein' in a relationship, kid? Or you just say that to cool the frat rats down some?' She looked at me real nervous.

'I guess. I mean, everyone thinks I'm having an affair, so I can say that and I don't have to...' I swear I never seen anyone blush so hard. Looked like she was ready to explode.

'Don't hafta what, girl? Jeez, you're makin' my head spin, dartin' about, one thing an' then another.' I struggled upright and popped a beer, took a long swallow. She was sitting quiet, staring at her hands. When I put the bottle down she looked up, kinda desperate. 

'So I don't have to do things I don't know about and have everyone laughing at me again, and feeling stupid, and you're the only person who's ever not laughed at me, and...' She paused, then swallowed hard, sounded like the words were being forced out of her. 'I was imagining spending private time with you and sorta finding things out and having someone explain without making me feel dumb.' Way to go, Kirsty. Ability doesn't give a rat's ass for anyone except me and it's finally pushed you to make the first move. Don't worry, kid, you're in good company. Patty, Kelly, Hazel, the others: they were all taken the same: Kelly was the only one had a real bad time though, and that wasn't intended. I put my hand up, self-defense mostly. Teaching her to shut up would be high on my goddam list. 

'Kirsty, lemme get this straight. You feel that you don't have much, uh, experience, and you've decided I'm the person you want to, uh, show you the ropes, is that right?' Bashful Doug. Silence, thank God, but she nodded. 'Well, shit, girl, um, I mean, what exactly is it that you don't...' She interrupted me, still blushing fit to bust.

'Everything. I've kissed people, but I can't even do that without bumping noses, and they always want to touch me, and I've read books and watched some films on the internet, but those were so gross, and I guess they're faked mostly, like everything on TV is.' She looked at her hands again. 'I've tried and tried, but I just don't understand.'

'Hell, girl, that kinda stuff, it's like playing the piano.' She didn't understand that either.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, you can study music theory for years, pass all the exams, but you still won't be able to play symphonies and stuff less you practice as well, willya?' Keyboard Doug. It was out now, laying on the table between us, but she looked like nervous was still arguing with determined. Time to soothe her a little. Click. Well, there's a bonus. 

'Kirsty, lemme guess: you've kept Spring Break clear, but now you're wonderin' if it's such a good idea. That right?' She didn't say anything, just nodded. I patted the couch next to me. 'OK, I ain't gonna hit on you, push you none, but if you get your ass over here we can talk comfortable, no more of this glancing up an' down.' I waited. After mebbe ten seconds she got up and moved across. I put a hand up, pulled her down gently, draped an arm over her shoulder, nowhere near anything sensitive. She tensed at my touch, but when I didn't move she leaned into me some.

'How come you're always right about how I feel?' Almost plaintive. 

'I been thinkin' about you a lot, kid, but I don't know everything. You wanna tell me a little about who Kirsty really is?' You need a woman to relax, ask her to talk about herself; I gotta say, when she wasn't gabbling her voice was real nice to listen to. Usual story though. Parents fucked up their own relationship, felt badly about it, tried to protect their kids from going down the same route. Damn fools chose the church to help though, and so the God Squad got ahold of her, filled her head full of crap, persuaded her to wear one of those goddam rings. Result? She escaped, sure, but paralyzed, not knowing where to start, real unhappy about herself. Still, she'd squeezed my ass back in the tavern, so she wasn't a totally lost cause. No point in hurrying though. 

'OK, girl, you go 'way now, think this through. You wanna cancel, fine, I won't say nothing. You wanna carry on, you be ready to get taken out for dinner tomorrow, like a proper date. We'll take it from there an' you call the shots. You wanna stop, take notes, run away screaming, that's OK too. Point about physical stuff, it's meant to be fun. It ever feels like a chore, you're with the wrong person or it's time to move on. That work for you?' She never said a word, just got up and left. Her back view looked kinda perky though, so I guess I said the right stuff. Better to be lucky than rich, but if you can manage both, that's prime time. And she sure did remind me of Ellen. I went to the window, took up position on the rug, wondered if she'd be the same in the sack. Couldn't make up my mind if I wanted that or not. Memories are memories, and you try to turn them into fuckin' roadmaps you're heading for trouble. Don't mean you can't take them out and look at them once in a while though.

******

That time between Thanksgiving and Christmas had been kinda difficult. Ellen and Candice making plans, searching out job openings, thinking visiting schedules so they didn't miss each other. Shit, wrapped up in love's young dream is where they were, and I didn't much want to butt in. When Ellen did spend down time with me she wasted a lot of it telling me what they'd decided, how they were gonna do stuff, all the crap I could care less about. Didn't tell her that though. When Candice started getting interviews they both went into a goddam frenzy and I pulled back, left them to it.

Christmas came and went, everyone kinda subdued, and then it was time for Ellen to go take up her new post. Damn, that was a sweet and sour weekend. We had one final night together, real intense, made me feel for a while that it was almost more than friends. That was sweet. But I kinda knew that she was doing it for me. They had the idea that they were moving on and I was stuck in my same ol' rut. Hell, I chose this goddam rut because I like it, don't take too kindly to being babied either. Didn't tell them that though. Too sour. Ellen wanted to say goodbye in style so I just made sure she was gonna miss one part of me at least.

Ellen gone, Candice took to spending her evenings polishing her dissertation, weekends up in Boston, time with me when she remembered. Not very dam' often though, so I started looking around. Shit, I'd had nearly a coupla years taking it easy, was carrying ten pounds too much and my mind was a swamp, so I decided to fix that, see what happened. Guys down the gym were sorta sarcastic at first, but so what? I started working out and the weight redistributed itself and they shut up real quick. Started reading serious too: talked to one of my old professors, made like I was finally wondering about a doctorate, could he suggest a program to clear away the cobwebs, maybe a theme I'd never touched on before? I thought he was gonna come in his pants he was so pleased, gave me a list of books, told me to call him any time. I thanked him, went home and logged onto Amazon, set myself thinking about getting some trouble free regular that wasn't gonna interfere with my lifestyle. 

(For info about how Doug's erratic talent manifests itself, you should read the original 'Roomers'. Suffice to say that he usually gets what he wants, but not always the way he wants it.)

Thursday afternoon, three or four weeks into the new routine I was reading, sipping beer, feeling kinda good. Definitely sharper, ready to see what life threw at me. My cell chirped: FRIDAY EVENING, TENSION TO BURN, CHRISSIE XXX.

That cheered me up for sure. Working out someone's tension was just what I fuckin' deserved. Ran round some the next day, changed the sheets, stocked up with her favorite wine, booked a late dinner at Tony's Casa Italiana, trimmed myself down below, all the stuff you do when you're planning quality time. Gave myself a little siesta too. Fact is, I was still on the couch when the doorbell rang.

I'd hardly got the dam' door open when she was in my arms, hanging on tight, nuzzling my neck. I worked one hand free, picked up her bag, her still mumbling and nibbling. Kicked the door shut with my foot, dropped the bag and staggered through to the bedroom. Lowered her onto the bed and she squirmed onto her back, pulled her skirt up. Shit, no underwear, just a sweet looking, damp looking pussy. Her legs parted and she tilted her hips.

'I took them off in the car,' she muttered, 'and what are you waiting for?' Hell, a friend in need and all that bullshit. I didn't wait, just dropped my pants and climbed on board. She didn't fuck about: reached down and grabbed me, pushed up till I was right at the gates, then clutched my ass with the other hand and heaved. I slid into her wet grasp like a key into a lock and she inhaled sharply and went to work. I just hung in there, tried not to get thrown clear. Guessed I'd find out later what it was all about, but meanwhile a good friend oughta be helping her along, so I opened her jacket, began to nip her breasts the way she liked. Squeals as my teeth closed over one rock solid nipple, but her pelvis redoubled its dance and when I moved to the other one and chewed on that she lost it. Fact is, I don't think I coulda come if I'd wanted to, so I rode it out, letting her find her own way up and then down. After forever her muscles slackened and she sank down, breath whistling in her throat, eyes fluttering.

'Jesus, Doug, I needed that, but this skirt wrinkles real bad. Don't you dare go anywhere.' I managed to roll off her, shucked my T-shirt and pants while I had time. Guessed she'd wanna mouthful of cock, ride the tongue some, then slow and gentle before dinner. Her usual routine, and a dam' good one too.

'Jeez, girl, how long you been savin' that up?' She'd come back from the bathroom naked, crawled into the crook of my arm. She turned her head and licked my ear.

'You are the only guy I ever met who never disappoints. I been holding that thought for two weeks and getting hot enough to fry eggs. It's all been so difficult.' Well, I made like Tar Baby, said nuth'n, let it spill out at its own speed. Turned out she'd been seeing some guy, fallen for him hard, thought about it carefully, was all set to live happy ever after. Normal enough, except one day she found him with a vibrator up his ass and a very gay magazine in his free hand. She was kinda turned off, gave him back the ring, flushed it down the john she said, and they shouted some and she split. Taken her a while to calm down, and when she did she needed a friend.

'And that's you,' she murmured, rolling out of my arms and down to my crotch. 'Because you do friend better than anyone.' My cock was at half staff and she ran her tongue along the length of it. 'And you never come the first time. Are you like that with the others?' I looked at her kinda stern and she made a face. 'Can't blame a girl for being curious.' After that she shut up, concentrated on the job in hand.

I gotta admit, Chrissie ain't the best head I ever had, but on the other hand she sure enjoyed the work. Always kept one hand for herself, touching her tits, rubbing her clit, getting herself ready for the next round I guess, and knowing what she was getting ready for always got me eager. Swallowed good too, and when the beautiful liquid glow spread through my groin and she felt my balls tighten, she pulled back a little, kept her lips clamped tight over the crown, looked up at me with her eyes sparkling and ran her tongue round the head. That did it, and as my body stiffened she milked me good, making sure she got a healthy mouthful, then swallowed luxuriously and suckled me gently, trying for the last drops.

'Yum. Now tell me what I want next.'

'Shit, Chrissie, nice cool drink, watch a little TV maybe? Me, I'm gonna roll over, go to sleep soon as my heart rate steadies.' I closed my eyes and relaxed, waiting, felt her squirming up against me.

'Please, Mister, please, I been a good girl, honest, I done everything right. Please, Mister, don't be mean.' There was laughter in her voice; hadn't been a lot of that lately and I felt a wave of warmth towards her. 

'Crawl on board, Missy, and settle yourself. Sure don't want you gettin' no attitude problem.' Corny shit, and kinda embarrassing, but people do weird things in bed when they know each other well, and Chrissie and me, we went back a ways. She scooted up my body and kneeled over my face, hands braced against the wall. I made like a flight controller. 'Right..., right..., stop..., back a little..., stop..., OK drop your wheels.' She sank onto me, her clit rubbing my nose, her pussy fitting neatly over my lips.




Roomers Revisited Ch. 03



The explanation / justification for my having the nerve to write a sequel to 'Roomers' is summarized at the beginning of Ch. 01. I hope I've slipped in enough back-story so that you don't have to have read the first series to enjoy this follow-up. On the other hand, if you're a 'Roomers' virgin, it would certainly help to scroll through it quickly. 

Two points: remember to vote and remember I respond to non-anonymous feedback.

*

Beautiful afternoon. I was in position on the rug, thinking about not very much: decided I needed a beer, but a cab pulled up outside so I put that idea on hold. A dark haired woman climbed out, moved to the rear door, hauled out two kids, straightened up and looked at the house. Jesus jumpin' Christ. Before I realized it, my feet were taking me to the front door.

'Annie, what the fuck have you done to your goddam hair?' She yelped and jumped at me, clung tight, her whole body shaking, while the kids stood and watched. They were real dirty, looked kinda subdued, not like kids usually are, tearing round and breaking stuff. Just stood and watched. Shit, friends are friends, but a coupla rug rats weren't part of the deal, far as I was concerned. First time I ever seen her cry though. I set her down, looked at her carefully, felt a pulse of anger.

Someone had worked her over pretty good. Coupla important teeth missing, swelling round her eyes, bruises on her neck like someone had tried to strangle her. She flinched under my gaze and began to say something. Click. Oh, damn. My fuckin' talent was part of this, and I listened, kinda despairing, as words came out of my mouth.

'Annie, you get the hell into the bathroom, take the kids, get cleaned up while I fix some grub. And don't fuckin' argue. Nothing happens till you're all clean and fed. Go do it, girl, or I'll hold you down and wash you myself.' She tried to smile but her face crumpled, and she didn't move, so I bent down to the kids, took their hands, hauled them into the house, not paying too much attention, I heard a gasp, then Annie cannoned into me, knocked me clean over. Banged my knee real painful.

'What the fuck....' I looked up and she was stood over me, hands like claws, lips drawn back like she was ready to kill, then slumped suddenly, nearly fell. Movement at the top of the stairs: Kirsty and Donna standing staring. Looked like the weekend was wrecked whichever way I played it. Might as well draft 'em before they ran.

'Hey, girls, you wanna give me a hand, please?' I picked myself up off the floor, beckoned them down. 'This is Annie, friend of mine, been having it sorta rough, as any fool can see. Kirsty, take 'em up to the big bathroom, get 'em clean.' Better not to have my own bathroom looking like a goddam refugee camp. I checked the kids again, then Annie. Sure were dirty. 'Put their clothes in the trash. Donna, you come down the mall with me, buy some stuff for them while I get bunks and bedding. You good with that?' I realized I was sounding sorta fierce, but hell, I was under stress. They nodded, and Kirsty put an arm round Annie, pointed the kids up the stairs. Annie went with her like a zombie, never said a word, and I began to worry some about what this was gonna cost. Deal with that later. I stomped out to the truck and Donna followed me, looking kinda scared. I made an effort.

'Damn, Donna, I'm sorry. Annie's a good friend and someone beat up on her and scared her goddam kids to death, and it makes me fuckin' furious. Nothin' to do with you, girl, I promise.' She looked calmer and I hit the ignition.

It's amazing how quick things get done when you don't care too much about being polite. Forty minutes, we were back at the house. I sent Donna up with clothes, hauled my purchases through, began the self-assembly crap you gotta do nowadays. Bunk beds made the room seem kinda small, but Annie wasn't gonna be in any state to argue. I was fixing a big pasta mess when Kirsty slipped into the kitchen.

'They're in the front room, Doug.' Her eyes were wide, like the real world had suddenly goosed her. 'Your friend's got bruises all over her body, and the kids have got marks on them too; they're exhausted.' I nodded, pointed with my chin at the drinks cupboard.

'Give Annie a big Scotch over ice, fix some juice for the kids, tell 'em we'll be eatin' in about ten minutes. You mind hangin' in a little longer?' She shook her head.

'You're really angry, aren't you?' I nodded again. Small click in the back of my skull. 

'Eight years, nine mebbe, I ain't seen her, but we're friends so I'm gonna fix her goddam life an' then I'm gonna make good an' sure whoever beat up on her hurts way bad. Now go sit with them, keep 'em calm.' She reached up, touched my cheek softly. Excellent. Loyal friendship, righteous anger push most women's buttons real good.

'You're a pretty good friend to have, I guess.' Way to go, Kirsty. You too, I hope.

Damn, the meal was weird. Kids were starving, ate like their plates were gonna be stolen any goddam second, made me wonder some about what their lives had been like recently. Annie hardly said a word, wincing every time she chewed, skinnier than I'd ever seen her, and that's saying some. Sure was strange seeing her with dark hair.

'What's with the dye job, Annie? Got tired of bein' a blonde?' Bad move. She raised her eyes and there was a well of hurt in them.

'Jeez, Doug, I didn't know if they were gonna come lookin' or not. Changed the color in Boise, took the next bus to anywhere. We been through half the goddam states in the Union gettin' here.' She dropped her eyes again and her voice wobbled. 'First time I felt safe for fuckin' weeks, Doug.' Tears began to trickle down her cheeks and I scooped her up, set her on my lap. Kirsty and the kids were staring and I wondered who "they" were.

'Kirsty, you wanna take the kids through, put 'em to bed?' I jerked my head and she got up and did it. Soon as the door closed Annie shuddered and began to cry for real. This was not how I'd planned for my dam' weekend to be. Me, I'd thought she was fed up with ol' Ray, just wanted to split, and instead I got a basket case on my hands. I let her settle, then stood up and carried her through. The kids were looking kinda spooked. 

'Time for you to go to sleep,' I told them, 'and we'll put Mom to bed too, everyone clean and safe, OK?' Kirsty began fussing, letting them choose top and bottom bunks, fetching glasses of water, while I shucked Annie's new dress off, slipped her between the sheets. Kissed her forehead gently, for Kirsty's benefit I gotta admit, told her to sleep, we'd fix everything in the morning. Ten seconds and she was out like a light. Kids were fighting it though: the boy was watching me real close and I was kinda glad when Kirsty waved me outa the room. I was on the couch with a big dose of Mr. Walker's famous tranquilizer when she came out. 

'They're asleep now. Little Doug's been trying so hard to look after everyone, and he's scared to death, and Lizzie's been hurt badly: she'll hardly say two words without checking to see if she's going to be smacked.' I wasn't listening to the last bit.

'You tellin' me the kid's called Doug?' She stared at me. 

'Didn't you know?' Course not, dummy, or I wouldn't be asking.

'Shit, girl, I didn't even know she had kids, tell the truth, and now I discover one's got my goddam name. Jeez, what a day. You reckon she'll be able to function tomorrow?' If ol' Ray was gonna come looking I needed to know. Kirsty was sitting opposite, watching me; I could almost hear her brain turning over.

'You haven't seen her for years but she named her son after you, and you've spent a lot of money and haven't said anything except that she's had a bad time.' Course I haven't said anything. You think I want this shit spread round the whole fuckin' town?

'Hell, Kirsty, friendship rules apply: I mean, I ain't gonna say anything about her less she agrees. Wish I knew what happened though. Toughest woman I ever known, and now look at her.' I drained my drink and stood. 'I'm gonna get some shut-eye. Gotta feeling tomorrow's gonna be another long one. Thanks for all the help, kid; you been a goddam rock. Guess I owe you.' She was still staring at me kinda intense.

'What happens if the kids wake in the night?' she asked suddenly. 'Men really scare them at the moment, and you in the dark in a strange place ... I mean, they'd have hysterics. I think I'd better stay.' She got up, looking determined. 'I'll be right back. You get into bed.' Well, shit. Someone's had her strings pulled, I guess. Best do as I was told.

When she came into the bedroom I noticed three things. She was carrying a box of condoms, wearing a robe, had a kinda warm look in her eyes. Observant Doug. The condoms went on the bedside table and the robe dropped, nothing underneath except skin. The warm eyes climbed into bed along with the rest of her, settled against me, one arm snaking out, cradling my head. Ruffled my hair for a second and I felt her soft breath in my ear.

'I saw part of the real you today, didn't I?' I shrugged, made sure she felt it.

'Hell, Kirsty, ain't a part of me gets used very much.' Time to find out what was going on inside that curly head. 'You wanna tell me something though? I mean, here we are, and one of my oldest friends is in the next room, in real bad shape. You're not dumb: you gotta know I ain't gonna be able to pay you much attention for a while.' See how she reacted to that. By surprising me, that's how. I swear I'll never understand women.

'It's not the quantity, it's the quality,' she murmured, nuzzling my neck gently, 'and I don't know much, but I know quality when I see it.' She paused, and I wondered what was coming next. 'Not exclusive,' she went on thoughtfully,' because you've got other friends, and I've got a whole heap of catching up to do, but advanced classes sometimes would be nice. Would that be OK?' Well, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It never rains but it fuckin' pours. Better take out some insurance though. Didn't want my life screwed up.

'Long as you remember the rules, girl. No gossip, no obligation, no curiosity, no possessiveness, don't bring baggage with you unless you need to share real bad, no sulking if it's a case of not tonight thanks. I tried all ways and that's the only one that works; why I don't have a whole bunch of friends.' Like I said before, fake sincerity is better than no sincerity at all. Her arm tightened round my neck.

You know more than me about a lot of things, and not just sex.' She fumbled a condom out of the box, then scooted round and crouched over my groin. 'You know how we did it the third time the other night? Real slow and gentle?' Fine by me, but I was curious.

'Kirsty, tell me how come you ain't blushin' or I'm gonna take you by force, give you a complex for life.' She snorted as her tongue traced a delicate path down my thigh.

'I've used up a lifetime's worth blushing, the last few days. Not feeling stupid any more is probably most of it though. I don't know what made me ask you, but I'm so glad I did. Perhaps you've turned me into the sort of person I was meant to be originally. I was reading about...' I stifled a sigh. She was probably always gonna need shutting up once in a while. Hell, I can do that. I reached down, put one hand gently against her mouth, stroked the curve of her butt with the other. When I dipped down into the crease below her asshole I felt moistness on my fingers. Slightly alkaline, I remembered. My cock was swelling and the thought of burying it in rich pussy was too much to bear.

'Turn the left side of your brain off, girl. We got a friendship to christen.' God knows, I deserved something after all the strain.

I gotta say, I know how to pick 'em. She shivered once as I slid into her, eyes opening wide as she felt herself stretching and the sensations filtering up to ol' Mr. Right Side, then raised her head slightly, slipped her tongue into my mouth, and pressed up gently with her hips. Girl was a goddam natural. Be helpful she carried on thinking I was numero uno, especially if she was gonna run comparison tests, so I kept it slow and steady, kinda wanting her to have a good time. Took longer than I'd have liked, but after a while she was beginning to thrash around, hanging onto me tight, so I knocked the safety catch off, started in hard, pushed her right over the edge; hell, she went so strong she took me with her and that was it for a spell. Excellent feeling, and I managed to squeeze another one out of her before I was done; she sure was pleased to find out girls can go round the track twice. Then it was oh Doug, I'm so lucky and this and that and that and this. Pillow talk, but real pleasing from a girl who never seen a dick before last weekend. Fell asleep finally, thank God, and I eased outa bed, put my robe on, went to make a cup of tea. There's only one place I can think straight.

The bay window was there like always, and I stood and sipped slowly, let the day drain away. Hell, the way things were going it was gonna be a goddam Chinese fire drill just keeping up. Mebbe once Annie felt up for a little activity, we'd see how much of the friendship part Kirsty had really taken on board. Kids were gonna be a handicap though. I remembered the only other time I ever been involved with a woman with kids. Only just escaped with my goddam liberty, and I still get a queasy feeling when I think about it. I wasn't gonna get suckered like that again, friends or no fuckin' friends. Trouble with memories, queasy or no, you can't put them back in the box till they're done.

******

Funny thing, but I was in the window when she came careering into my life. Wet day, summer storm, and she took the corner too fast, lost it, started going sideways. Now my truck's kinda solid, but Nova's aren't, and there was a real nasty sound as they said "hi" to each other. Course, she started running round in the rain like a madwoman, so I put on a jacket, went out to join the fun. Noticed she had a pair of kids in the car, staring out the windows. Right after that I noticed she was pretty cute. Smudgy reprint of a young Demi Moore was how she looked, so it seemed like she'd be worth soothing, see if she was due a follow up. She was still bawling so I tapped her on the arm.

'What's done is done, I guess, lady. Lemme help you get your car into the kerb, we'll sort out the insurance stuff inside. I'm gonna drown if I hafta stay out here much longer. Bring the kids with you: they're lookin' kinda tense.' Got her car wedged onto the sidewalk and herded them into the house, turned the gas grate on.

'I'll fetch towels, make coffee. Put the kids by the fire, lady, or they'll catch pneumonia and you'll be wasting half your day tending them.' Gruff but gentlemanly, hint of a twinkle. Dependable Doug. The kids were steaming in front of the grate and she was fiddling with her hair when I brought coffee and juice in.

'Best do names, I guess. I'm Doug Taylor, keen to know who I'm talkin' to.' She looked flustered. 

'Jamie, uh, Legrande.' She glanced at the kids and lowered her voice. 'I only recently went back to my birth name, and I'm not used to...' Just divorced huh? Way to go.

Well, shit; turned out her insurance was in some kinda limbo, because of the divorce she said; one phone call and I knew fighting the dam' system for a hundred bucks worth of filler and paint wasn't gonna be worth my while. Magnanimous Doug.

'Hell, Jamie, best thing for me to do is butt out. Looks like way too much work. Tell 'em you sideswiped a tree or something, is my advice.' Look of relief on her face, stammered thanks, shy glances, the whole gratitude package. Just divorced, huh? Summertime, house empty, Chrissie outa the picture for three months, working a due diligence in London for God's sake, no word from Candice and Ellen for a while, so I was ripe for a piece of fresh. Not greedy, you understand, but definitely ripe.

'Jamie, you had a bad day already. You sit a minute, lemme go look at your car.' A little footwork pushed the wing harder into the wheelbay and I was able to report back that steering was gonna be a problem, and why didn't we call a tow truck, I'd give everyone a ride home, save a lot of trouble. That went down pretty good too.

Turned out she lived deep in the subs, so I got twenty godawful minutes of her chattering on about how weird it was to be single again and how her boss at the bank had been so understanding and she had a leave of absence and how all her ex wanted to do was go on banging his new girlfriend seven nights a week. Nearly told her that if his girlfriend was a mute I could understand that, but left it alone. When I pulled up the kids were whining some and I was getting kinda tired of listening to her. 

'Real nice to meet you, Jamie, but I gotta run. Stuff I oughta be doin', tell the truth. Couldn't have been interrupted by a nicer person though.' Then it was all apologies, hustling the kids out of the car, shy thanks all over again. I drove back feeling kinda smug. Always better to let them simmer a while. Tell the truth, the thought of someone my own age was sorta enticing. Been a while since I'd traveled that route.

Well, shit: maybe I made a bigger impression than I thought. Three days later I was stocking up on the basics, trying to decide whether to stay with Bud or maybe switch to Coors for a while. Laugh if you like, but you get used to something, it's often a good idea to change. Decided to go the Rocky Mountain spring water route and was stacking the sixth case into the cart when I heard my name.

'Doug, hi, Doug!' Didn't place the voice straight away, but she solved that real quick, came running up, everything bouncing real nice. 'It's me. Fancy seeing you here: I thought I recognized you. How are you?' Just fine thank you.

'All the better for seein' you, Jamie. You're a long way from home.' She smiled.

'Oh, I took Stevie and Lorraine to my parents for the weekend and I've been visiting a friend, just girl talk, and I needed a couple of items and this was on the way back, so here I am and here you are too. Would you like a coffee? My treat, seeing as how I owe you for the other day.' Is the pope a Catholic?

'Took the words right outa my mouth. Food court's this way.' Her basket was empty so I left my cart for some shelf stacker to deal with, shame about the ice cream, steered her to the exit. 'Car fixed already, then?' I asked. She shook her head.

'My neighbor hammered that bit on the side so it's not all bent in, and it runs OK. I guess I'm still arguing with the insurers, and I don't want to ask my ex. He'd be kinda nasty about it.' Her lips compressed for a second, then she smiled again. 'I suppose I don't want him to think I need any help.' Her eyes flicked towards me but I didn't respond. Slackers don't go for that sorta hook.

'You find a seat, Jamie, I'll go fetch coffee.' When I got back she was burrowing in her bag.

'I said it was my treat and...'

'Jamie, price of two coffees ain't gonna break me.' She made grateful, puckered up, blew me a little kiss, realized what she'd done, went rosy red and then giggled. She was looking pretty good. Summer skirt, some kinda skinny top, light sweater over her shoulders. Black hair glossy as a crow's wing, big dark eyes batting with embarrassment. Yum fuckin' yum. She took a sip of coffee, looked up at me. 

'So what do you do, Doug? I mean, you were home Tuesday afternoon, and you're out shopping Friday morning: do you work nights?' Shit, that question again. 

'I'm kinda semi-retired, Jamie, tell the truth. Inherited the house and rehabbed it, now I let the top two floors to college kids, collect the rent. I live pretty comfortable.' Not an inheritance but close enough; I never yet told anyone except Annie the facts. She nodded like she was confirming something. That shoulda warned me.




Roomers Revisited Ch. 04



The explanation / justification for my having the nerve to write a sequel to 'Roomers' is summarized at the beginning of Ch. 01. I hope I've slipped in enough back-story so that you don't have to have read the first series to enjoy this follow-up. On the other hand, if you're a 'Roomers' virgin, it would certainly help to scroll through it quickly. 

Two points: remember to vote and remember I respond to non-anonymous feedback.

*

Summertime, and the living oughta be easier. I stood in the window and tried to feel positive. I'd moved Annie and the kids up to the top floor, got myself a little privacy. She didn't seem to mind: needed her space too, I guess. Kids bothered me a tad though. Little Doug watched me like a dam' hawk, copied me some, and Lizzie kept bringing me daisy chains, pretty stones, stuff like that, so my coffee table was littered with dead flowers and gravel. I went to fetch another beer, got interrupted by the phone.

'Yeah?' Kinda abrupt, I guess.

'Doug? It's Kirsty.' Well, shit, that's better. 

'Hey, Kirsty, how's it goin'?' Long pause.

'Uh, that's why I'm calling. Mom and Dad are fighting again, and Tanya's at camp, thank goodness, but I can't bear watching them. Can I come rent my room early? I have to get ready for next year, and the workload's going to be terrible and I'm getting worried already and...' Pause, and I could almost feel the blush.

'And what?'

'And I'd like to see you.' Funny thing, as she was speaking I had two mental images. One kinda normal, her and me and the horizontal tango, but the other was her with little Doug and Lizzie. Didn't stop to consider: shows how goddam desperate I was.

'Kirsty, you promise to spend two days a week with little Doug and Lizzie, keep them outa the way so's I can start organizing stuff, the room's free till school starts. Days might vary, but you'll for sure have five clear. Could you be good with that?' There was a smile in her voice when she answered.

'I've got a car now, guilt present from Dad, so I could maybe do things with them, go swimming, stuff like that.' Like she was reading my mind. Real weird.

'So get your ass down here soon as you like, girl. Pains me to say it, but I'm real glad your folks are fightin'. When you gonna arrive?'

'This evening too soon?' Damn, that'll be nice.

'Cold cuts, salad, peaches, seven thirty. Be here or go hungry.' She giggled and hung up. Damn, but I sure can pick 'em. 

Annie was in the old rocker on the back porch. Her hair was growing out blonde again, so she looked kinda strange, but she was cryin' less than she had been. Bull by the goddam horns, I thought, or we're gonna be tiptoeing round this till Christmas.

'Annie, we gotta start thinkin' about gettin' stuff straight before school starts. Shit, girl, it's mid July already. You got any ideas?' She sat up and looked straight at me.

'I been thinkin' that too, Doug, and that you been real patient, real kind, gentle with the kids. Makes me wanna hug you till you burst.' Jeez, today's a good day after all. 

'Hell, Annie, any time you like. I'm good for that.' Her face clouded.

'I ain't sure I'm ready to screw yet.' I should fuckin' hope not: for all I knew those rednecks had given her the goddam clap. 

'We're talkin' huggin', not screwin', woman, and don't you be so dam' apologetic. No gratitude either, remember? I fuckin' hate that. Whaddya think I am? Some kinda sex maniac?' Hard stare, then a grin.

'Course you're a fuckin' sex maniac, Doug, every chance you get. Now you listen to me. I been thinkin' about how Ray let me down, how I let him down, how both of us did it because of little Doug and Lizzie. Reason he fucked up in the first place was because he thought goin' down that route, he'd be doin' better by them. Dam' idiot, but his heart was good. What I did to him, that was for the kids too, and I'd do it again in a shot, I had to. Hurts like hell though. I'll learn to live with that, my own time, my own way, and when I done that we'll see how we feel. Now, you want me to hug you or not?' Shit, what do you do? 

'You gonna get your ass over here?' She was next to me in a flash, arms wide open. I put mine round her, and she squeezed me so dam' hard I nearly shit. Fact is, holding her felt so dam' right I pulled her closer, nipped her ear kinda gentle. She gasped real quiet, pushed me away.

'I said I ain't ready for that, Doug. I'm still kinda flakey and that'd fuck you up real bad after a while, less you've changed one hundred eighty degrees. What you said before though, truth is I can't think much beyond tomorrow right now, so it's gonna be down to you for a while yet. I'm real sorry.' Me too, I thought. I realized the kids had joined us, looking kinda pleased, and a wave of fear ran through me.

'I got a few ideas. Run them past you tomorrow, see if they salute.' Funny thing, part of me kinda liked the picture we made, but then the paranoia came back, so I disentangled myself, went and looked out my bay window. Safest place to be, you ask me.

Pressure had been building, I guess, and when I saw a car pull up, Kirsty get out, I felt a sense of relief almost, real unusual. Didn't go help her though: no point setting precedents. Waited for the bell, opened for her, gave her the hug then. Seemed pleased with that, and again when I took the biggest case, hauled it up the stairs for her. 

'Gonna have to give you Donna's room, Kirsty. Annie and the kids are on the top floor. That OK?' She rolled her eyes.

'Anywhere that isn't a war zone, Doug, and as long as I can visit some.' The old blush made its appearance, but I didn't call her on it. Gave her another hug though.

'C'mon down when you've washed up an' all, I'll lay out how I wanna organize this.' 

'Mr. Control front and center, huh?' Didn't really understand what she meant, but she was smiling so I let it ride.

Annie was kinda surprised to see Kirsty, but the kids looked happy, and when I mentioned the plan, them to spend time doing activities with her while Mom and I went to do grownup stuff, they started telling the world what they wanted to do, how often, where, didn't stop at all hardly. I kinda wished they'd stayed with just nodding, but Annie looked pleased, so I let it alone, thought about Kirsty and the horizontal tango, hoped Annie would be cool with it. Wasn't too worried, but you never know. When they jumped up, told the kids to clear the table, went to see to the dishes together, I felt kinda smug, sat back and hoped it worked out. Damned if I was gonna carry the whole weight. Right after that, Annie scooped the kids up, gave me a kiss on the cheek, took off upstairs. Kirsty came sat next to me on the couch, leaned back, her head against my shoulder.

'She looks a lot better than she did before. She said you'd been very kind, and asked me if I knew you're an enigmatic set of paradoxical contradictions.' Jesus Christ.

'Annie never said anything like that in her life, Kirsty. Figured you'd get on though. Whaddya wanna do now?' Hoping for a real positive answer. 

'Unpack, help Annie put the kids to bed, and then come say hello properly.' Hell, I've heard worse.

I was still on the couch when she reappeared, gave me a shy kiss. 

'Everyone settled, Poppa Doug, and I'm going to say some things to you, but when we're in bed, so you can't escape. Are there any more chores left?' I swear I don't know shit about women. Kinda depressing, considering how much I like 'em.

'Why are we still out here?' I shooed her into the bedroom, went to fix a nightcap for us both. Big one for her. "In vino veritas", I read somewhere; five minutes, we were in bed, propped up and sipping, my arm round her, stroking her breast.

'First thing, I'm on the pill, because it seemed like a good thing to do.' Dam' right, I thought, and cheered up some. 'Second,' she went on, 'I've had a nice talk with Annie. She started it, so I thought it wasn't against the rules. I mean, the friend of my friend ought to be my friend too: right?' I guess that's one way of looking at it.

'Hell, Kirsty, I guess that's one way of lookin' at it. Annie and you are sure kinda different though.' She shook her head.

'We're from different backgrounds, and her schooling was sorta skimpy, and she's twenty years older than me, but we've got a lot in common.' She reached down and stroked my cock. 'Apart from liking this, I mean. And the rest of you as well.' Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Whatever next?

'Kirsty, I gotta say, you've sure changed. You wanna explain that? I mean, I'd kinda like to understand.' She chuckled.

'Your fault, and a good thing too. I mean, I was the one who pushed you, and I still don't know where I got the nerve, but the way you did it was so kind and thoughtful; clever too. I was wanting to get it all right straight away, and now I know that's not the point, and somehow I seem to know more about people too. It's like you made me grow up.' She wanted to think bullshit, fine by me.

'You guys come to any conclusions while you were dissectin' me?' She nodded vigorously, as if she'd been hoping I'd ask.

'When I said I didn't have a clue what had happened to her she just smiled and said she knew that already, because the few principles you had were mostly good and not gossiping is one of them.' Balls.

'Kirsty, you gotta stop putting Annie's words into psychspeak. Makes my head spin. What she said to you was real direct, fulla cussin' an' all. I know her, remember?' The blush had a quick outing, then she relaxed and grinned.

'It's what she meant. Then she told me that liking you was great, but loving you was a disaster, and she'd seen it happen twice and both times you did something so they stopped loving you. And that if you wanted something real bad, get out of your way fast. Is that true? I think she was warning me, but in a nice way.' Oh, shit. 

'Annie don't lie too much. I got burnt bad when I was younger and now I guess I ain't so great at compromise. Always makes me feel kinda trapped, real antsy, start behavin' badly. I am who I am, I guess.' Didn't say I lie a tad more than Annie does. Kirsty stroked my cock again, squeezed gently.

'Then she said had you done that thing with your tongue yet, and I said yes, and we started laughing, and then she looked thoughtful and said it wouldn't spoil what she and you had, and when it was the other way round she'd help me with that. She's a very wise person, Doug.' Holy shit. I made a mental note to give Annie another hug real soon. All of a sudden I felt real relieved, real horny too. She noticed the horny part and squeezed again.

'You foolin' with my body, girl?' No reply, but she plucked my glass out of my hand, put it with hers on the bedside table, wriggled down the bed till she was horizontal.

'Yes. But I want you to fool with mine first.'

'Mebbe I could show ya that thing with my tongue again. Can't recall doin' that for a while.' Sure didn't want her feeling needy and the party trick's always a good ice breaker. Didn't trust her to stay aboard without killing me though, so I slipped off the bed, hauled the covers back.

'What are you doing?' Hopeful but puzzled.

'Gonna show you the luxury version. Now get your ass down here, bring a pillow with you.' She scooted down the bed in a flash, eyes bright, keen to learn, and I spent a while teasing her, arranging everything just so, stuff like that. Noticed while I was tucking the pillow under her ass that she'd trimmed her bush some and there was naturally alkaline activity going on in the target area: seemed like lube wasn't gonna be high on the shopping list. I guess I spun the preparations out some, and she was looking kinda flushed, scent of need coming off her like steam from a goddam kettle.

'Don't be mean, Doug. Please?' Shit, I love it when they ask nicely, so I dipped into the swamp without teasing her no more. She loved that, breath hissing as she inhaled, legs opening wider, pelvis rocking up to meet my tongue. Maybe she'd give me a certificate of competence, I did real good.

It's kinda difficult to explain how much I enjoy eating a woman. Some of it's pure taste and texture, I guess, but on top of that, you go down on them good, they like to show appreciation. Plus, I have a sorta special fondness for BJ's, better than the main course sometimes, and it's crossed my mind that mebbe the party trick is one more form of delayed gratification. Worked for Kirsty, sho' nuff. I ran my tongue over and round the ball park while she muttered, tried to get it all at once. Then her hands reached down, pushed my head harder into her crotch. 

'Quickly, before I burst.' Her voice was a strangled grunt and I had to reposition, but when I got the angles right she moaned deep in her throat, settled down to enjoy. I used the whole box of tricks on her, didn't let her escape, and I swear she was nearly sobbing by the end. Sadistic Doug. Took pity on her then, pushed hard, nose pressing on her clit, tip of my tongue trying to drill through her G spot, and she went fuckin' ballistic, humping my mouth, squawking like a dam' parrot, all kinds of extravagance. Couldn't scarcely believe the noise coming out of her. What with the teasing and the holding back and making sure she had a nice time, I was hard as wood, started wondering if mebbe women could sense when a guy got turned on by muff diving, made them want to give something real good back. I was pondering that some when Kirsty's hands pushed my head away.

'No more, Doug, please, or you'll have to explain to my Dad how you killed me.' I realized I'd been pinning her hips with both arms while I worked on her, and her voice sounded as if she was having a goddam stroke: I felt a tad ashamed for not paying attention.

'Shit, Kirsty, I'm sorry. I guess I got kinda carried away there. Easy to lose yourself when everything tastes so good.' Always a killer line, and she smiled to herself, hitched herself back up the bed.

'Come hold me while I get my breath back and then I'll show you what I can do.' When I was back up and comfortable she nestled into the crook of my arm, let her hand drift down to my cock, real nice, and I flexed it, show her that I was ready any time.

Well, shit, I gotta say she did pretty well. Plenty of tongue work, lips closed, teeth well out of the way, steady rhythm. I was the technical kind, I'd have given her a six. Got to the point where I was having to hold back some, and then she rubbed me delicately right below my asshole. Plain to see she'd been doing some research and I felt a little stab of admiration, let myself go, and damned if she didn't take the full load, swallowing convulsively, then looked up at me, eyes hopeful. Better to show approval.

'Jeez, girl, suddenly you got a style of your own. You been readin' books again?' She gave me a final lick, hitched herself up and settled against me. 

'You're not just saying that just to be nice?' Only a little bit.

'No need to watch too many more films, girl, and that's the truth. Practice any time you want' She was pleased with that and dozed for a little, woke up for a slow and easy main course, went back to sleep again. I waited a while, slipped out of bed, fixed myself a fresh drink, went to the window. Only ten o'clock, and there was life on the street still, cars drifting by, the occasional jogger. I sipped scotch and thought about how BJ's are real good personality indicators. Could be there's an original doctorate hiding in that fact somewhere for anyone who could get the funding. Hell, without any dam' funding would be good too. Annie could help some when she quit being so goddam sentimental about dumbshit Ray, plus mebbe an appendix on girls who didn't. I tried to drag my mind back to Annie's problems, but the BJ's kept crowding in. Couldn't much help it, but my mind slipped back some, settled on the class reunion.

*******

The seven year reunions are always kinda big: college tradition, I guess. I'd taken to checking them out, see who I recognized. Fact is, there's a type of woman who thinks a nostalgia fuck don't count. Well, hell, no more it does, but that ain't the point.

The auditorium was full of the usual mix: people pretending they hadn't changed, proving they had, wishing they had, wishing they hadn't, wondering if they should; everyday blend of the made it's and the wannabe's. I was sipping beer, scanning the room, when my heart rate doubled. I gotta admit, I thought some before going over. She'd been the first one I hurt bad, and I guess I beat myself up some at the time. On the other hand, so what? 

'Hey, Judy, long time.' Seven years hadn't made a lotta difference. Little thinner in the face maybe, hair styled a little more expensive, but still the same girl. Didn't have the "I got kids" look, no wedding ring neither. She flushed slightly as she caught me noticing. 

'Doug!' She was wearing the same goddam scent, I swear, and it was like being dragged back in time. After about a thousand years she let go and I sucked oxygen hard. She leaned back and looked at me.

'Nothing changes, huh? You look pretty much the same, I guess.' She took a deep breath. 'Lot of water under the bridge though.' Love those goddam clichés.

'Hell, Judy, you ain't changed hardly at all either. Recognized you right away. Whatcha doin'? Still salvagin' screwed up kids?' She cracked a small smile.

'I'm a psychologist dealing with troubled juveniles, if that's what you mean.'

'Always did have a weakness for the whack jobs, I recall. How's the doc?' No harm reminding her why we split. She flushed, and I imagined the warmth spreading down under the professional neckline of her conservative dress and staining the top surface of her freckled breasts.

'Uh, Not any more.' She pulled herself together. 'What about you? What's new?'

'Hell, Judy, not a lot, tell the truth. Came into a little money, bought a big ol' house, rent rooms to college kids. Live good enough, read some, go to the gym, have a pretty nice time.' She shook her head.

'You really haven't changed. Do I get to see it?' Voice sorta hesitant. Well, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The group she was with were looking kinda impatient so no time to fuck around.

'Shit, girl, any time you want. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, take your pick.' Kinda daring, but seemed to me she'd relaxed some, smile more natural, body language, stuff like that. The hug had been real promising too. 

'Lunch would be safer, I think.' She glanced round, flapped her hand at whoever she'd been talking to, dropped her voice. 'Give me the address and tell me a time. Marcy Steiner needs to tell me all about her divorce.' She rolled her eyes comically, dug in her bag for a pen, kissed my cheek before she hurried off. 

Well, shit. I didn't stay to check out the rest of the crop, just went home, planning a little. Didn't sleep great either: I mean, I was up and fretting by eight-thirty, for Christ's sake, ain't like me at all. 

I gotta admit I went to the gym that morning. I never been a big fan of exercise, but I learned a while back that when my body goes south my mind kinda follows it, so I went at it a mite hard. By the time I was home I knew how I was gonna play it. Older, wiser, a tad wary. Not cynical, please note, nor bitter: my view, that tends to turn women off some, but bruised and skeptical just cries out for understanding. 

Couldn't go stand in my front window, case she thought I was waiting for her, so I sat in the kitchen and practiced smart dialog. Then I got to wondering why it mattered so much. Chances were she just wanted to show she was sorry; I cracked a beer, started planning how to help her do that, and was kinda surprised when the bell rang.

'Hi, Judy, welcome to Casa Doug.' She was wearing a little skirt, some kinda scoop neck top, flat shoes, just a hint of makeup. Tell the truth, she looked hotter than chili. 'Hell, girl, you look good. Howdya do it? Witchcraft?' She snorted.




Roomers Revisited Ch. 05



The explanation / justification for my having the nerve to write a sequel to 'Roomers' is summarized at the beginning of Ch. 01. I hope I've slipped in enough back-story so that you don't have to have read the first series to enjoy this follow-up. On the other hand, if you're a 'Roomers' virgin, it would certainly help to scroll through it quickly. 

Two points: remember to vote and remember I respond to non-anonymous feedback.

*

'How come you spend so much time lookin' outa that dam' window?' Jeez, what a dumb question. 

My comfort zone, Annie. Guess it's where I do my thinkin'. You gotta go already?' She was dressed, hair still damp from the shower, looked exactly like a well-fucked woman. Fact is, she looked almost exactly like the first time I saw her. Older, sure, but she was handling it pretty good. Still gave the best BJ's in the fuckin' universe too. I was kinda glad ol' Ray was mostly out of her system.

'You're getting' too set in your ways, Doug. You wanna come eat with us? Kids been askin' about you some.' Women don't always appreciate I like being set in my goddam ways. I shrugged and wriggled my toes in the rug.

I kinda enjoy lookin' out the window, kid. You know that already. Spring's on the way, and it's always sorta pretty this time of year. What's the plan?' She snorted.

'Girls in spring clothes are sorta pretty, I guess you mean. What we'll do is pick up the kids from Maria's, hit the mini mart for beer, seein' as you're visitin', start cookin', thank God it's Sunday.' Sounded real dull to me

'How about pick the kids up, eat at Daisy's Diner, catch their early bird special? Easier for you, more fun for the kids.' She looked at me and grinned.

'And you won't be stuck waitin' for me to finish cookin'. Right?' Busted. I nodded and grinned back.

'That too. Use the truck, bring y'all back here after?' 

'Jeez, Doug, I'm still kinda excited havin' a car and you won't even let me drive ya round town. Your way, I guess, less you're worried 'bout lookin' too much like a regular family.' Good point, but a good cause.

'Guess I'll risk it this time.' She looked sorta pleased when I said that, followed me out to the truck without any more moaning. I fired it up and we rolled. She was sitting quiet, looking pretty happy, and I gotta say she had reason. Five months since the shop opened and she reckoned she'd be showing a profit any minute. That made me feel pretty good too. Smug as well, you want me to be totally honest. Entrepreneur Doug.

Fact is, entrepreneur ain't quite the word. Venture capitalist is nearer the mark, you wanna be picky. Any college town has a fixed proportion of hippy wannabes, and this one's no different. And Annie sure knew how to sell bongs and stuff so the kids thought they were getting advice from the horse's mouth. Which they were, come to think of it: woman was a goddam expert when it came to smoking out. Seemed like I'd done myself a real good turn too. I mean, I was gonna get my money back, plus some tax breaks, plus someone one hundred ten percent on my side, no questions; always useful. Guess I made that point already, but it sure is an important one. Sex was OK too. Regular occasional, getting better every time; I wasn't pushing any: making warm and sensitive, biding my time is all. You lose your husband in a real unpleasant way, you gotta right to a little space. Guess I'd called it right this time. Found that out the first evening I went round to the new shop. She'd smiled when I walked in.

'You know Kirsty came round, told me she was splittin' for a coupla weeks?' I'd nodded.

'Told her right at the beginnin' it was friends with privileges, no more no less. Might even have said it a little firm.' Snort from Annie.

'She still thinks the sun shines out of your selfish goddam ass. I kinda like her though. Awful young, but she's been real good with the kids, and she thinks stuff through some. I kinda admire her for that. Told me how she and you got together too. Thought I was gonna shit tryin' not to laugh.' I let that one slide. 

'You give her any good advice?' She'd shrugged.

'What I told her before. You're red hot in the sack, you're a helluva lot of fun, and you're cold as fuckin' ice when you want something bad. Let her talk about you a little, told her she was smart enough to handle it. She's still hopin', but she ain't gonna collapse when she realizes it ain't gonna happen.' One of the things Annie does real good, she knows how women think. 

'Cold as fuckin' ice? That's kinda hard, ain't it?' She'd smiled then.

'This is Annie, Doug. Knew you when you were a smartass freshman, and all that's happened since then is you got smarter. But when you're coverin' your smart ass, you're cold enough for fuckin' Frostbite City.' Mebbe she had a point. 

'So what's next?' She'd faced me, grabbed my ears and hauled my face down to hers, 

'Kids are asleep, I've finished here and it's about time we said 'hi' properly. Reckon you can do that stuff with your tongue if I crank you up first? That big ol' bed you bought needs christening.' Way to go.

That had been prime time. Felt to me like there was some gratitude hiding behind the enthusiasm, but hell, her mouth was God's gift to a hungry man and I didn't call her on it. Since then she'd gotten more relaxed, happier to be persuaded, and the times she wasn't, well, like I said, pushing a widow is kinda impolite. Worth hanging on for the times she was up for it, and that's for sure. Delayed gratification Doug, and I ain't kidding.

*************

We pulled up outside Maria's, and two minutes later the cab of the truck was invaded by flying arms and legs. Goddam kids were all over me like white on rice and it took a while to clear them away, get 'em settled. Turned out tickling them was the best way, and it wasn't till that was finished, I noticed Annie standing watching, looking kinda dreamy. Hmmph.

'You wanna eat, you better hop in. Daisy's meatloaf is callin' me.' She shooed the kids into the back, checked their seatbelts, we headed off for food, me thinking hard that there was gonna be a balancing act for a while till she settled down, realized she was first among equals and not an inch more. I caught her glancing sideways at me.

'Stop lookin' worried, Doug. What you gotta do is remember who I fuckin' am. Don't want all of you: not any more. Look at it this way: you know about computers an' stuff right?' What's that got to do with anything?'

'Annie, you're gonna have to explain that.' She chuckled and dug me in the ribs.

'Think default setting. Shit, we both know you're never gonna settle, and I sure ain't lookin' to get hitched again. You said it in the kitchen the first morning after that Kirsty came back, right before you went and screwed her with the door open so's I could hear ya. You remember?' Jesus, what did I say six months ago?

'Uh, mebbe you better remind me.' She closed her eyes and recited.

'You said, "We're gonna fix it so you got somewhere to call home, and stuff to keep you busy, and then you can think what else you want. Me, I'll settle for what we had before. Now cook the goddam breakfast while I shower. Bacon too, OK?" You remember sayin' that?' It's hard to shrug while you're driving so I didn't.

'You say so, Annie, I guess I did. Whaddabout it?'

'Jeez, Doug, you're kinda slow today. I got a place to live, I'm busier than I wanna be, what we had before is comin' along nicely, so why are you so fuckin' worried? I been crazy in like with you for fuckin' years, what's to fix? You like the young stuff too, but that don't bother me. I kinda like the idea of bein' there for you when they split. Like I said, default setting. Only other thing you gotta do is paddle the kids when they get too big for me to do it. You good with that?' A surge of relief washed through me. Skinny little hippies got their good points I guess.

'Long as you promise not to leave town without permission.' She reached over and stroked my crotch, squeezed gently.

'Wouldn't fuckin' dream of it.' After that, supper was kinda fun. Daisy's meatloaf filled the gaps that an afternoon in bed can create, the kids behaved, were up for some more tickling after; Annie scooped them up after a while, gave me a kiss, took them home. I poured myself a cognac: kinda unusual, me being a Scotch drinker, but it seemed right for the occasion. Took it into the bay window and relaxed, sipping and feeling pretty dam' good. It ain't often you meet the perfect woman. Forget all that deaf, dumb, owns a bar crap. A perfect woman knows when to get the hell outa the way, knows when it's OK to say she's back. Now Chrissie, for instance, was close to perfect, except she arrived when she wanted. Hell, she always gave me some lead time, but that ain't the point. Candice and Ellen, different story, seeing as they were on site, so to speak, and wrapped up in each other too. Kirsty was still trying to handle a bunch of new stuff, and I was gonna be kinda glum if she couldn't hack it. Smart and innocent is a pretty nice combo. Annie though, she knew all about the real world, who I was, where I was coming from, plus, like I said, best BJs on the planet. I wriggled my toes in the sheepskin and thought about the only other one who ever came close. Trouble was, she'd started needing instead of liking, and that ain't ever a paying proposition. Think about her sometimes though, wonder whether I blew it when I made her choose. It had sure been a while ago though. Second year I had the house.

******************

'Come on, Mr. Stud, decision time. You have three choices. Emma's throwing a party, just her and Wayne, three other couples, nothing raucous; next up is a movie, and no chick flicks, I promise; or we go have a quiet meal somewhere and look deep into each other's eyes. Take your pick.' I rolled over and looked at her. Her face was flushed, drops of dried cum in her hair from when she'd choked and had to pull back, but still cuter than a June bug. I thought about the options and wondered what to say. Partying with Emma and dumbshit Wayne plain didn't appeal, and movies, hell I go see a movie mebbe twice a year. Dinner? Tell the truth, looking deep into their eyes is for before, not after, far as I'm concerned. But she was being real thoughtful and I didn't want to offend. 

'Jeez, Rachel, you got me spoiled for choice. Gonna have to think about that some, I guess. You mind if I snack a little, help me concentrate?' She made panting noises and let her thighs part some, eyes looking expectant. I headed south slowly, wondering what I was gonna say.

Rachel Curzon. Forty million dollars of trust fund on the hoof, and dam' near totally unspoiled. When I'd realized she was Donald Curzon's kid, I couldn't scarcely believe it. No-one expects to have the daughter of the richest guy in the state living in their house. Real unusual girl, smart as a whip too. Turned out she got royally pissed off if people sucked ass, didn't flash the cash hardly at all, refused every sorority offer point blank, had told her dam' trustees she'd just take a reasonable allowance, let the rest sit. Soon as I found that out I knew what it was gonna take to drill her. Psychologist Doug. I'd been right too: country boy with brains, unimpressed by money, was exactly what got her panties soaking. The lure of the unknown, I guess. Helped that she was kinda cute: little pixie face, tight body, small enough to control with one hand if you had to. She reckoned her ass was too big, but hell, so do half the women on the planet, and all but a few of them are plain wrong. 

Shit, what I wanted to do was stay in, call for pizza, have a coupla beers, read a little: simple stuff like that. Didn't much care if she stayed or went, tell the truth. What I didn't want was to come across like some asshole who just wanted to fuck and run. One thing I learnt, women sure get upset if they think you're only there for the sex. Course, a lot of the time the only reason anyone's there is for the sex, but it's like I said: honesty don't always work.

I'd reached the pleasure zone while I was thinking, and the only idea I'd had was to fuck her senseless, hope she'd be too tired to want to go out. Shower, share the pizza, goodnight pop, back up to her room to do her dam' homework, feeling grateful. Decision made. I slipped round so she was positioned right, started straight in on the party trick. She was still kinda warm from before, seeing as I'd dealt with her needs pretty thoroughly during the first bout, so she blasted off like a goddam rocket the minute my nose rubbed along her clit, and when the tongue homed in too, that was it: outa control. Don't like the taste of my own cum much, but sometimes you got no choice. Makes a woman feel kinda special too, and I never gone wrong helping them think that. Being a small girl her G spot was real easy to reach, and I was able to pull back some on the pressure, keep her hanging just over the edge, like a hog caught on an electric fence, but a whole lot prettier. Made the same kinda noises though. Me, I kept right on playing, and it was ten minutes easy before she gave in, reached down and rammed my head deep into her crotch, let everything go. Course, eating pussy always gets me hard so I moved up and slipped straight into her. Kinda tricky, her thrashing about, shaking like a plate of girl flavored Gell-O, but once I was there I sorta established a brisk rhythm, and kept right on going. Wipe out, and when I came too, pumping into her hard, number three washed over her and she collapsed under me, her whole body slack as taffy. I felt kinda pleased she'd had a nice time being corrected. 

'Does this mean there's a fourth choice?' she gasped after a coupla minutes, wriggling some to let me know I was crushing her.

'Jeez, Rachel, you're way ahead of me. I'd hardly finished thinkin', tell the truth. Seem to have got a mite distracted.' I rolled over and she came with me, ended up balanced on my chest, her nose almost touching mine.

'You don't want to go anywhere, do you?' she said accusingly. Smiled as she said it though. Like I said, smart girl.

'Bein' with you is kinda what I'd been plannin' on, Rachel. Bring a book down, you want to, I'll let you share the couch.' She shook her head.

'You don't take instruction worth a damn, and you don't give a shit about what anyone else wants either. Most people think twice before they take a chance on making me pissed. Do you have any notion how refreshing that is?' Course not, dummy. 

'Shit, Rachel, don't get philosophical with me, and don't be confusin' me with talk about your goddam money. I worked for a rich guy once, and his life weren't no more fun than mine; decided a long time ago, if I got everything I need and most of what I want, well hell, that's plenty. Wanted you the minute I saw you, and here you dam' well are, so I reckon I'm battin' pretty good. You want me to wash your back before I call for pizza?' Big hug, mumbling about natural goodness and stuff; total crap, but real pleasing, touching even, so I held her for a bit, let her carry on. My kinda evening. Wasn't till after the pizza, one more BJ, I started thinking. Seemed like she'd plain dropped all her plans the minute I hinted no. That ain't normal in any woman, and for a rich girl it's real rare. Dam' near perfect reaction. I put the thought aside for further consideration.

I have to say, that fall and spring were pretty damn sweet. Rachel was a walking dream: there when I wanted, gone when I hinted I was busy, ready for anything that two people can do with each other. Annie was still in town then, her and ol' Ray not hitched yet, so I had the best of both fuckin' worlds. Two sets of pussy, two types of fun, guys at the gym crapping hot rivets, frat rats the same, pure jealousy, both of them: I was happy as a pig in shit. Even had a good time when her family tried to horn in on the act.

It was Christmas break when a big Lincoln pulled up outside. House was empty: all the kids, Rachel too, gone back home to get spoiled by their dam' families. I was sipping beer, reading Grant's memoirs, planning to go see Annie later, mebbe take her out for dinner. Tall distinguished looking guy climbed out of the town car, started up towards the front door. I let him wait a little when he rang, then went to open.

'C'mon in, Mr. Curzon. I kinda guessed you'd be along eventually.' He looked like he wanted to be surprised but was too cultured to show it. 

'You're Douglas Taylor?'

'Guilty as charged, Mr. Curzon. There's a lot of heat escapin' right now, and I'm gonna close the door real soon, so turn around or step in.' He looked surprised then: jumped through the doorway trying for casual, not quite making it. I gestured towards my apartment.

'Straight through, Mr. Curzon. Whyntcha take the armchair there. Couch is reserved for me mostly. What can I get you? Scotch, cognac, beer if you'd rather; I've got an Oregon red needs opening if you're a wine guy.' Shit, he was way off balance by now.

'I'll take a Scotch, young man.' I went to find it, came back with the bottle and two glasses, found him looking at the bookcase that covers my entire back wall. Seemed a mite puzzled. He looked surprised all over again when he saw the name on the bottle, but didn't say nothing. I poured him a shot, one for myself, sat down opposite him.

'What can I do for you Mr. Curzon? I guess you're feeling kinda indignant, so take a sip of Johnny Blue, two deep breaths, remember you're in my home, tell me what's on your mind.' Shit, I was enjoying myself. He remembered why he was there, looked at me kinda hard. Trouble is, old money ain't as hard as new. I been looked at hard by William McCarthy, and Donald Curzon didn't even come close.

'Mr. Taylor, you're all but cohabiting with my daughter, if she is to be believed, and I have not found her to be a liar. What have you to say?' Too easy.

'That would be your daughter Rachel who's over eighteen and controls her own money, I guess.' He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon so I carried on. 'Coupla things, Mr. Curzon. One, I ain't gonna talk about your daughter in the third person, not to you nor to the goddam pope, come to that. Two, she know you're here?' He colored a tad.

'Rachel is a young woman of high intelligence but limited experience. The fact that she chose to attend this college attests to that, but that is not my point. I have had you investigated, Mr. Taylor, and while you are not a criminal, you certainly have no moral values, and there is no doubt that you have taken advantage of her. I am here to persuade you that it would be in Rachel's best interests and yours if you were to terminate your relationship with her; any objective study of the situation should convince you of the fact that you are not helping her to fulfill her true potential. You would of course be adequately compensated for the...' I interrupted him there. Tell the truth, I felt kinda insulted.

'If you had me investigated, Mr. Curzon, then you know I ain't hurtin' for money. Got taught about investment by William McCarthy, God rest his soul, and I'm a quick study. Don't mind you worryin' about your daughter either, hell, that's a father's job, but you suggest one more time that I want bucks from her or you or any other fuckin' person, I'll push your teeth down your goddam throat and then run your gold-plated ass outa my home. You got that? Now tell me if your daughter knows you're here. You want me to phone her, make this a conference call?' Righteous Doug. I took a sip of scotch and waited. I was probably gonna get another beautifully constructed goddam speech. Jeez, the man spoke in entire paragraphs: could have won a Pulitzer. He was trying hard, but I guess I shook him some. Most rich guys think money buys them everything. 

'Rachel knows full well that her mother and I are not happy about the direction her life is currently taking...' I cut in again. Candy from goddam babies.