Walking the Dog — Chapters 15 and 16

Chapter 15

I wasn't a big fan of sports. It was fun going to games and seeing people but I never paid any attention to what was happening on the field or court. After I went steady with Tracie I was too busy walking her mother to find the time to go to a game or dance.

So this was a night off, I wasn't walking Mrs. Johnston. I was having a busman's holiday and was walking Lori and frankly I was bored to tears. Lori was in nine, I was in a car parked in front of nine, and Tracie was three doors down. Jim was somewhere - in twelve with Tracie or in a car like me. I never saw Frank and guessed he was in twelve also, but could be wrong. Mrs. Johnston said he had been a disappointment. I hadn't seen Tracie either, just knew where she was.

I knew Lori had hoped I'd be in the room with her, would join in but I couldn't. A long, involved explanation was possible but not really necessary. I couldn't.

Lori and I had dinner together while the game was on and talked. She didn't want to talk about Frank but had to and that had made her uncomfortable. I couldn't talk about Tracie and there really wasn't much else on my mind. Some dinner.

The car had a crap radio, my coffee was long gone and I wished I'd brought a book but I had trouble reading anything at the moment so didn't.

Only about a quarter of the team was over eighteen so Lori was having the time of her life. I wasn't going to think about Tracie. Not because she shouldn't but because I couldn't - not with her.

Jim said everything would end at two a.m. I wished him luck.

I got out of the car and walked to the coke machines. It had rained earlier and turned cooler, typical spring weather. I got a Pepsi, grabbed a cube of ice from the freezer and went back to the car. When I smashed the ice cube against the pavement fragments skittered everywhere.

The motel wasn't that popular, about ten or so cars; I though the Buick was like us, just using the bed for a few hours. We weren't near the highway and it was quiet. Street sounds but not the heavy truck drone. It was too cold for insects to be out and the motel parking lot looked barren.

Watching the motel room door from inside a car was new for me. I never had that much distance from Barbie. I might be in another room, I was often much closer. It was strange how everyone was different and we were all the same. Tracie was never like her mother but I had deja vu moments while we were making love. Not that I'd done it before; that this was something I'd seen Barbie and someone do. Just like this.

The Pepsi was too cold. It hurt to drink it.

A car pulled in next to mine and parked. I slumped a little in the seat feeling weird. I shouldn't be in the parking lot, I should be in a room. I took a drink, watching the door to nine and heard two car doors slam. The car backed out and someone knocked on the passenger window of my car. I flipped the lock.

"Mom said you might be bored," Trish said. She sat next to me; Lisa sat in the back, leaned in the space between the seats. Lisa held out her hand, I passed her the can.

"What if I was inside?" I asked as Lisa handed me the can. "What would you have done then?" I passed the can to Trish.

"The more the merrier," Trish said.

"How much of this was your mother's idea?"

"About half." Trish pushed the can into my hand. "We can have the room all to ourselves once they've left."

"We?"

"Another," Lisa said.

I put the can in her hand. "You two can have the rest. We?"

"You and me, duh." Trish made a face.

"Or you and me," Lisa said. "Want any more?" she asked Trish. "Or you and Lori. We."

"I'm not moving fast enough, am I?"

"It's cold in here," Lisa said.

"I'm willing to wait," Trish said. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Lori's in nine." I turned off the radio. "Is that okay? No music?"

"Anything to kill the mood for love." Lisa leaned on my seat back. "Think we can go somewhere to get something to eat? I'm hungry."

"There's a candy machine down there." I pointed.

"Real food, Jasper. Not corn sucrose laden calorie bombs."

"I have to stay here and watch."

"You're watching a door?" Trish said.

"You know what I'm doing."

"I'm cold." Lisa put her hand on my cheek. "See?" She didn't feel cold to me.

"So I'm to choose tonight. One way or the other. Come hell or high water."

"That was mother's plan, yes. If you were normal it'd be easy. We'd go in nine where you'd be with Lori and the rest of the team. We'd join in. Whoever you woke up with in the morning would be it."

Lisa gave snort. "She thought I'd go in there, where there's a bunch of flaming male heterosexuals. Wiggling their thingies and squealing in high-pitched voices. En flagrant and just fling myself into the frolic. I'm either joining you two up front or you two are joining me back here. It's cozier back here."

"Candy bars are down there?" Trish asked.

"Down there."

"I need some money." She held out her hand. "Go ahead and join her in back."

"Trish!" Lisa said. "Can you get me one too?"

"You want anything, Jas?" Trish asked from the open door.

"I'm okay."

"You joining me, Jas?" Lisa asked.

"Is it safe? No funny stuff."

"We'll keep our trousers on."

I joined her. She took my hand and held in her lap, not saying anything, facing the door to nine. When Trish came back we scooted over so Trish could sit on my other side. She passed a candy bar to Lisa.

"This is much warmer," Lisa said.

"Nice," Trish said. "I wonder what my mother was thinking?"

"Who knows? What kind of candy bar did you get?"

"Reese's."

"Can I have one? I'll trade you."

"Half and half? Sure." They passed candy across me. "What time is it?" Trish asked.

"Hell if I know. I don't have a watch. Next time you get candy, get Reese's for me too."

I checked my watch. "It's twelve thirty."

"We have a while, then, don't we?" Trish crumpled up the wrapper and tossed it into the front seat.

"Your mother said she'd pick us up at ten. Does the room have cable?" Lisa poked me. "Hey, you."

"I don't know. I don't think that was a consideration."

"Waterbed?"

I laughed. "No waterbed or porn movies."

"Shoot." Lisa leaned forward and said to Trish, "What will we do?"

"I forgot my three-sided coin so we can't toss for him. Watch TV and make nuisance calls?"

"He hasn't kissed me yet. He kiss you?"

"Not yet. He's shy." Trish whispered, "He reminds me sometimes of my grandmother's dog. Princess." Her voice returned to normal. "You ever visit her?"

Lisa shook her head, took my hand and held it in her lap. "So Lori's the only one who's actually gone all the way with him?"

"Of the three of us, yes. There's my sister . . ."

"Let's not talk about Tracie, okay," I said.

"Touchy subject," Trish said. "Nine and a half hours."

"Is this your car?" Lisa asked.

"The coach's," I said.

"So we can't go anywhere, can we?"

"We can walk," Trish said. "You have a quarter, Jas?"

I dug the change out of my pocket and passed her a quarter.

Trish tossed it in the air, caught it and slapped it against the back of her hand. "Your call, Lisa."

"Heads."

Trish looked at the coin, grinned, tossed it and caught it. "Your call."

"Heads again."

Trish uncovered the coin, giggled, looked up at me and made another toss. "Call again."

"Tails."

"You would." Trish checked the coin, laughed and said to me in her theatrical voice, "We're going to have a very interesting evening, you and I."

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Jas, if you go in there, we're following you," Lisa said.

"All the stops will be out. Full speed ahead," Trish said.

"I can hold it a while longer."

Trish took my other hand. "We have a proposition to make you. We need to talk to Lori first, though. Think you can hold it?"

"Look, all I want to do is go back home."

"My home, Lisa," Trish said.

"And go to bed."

"With me." Trish wiggled and squealed.

"And sleep."

"That's all he does. Sleep and snore."

Lisa jerked my hand. "Look at me." I turned to her. "We're stuck, you, Lori, Trish and me. Until ten." To Trish, "Is your mom prompt?"

"Sometimes."

"Oh. Maybe to three. Everyone is kind of hoping."

"Everyone includes us three, not you, you're not included," Trish said to me.

"Hoping that everything will be resolved when the sun rises. Little do they know."

"They don't know a thing, do they, Lisa?"

"I don't think so. Jasper, you need to play along with us a little, relax, not fight it, and no one is in a rush to fuck you. Okay?"

"I am," Trish said gleefully.

"I am a little too which is most curious. Anyway. Just relax."

"Struggling will get you nowhere, Jas," Trish said.

Lisa squeezed my hand, touched my cheek with her free hand, her fingers slid across my cheek into my hair and pulled me to her. We kissed and it was . . . it was . . .

"Your turn," Lisa said. Her eyes held mine. "Relax, Jasper."

Trish pulled me to her; Lisa let go of my hand. Trish asked, "Is this okay, Jas?"

I realized Trish was a lot older than I thought she was. She waited, watching me. "I don't want to have sex with anyone yet. Okay?"

"We're just kissing, Jas. Honest."

I nodded and didn't shut my eyes.

Chapter 16

I still wasn't quite used to the idea yet and having Trish sit across from me at lunch in the high school cafeteria was unsettling.

Tracie sat across the room with her back to me, blonde hair in the unmistakable cut. She was sitting at a seniors table, with people I didn't know that well.

When we'd been together the town's geography had fit our own desires; the school became part of the constellation that surrounded us. Sometimes we had sat together in the cafeteria, alone or with Frank and Lori. Being with Frank and Lori back then was like being with good friends who shared everything, but only with their lovers. Tracie and I had each other, Frank and Lori had each other and we were comfortable with that, not clamoring for equality or identity. We hardly talked.

Tracie had new friends, or old friends recognized. I had new friends too.

"It's spooky, Jas, watching you stare at her like that," Lisa said.

I turned to Lisa who was sitting next to me. Lori was sitting next to Trish.

"It's okay," I said.

Trish swiveled in her seat to see what I'd been looking at. "Oh." She faced Lisa. "It's okay. Like Jas said."

"It's okay," Lori said. "Anybody see Frank?"

"Over there," I said.

Lori looked over her shoulder. Frank was with a group of guys. She said to Lisa. "It's okay."

Lisa probed her meal with her fork. "I'm not sure it's edible."

"It isn't," Trish said. "But that's okay."

"Okay," Lisa said. She put down her fork. "You know I had hopes for better things."

"Nothing can make cafeteria food better, Lisa. You know that."

"But one can hope." Lisa dug into my jello with her spoon.

"Hey!" I said. I tried to beat her away with my fork.

"He talks." Lisa grinned at me, gave me a wink.

"You know," Lori said. "I don't want to be in here. Not today. Maybe tomorrow."

"Okay," I said. "Elsewhere?"

"Jas is one of those commanding personality types." Lisa snitched more jello.

"I'm not done eating." Trish used her spoon to grab a scoop of my jello.

"Me either," Lori said, joining them.

"I thought you didn't want to be here." All three of them were making fast work of my meal.

"You're here, I'm here," Lisa said. "Ditto," Lori and Trish said.

"Let's go." I stood. I reached for my tray and saw Tracie looking at me, one of her friends pointing at us. I lifted my tray, not taking my eyes from Tracie.

"Jas," Lisa said. "Jas." She pushed my tray to the table. "Look at me."

I let go of my tray; Lisa stood next to me.

"That's right, Jas." She smiled. She took my arm and held me as we kissed.

People were laughing. I heard some whistles.

Everybody kisses differently. Lisa's kisses demanded attention and she got it.

We broke and I dropped my eyes to the left. The tray was gone.

"Jas, look at me."

I raised my eyes and she said, "Don't worry about it. Trish is taking care of your tray. You have more important things to do right now. Pay attention."

We kissed again. The cafeteria quieted; maybe it was just me.

We broke. "Ready now?" she asked.

I took her hand and we followed Trish and Lori out.

Friday night kind of resolved things and made everything a thousand times more complicated. We were still working stuff out and Lori's and my fixations on our former steadies was, as the British would put it, a spanner in the works. A spanner is what we call a wrench.

The wrench wasn't a big one, we weren't paralyzed, and if Lori and I had been able to physically remove ourselves from our fixations the wrench would have been barely noticed.

Trish led us to Tracie's and my former spot behind the school, the place where we'd killed the grass.

No one was boss; that was one of the things we decided early on. They sort of deferred to me but I think they did it to make me feel good, feel more important. They could have done without me. They wouldn't admit it, but it was true.

Lisa sat across from me, Trish on my right, Lori on my left. Lisa was as much a pivot point as I, by reason of experience if nothing else. But of course there was plenty else.

Trish and Lori, too, each of them, us, different, together having a sort of balance.

That was our hope, at least. An equality.

I couldn't be all their lovers; there just wasn't enough of me. Or enough time. I was still walking Mrs. Johnston.

"My house after school?" Trish asked.

I wasn't so sure about that. Tracie was back home now that I seemed to be on the point of choosing. Lisa watched me, a smile on her lips. She cocked an eyebrow.

"You know," Lori said. We all turned to her. She was flustered for a moment. "I'd like to go to Connie's house."

"Me too," Trish said.

"Lisa and Jas can have some time together." Lori looked at me. "Alone."

"Maybe meet together there at five," I said.

"Who's Connie?" Lisa asked.

"My grandmom," Trish said. "She's a little crazy, but it's fun crazy. She's old Family. Lori and I go there."

"We're her sluts." Lori liked the word. The first real smile from her I'd seen today.

"I walk Mrs. Johnston at seven."

"You both can come over while Jas is busy," Trish said.

Lisa looked at me.

I asked, "Were you thinking of one of those interminable games of Scrabble?"

"Hey, I like Scrabble," Lisa said.

"Or something else?"

Trish kicked the ground with her heel, raised her face and grinned. "Something else?"

"Sex and Scrabble. Count me in," Lisa said.

"Me too for the sex part," Lori said. "Do we . . ."

"Improvise my dear." Lisa turned to me. "What are you thinking about when you look at Tracie like that?"

I was probably blushing. "I'm just looking at her. Not thinking of anything in particular."

"Not undressing her?"

I shook my head. "I . . ."

"Flinging her naked across a table and screwing her in the cafeteria, in front of all of us."

I shook my head. "Just looking."

"Where do you fuck her first, Jas?"

"I'm just looking. Okay?"

"It doesn't look like just looking. Your face does something."

"My dog looks like that when he watches TV," Lori said.

We turned to her. "No way," Lisa said.

Lori shrugged, grinned. She looked at us and nodded.

"You, my dear," Lisa said, laughing, "are in for special attention this evening."

"From me, too." Trish said to me, "Like a dog watching TV."

"I can't help it. I still love her. I." I gave a shrug. "You know? I still love her."

"We know, Jas," Lisa said

"I don't know how I feel about Frank. I want to kill him. I want his cock up my ass so bad I can feel it sometimes." Lori dropped her eyes. "It's not even good TV."

Lisa checked her watch. "Not enough time before the bell for our resident cocksman to help the poor girl out. It's a shame."

Lori grinned at me. "Maybe later."

I was thinking about something and Trish elbowed me.

"We're talking about you," she said.

"I was thinking of your kiss," I looked to Lisa. "In there."

She nodded, took Lori's hand and used a finger to trace along Lori's fingers.

"Everyone saw us and at first there was a lot of noise. Then it was quiet. Wasn't it?"

Lisa shrugged, focused her attention on Lori's hand.

"Wasn't it?" I asked Trish.

"Here," she said. She held out her hand, took mine. She did the same thing to me Lisa was doing to Lori. "It got quiet when my sister left."

"Oh." I hadn't noticed.

"She was mad about something I think."

"Another perfectly good lesbian," Lisa said not looking at us, "gone down the tubes. Twisted by perversion and the lust for a man's, not just any man's—"

"Unlike me," Trish said and winked.

"Hand grabbing my cunt and giving a squeeze for old time's sake."

"Sounds nice," Lori said softly.

"Such lust is unnatural," Lisa said. "Spoken of only in hushed tones late at night. Boy is my rep ruined."

The bell rang.

"Time for class," Lisa said. "I get him after school?"

"Connie's at five," Trish said. She gave my ass a squeeze after we'd all stood. "We need to work out a schedule or something so we all," she grinned at me, "get some."

"Tonight, after Scrabble," Lisa said.

"After Scrabble?" Lori said. "Could we just forget the Scrabble?"

Read the next two chapters

Walking the Dog Page
Chapters 1 and 2 | Chapters 3 and 4 | Chapters 5 and 6
Chapters 7 and 8 | Chapters 9 and 10 | Chapters 11 and 12
Chapters 13 and 14 | Chapters 15 and 16 | Chapters 17 and 18
Chapter 19

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