Storiesonline.net ------- Triptych by aroslav Copyright© 2012 by aroslav ------- Description: The continuing adventures of Tony, Melody, and Lissa. You need not have read “Model Student” to understand this, but it’s better. Now sophomore art students and trying to understand and manage their new life, Tony, Melody, Lissa and their friends attempt to come to grips with the larger reality of life outside of college as well as in. Some sex in most chapters, much sex in some. The trio finally discovers it is in love—with each other and someone else! Codes: MF FF Mult cons rom bi het fant poly slow ------- ------- Cast Like most works of the scope of Triptych, there are a lot of characters that come in and out of the action. This is a reference list that will be added to as I add more characters. I've omitted names of people who appeared in Model Student who are unlikely to appear in Triptych, reserving the right to add them later.) The Family Tony "Pogo" Ames, Sophomore art student—Painting and Literary/Art Criticism Dual Degree at PCAD and SCU, Lissa and Melody's boyfriend Melody "Little One" Anderson, Sophomore art student—Textiles, Tony and Lissa's girlfriend Lissa Grant, Reigning US Open Women's Champion, Tony and Melody's girlfriend Kate "Kitten" Holsinger, Sophomore art student—Painting, Tony, Lissa, and Melody's girlfriend Jack Wade, Lissa's ex-husband Damon Wade, Lissa's 7 year-old son Drew Wade, Lissa's 5 year-old son Saul Ames, Tony's father Deborah Ames, Tony's mother Alexandra "Lexi" Anderson, Melody's mother Harold Anderson, Melody's father Vadoma "Gypsy" Tshilaba Holsinger, nee Džugi, Kate's mother Oke Holsinger, Kate's father Willow (m) and Sunday (f), Kate's 14-year-old brother and sister (twins) Ken Holsinger, Kate's grandfather Molly, Nanny for Drew and Damon At Pacific College of the Arts and Design (PCAD) Sandra Wells, Sophomore art student—Graphic Design Amy "Amalia Want" Garnet, Sophomore art student—Advertising Art Dr. Glenn Henredden, Studio Fundamentals professor/muralist Professor Carolyn DeWitt, Melody's faculty advisor and director of the Textiles Department Kevin, Amy's gay friend at PCAD Jason Roe, Student in the Dual Degree Program—majors unknown Professor McIntyre, Figure Drawing instructor Dean Nathan Peterson, Academic Dean Dr. Bychkova, Art History Professor Ms. Brock, Instructor in Visual Concepts course Miss Stevenson, Secretary to Dean Peterson Abe Ardmore, Studio Arts Department Chairperson At Seattle Cascades University (SCU) Brianna "Bree" Jacobson, Cheerleader, racquetball team manager, Sam's daughter Sam Jacobson, Athletic Director Sonia Engstrom, Cheerleader Jan "Thor" Thorson, Sonia's boyfriend Eric Barnes, Student activist Rio, 5' tall and round Freshman Literature major at SCU in Critical Reading with Tony and has a crush on him Whitney, 6' tall and thin Freshman Linguistics major at SCU with crush on Tony. Joins racquetball team. Pretty, smart, and fast. Tonya, senior women's basketball player/racquetball wannabe at SCU Ric "Rick" Ye, SCU mentor/cohort leader Joo-Eun "June" Kim, SCU mentor/cohort leader, girlfriend of Rick Amanda Fortier, Junior pre-med student at SCU in Tony's Human Anatomy class Justin Chen, Junior pre-med student at SCU in Tony's Human Anatomy class Coach Fredericks, Sports Conditioning instructor for Tony Brent, 6' blond junior who joins racquetball team Franklin, 6' black junior who joins racquetball team, becomes Brent's doubles partner Walt Rosenberg, junior lineman on SCU football team, Sandra's boyfriend Andy Parsons, SCU student with Tent City shift before Tony's Derrick, SCU student, frat brother of Andy's Cary Randolph, Dual Degree Program advisor Dr. Delfin, Human Physiology Professor Professor Strait, Critical Reading in the Humanities Instructor Racquetball Competitors, Partners, and Trainers Allison "Ally" Perkins, Women's Intercollegiate National Championships competitor John Gilbert, Trainer at the Seattle Racquet Club Kark Higgendorfer, Reigning National Singles and Intercollegiate Champion Sally and Tomas, Mixed Doubles Competitors George and Nicole, Mixed Doubles Competitors George and Jessica Rodriguez, Mixed Doubles competitors from Argentina at Opens Janet Bacon, Women's Open finalist against Lissa Rod, Tall player at the Seattle Racquet Club Phil, Player at the Seattle Racquet Club Brian Sommers, National Singles Silver Medalist Other friends and cast Beth "Dumpling" Carpenter, Tony's best friend from high school, now at Wellesley Wendy Martin, Waitress at Carmine's Cucina, junior at UW Rev. Larkin, Lutheran minister when Tony was growing up. Clarice Bortelli, artist's agent Rafe, Wendy's sadistic ex-boyfriend Jimmy James, friend of Damon Ella James, Jimmy's little sister and Drew's friend Noelle James, Mother of Jimmy and Ella Patrick James, Noelle's husband Doctor Smith, teaching doctor at the Med School Mama Sara, 26 yo at the commune where Kate grew up in Oregon Papa Jim, 22 yo "husband" of Sara, son of Leo and Bliss Ariel, 10 yo daughter of Sara Solomon, 3 yo son of Jim and Sara Mama Helen, Oke's sister Papa Dave, Helen's husband Rainbow, 14 yo daughter of Helen and Dave, best friend of Willow and Sunday Lilith, 16 yo daughter of Helen and Dave, in love with Dusty Grandpa Leo, first generation member of commune with Ken Gradma Bliss, Leo's wife (a little younger) Dusty, 20 yo son of Leo and Bliss Barbara Brown, Beth's girlfriend at Wellesley Bob Bowers, Art Critic for the Times Jonathan Reichman, Opera afficianado John MacDonald, Lawyer Sharon Reeves, portrait client Rebecca, Sharon's chaperone Amar, Indira, and Mirium Singh, portrait clients Donna and Howard, Barbers at Quick-Cuts ------- Prologue My life is nothing like I thought it would be. A year ago I'd just graduated from high school and was already convinced that I'd made the biggest mistake of my life and ruined it forever. After being heavily recruited and offered a good financial aid package, I agreed to move 1500 miles northwest of my home in Nebraska to attend Pacific College of the Arts and Design. I was going to be an artist. By the time I got to Seattle, I'd already decided I made a mistake. So the excitement of moving into the dorm and saying goodbye to Mom and Dad only lasted through freshman orientation. By the end of the second week of school, I was already thinking seriously about just quitting. I'd started the year texting my best friend about 20 times a day and calling home two or three times a week, but as the darkness of depression set in—helped along by the short days and gray skies of Seattle—my contacts became fewer and fewer. After talking to my Dad, he suggested that I get more exercise. Great, I thought. One more thing to put on my schedule. But Dad's pretty savvy, and he offered to pay for a membership at a local racquet club—art schools don't have gyms. I played at our local YMCA back in Nebraska and wasn't bad at it. I decided to play a couple times a week and it was worth it just to have a soak and steam twice a week. And to play against Lissa. Lissa is a national champ and really gave me a workout when I played against her about once a month. Not to mention that she's drop-dead gorgeous and kept my fantasies fueled. Way out of my league, though. The problem with using exercise to combat depression is that the high only lasts until the endorphins wear off, or in my case, until I got back to my dorm. Then all I could see was how far behind I was getting in classes that had me doing senseless busywork. I felt alone and isolated and didn't really make any friends at school, though Melody, Amy, and Sandra were always nice company for lunch on Fridays after our Figure Drawing class. They even got me to pose for one of the classes—wearing a jock strap. I guess that was when things started to get interesting, though I didn't realize it at the time. It was just before the winter holiday and I spent my time at home over the break making a transfer application to the University of Nebraska back in Lincoln. My best friend was off in Hawaii. I didn't want to go back to school, but what was I going to do—move back in with my parents and watch TV for the rest of the year? I went back to school and sank deeper into my self-imposed isolation and depression. Then things changed with Melody. She was cute and I'd had plenty of fantasies about her—and every other cute girl I saw. She seemed like another of those unattainable fantasies that I had, though, so I never asked her out or anything. I didn't want our Friday lunches to get awkward. Everything started to get better the day she asked me to pose for her final Figure Painting project—and offered to pose for me. Nude. She also wanted to watch me play racquetball and met my favorite opponent. Apparently Lissa and Melody hit it off pretty well, too. Without going into all the details, before spring break I was no longer a virgin. And within a few weeks, I discovered that I had not one, but two unbelievably hot girlfriends. That's not to say that having incredible sex day after day cured my depression. It helped, but I had a world of trouble getting through that second semester. The Academic Dean summoned me to his office. My performance—or lack thereof—had been noticed. But Dean Peterson was really cool about it and said that he wanted me to consider becoming part of an experiment between PCAD and Seattle Cascades University. I'd complete a double degree with a BFA from PCAD and a BA from SCU. They were giving me a full-ride scholarship if I played racquetball for the school and they'd even send me to USAR Intercollegiate National Championships in the spring. Wow! You'd think that would change everything, right? Not for me. For me, it just looked like even more work and a heavier schedule, and no chance to ever get caught up. Lissa called me to task over it when I blew up at SCU's Athletic Director. That almost ended my relationship with Lissa, and when it didn't, it almost ended my relationship with Melody. It took some careful rebuilding, helped along by our friends Sandra and Amy, to get us all back together again. I thought helping Doc Henredden work on a school mural was just busywork that all Fundamentals students had to do. But he assigned me a section to paint that was taken from one of my sketches of Lissa and Melody. When I really get into drawing and painting, I usually have music playing on my headset and sort of zone out. The world could end and I wouldn't know it. When I finished my painting and climbed down off the scaffold after close to 12 hours straight, I found a crowd of my classmates applauding. At the very front were Melody and Lissa. That's the day my life changed—I mean really changed. It didn't get easy, but I started to see some hope for the future. My relationship with Melody and Lissa and Lissa's two sons grew stronger every day. My art improved. My racquetball improved. I placed third at the USA Racquetball Intercollegiate Championships and earned a trip to the National Singles Championship. My parents, believe it or not, were thrilled with my two girlfriends. That's more than I can say for Melody's parents. Her mom came around, but her dad, who had separated from her mom, threw a hissy-fit. I'm only going to say this once; because I get tired of repeating myself to everybody we meet. I love Lissa and Lissa loves me. I love Melody and Melody loves me. Melody loves Lissa and Lissa loves Melody. It's a threesome, not two couples. Life isn't instantly easy, but I've found that I've got a lot of really good friends and a few really good friends. That makes things even more complicated. There are several other people—girls—who want to be a part of our little family—or at least rent space occasionally. Bree, a cheerleader from SCU (her Dad's the Athletic Director!) who has become the racquetball team manager and has made no secret of the fact that she wants in my pants. Allison, a racquetball player from Kansas State who I met at Intercollegiates and is way in love with all three of us, but has a real problem with girl-girl sex. If it weren't for that, she'd probably have been in our bed a long time ago. Wendy, a waitress we met at a restaurant and then became one of my models. I really don't know what to think of her. She's a real flirt. Beth, my best friend from high school who came home for the summer thinking I'd pop her cherry. Can you say embarrassing? And let's not forget... Kate. Damn! I thought she was so stuck up when we first met. Then I thought she was just terminally shy. Then she watched me paint and ... Well, I'm not going into the whole story, but I think Kate loves me ... and Lissa ... and Melody. And I think we love her. But we're still so new at all this that none of us knows what to do. We're kind of holding our breath. There are others, like the SCU cheerleader Sonia and her boyfriend Thor, and our best friends at school, Amy and Sandra, but you'll catch on. And you can always check the cast list of my life if you forget who someone is. That's pretty much all you need to know about people except that when school let out and National Singles were over—Oh, by the way, I didn't win, but I had a great pre-tournament match with the reigning National Champion that's on YouTube—I had to go home to Nebraska with my folks. Melody went with her mother to Boston to help pack up the house since her dad left them. And Lissa stayed with her boys back in Seattle. Before the end of June, I couldn't take being separated from my lovers any longer, so Lissa flew to Boston and I drove there. Together, we packed up everything that Melody owned and headed west—toward home. Of course, we still have to stop in Nebraska to visit my folks on the way. ------- Chapter 1 Sunday afternoon and I was getting a little anxious. After a weeklong, 3,000 mile trip to Boston and back, I was bringing my girlfriends home to my parents' house in Nebraska. I pointed out sites to them as we entered Nebraska. From the time we turned west on U.S. 30, I was like a three-year-old at the steering wheel, even pointing at the horses and cows in the field. "There's where I went to high school," I said. "Man, it's changed already. Big renovation this year." "Aw, that's sweet. I didn't show you my high school back in Lexington," Melody said. "We were in a hurry to get you out of town!" Lissa said. "But we'll go back and you can show us around like tourists. Maybe at Christmas." "Oh look," I said. I'd driven around the streets of Fremont acting like I was just cruising for the benefit of my girlfriends. My real goal was in sight now. "There's the YMCA. You'll love it there. It's where I learned to play racquetball. Three courts." Lissa and Melody dutifully looked out the window and I plunged ahead. "I know ... Let's get a game in tomorrow morning, Lissa. I bet half the town would show up to see us play." "Don't embarrass your girlfriend," Lissa scowled. Uh-oh. "I'm sorry. Really. I couldn't stop him," I whined. Yeah, Melody doesn't have a corner on the whining market. I'm pretty good at it. "Stop who? What?" Melody asked. "Tony?" "Dad," I said. "He's so excited to have you here to visit he arranged to have a court for us tomorrow morning for a kind of local exhibition." I pulled into the Y parking lot and got out of the car, motioning the girls to join me as I approached the front doors. The Y closed early on Sunday afternoon, so they were locked up. Plastered against the glass of the door, though was a big poster that Dad had made up at Kinko's. The pictures were what he'd managed to download from the Internet. "U.S. Women's Open Champion Lissa 'The Ice Queen' Grant vs. National Intercollegiate bronze medalist Tony 'Tornado Alley' Ames in an Independence Day Exhibition Match..." Lissa read from the poster. "Oh, Tony." "Really, I couldn't," I complained. "You are so going to get spanked," Lissa threatened. "Hey! What do I have to do to get spanked?" Melody asked. We both looked at her and broke out laughing. "Just get naked," I suggested before I thought about what I was saying. Melody pulled her t-shirt over her head and went for her bra. "Okay." "No, no, no, no!" I said, "Sweetie, this is Nebraska!" I rushed her to the car and got her inside as Lissa followed laughing at us. "What would Saul and Deborah think?" she asked as she climbed in the front seat. "Oh yeah," Melody sighed. "They'd want to watch, wouldn't they?" "You, girl, might look and sound innocent, but you are flat-out born evil," I laughed as we pulled away from the Y. I was relieved to see her smirk at me and pull her t-shirt back on. Rule one: No sex play when the car is running. It was only about ten minutes before we were out of town and I'd turned on the county road where we lived. "It's so beautiful out here," Lissa said. "So peaceful." "What's that?" Melody asked, pointing out the front window toward the west. The sun was in my eyes, so I wasn't too sure what she was pointing at. "Well," I ventured, "I always get confused. I think it's Wyoming, but it might be Colorado. They were only three or four hundred miles away, and it was pretty much flat from here to there. That got me a well-deserved smack in the shoulder from two directions, but I didn't care because I was turning into our driveway. "Tony, it's beautiful!" Melody exclaimed when she saw that we were at my folks' house. "The pictures don't do it justice," Lissa added. "What can I say? They're only photographs." "You should paint it." "Maybe I will one day." Before we got out of the car the screen door banged on the porch and Mom and Dad were rushing to meet us. They had us wrapped up in so many hugs and kisses that we were never sure who was welcoming whom. Now that I had my family with me, it was sure good to be home. Dad, of course, had already reached the car to try to grab suitcases or backpacks. I saw him just standing by the open door and went to join him. I pulled out Lissa's and my backpacks and Melody's small suitcase. Dad was still looking inside the car. "I should have bought you a bigger car," he said. "Everything fits, Dad," I answered. "Yes, but what about your things?" Oh man! The car was packed as full as we could get it with Melody's things and nothing of mine was in it except the camping equipment. "I think we'll go down to U-Haul on Tuesday and see if we can get a small trailer," Dad continued. "You'll have to be careful because it won't drive the same when you're towing. Not as good gas mileage either, but ... You are moving back to Seattle, aren't you?" "Yes. Of course, Dad. Why would you even ask?" "Well, you just got a fat envelope from Lincoln yesterday and it looks a lot like your acceptance packet did last year." So much had changed since I applied to transfer to the University of Nebraska over the winter break, I couldn't even imagine going there anymore. I had a life in Seattle. Six months ago ... just six months ... I didn't. I looked at the two women who were my life as they continued to hug and chat with Mom. "I hope you weren't planning on me moving back," I said to Dad. He joined me as we moved luggage toward the house. "I'd have you committed if you did, son." We went into the house through the kitchen and the girls oohed and aahed over the smells coming from the stove. Mom assured them that some of what they smelled—like the four big pies that were cooling on the counter—was for the barbecue tomorrow. "Tony, take the girls' bags right on up to the guest room," Mom said. "Mom..." "Tony," she said. That look ... I swear it's stopped trains. I took the bags up to the guest room with Dad trailing behind me. "Uh ... that one's mine," I said to Dad as he set my backpack down in the guest room. "Mmmm hmmm." "But..." I looked at the queen-sized bed in the guest room and thought about the twin in my room, comprehension beginning to dawn. "Oh." I was back down in the kitchen when I heard the sound of tires on the gravel outside sliding to a stop. I looked out the door at the plume of dust that was still settling behind the red pickup. Mom was out the door before me, though, and was waving a wooden spoon in her hand scolding our visitor. The girls followed me out the door. "Elizabeth Ann! Don't you come tearing in our drive like a hellion. There could have been children playing out there!" "Oh my god! I'm sorry! I didn't think. Did you bring your kids?" she asked looking at me. I shook my head. "But there could have been," Mom persisted. "Yes'm," Beth said contritely. Then she looked back at me, and, satisfied that she'd been properly humble with Mom, came running up the steps to me. "Pogo!" "Hi Dumpling," I said. "I want you to meet..." I never got the rest of the words out of my mouth. Beth dropped me like a hot potato and rushed to Melody and Lissa. They stood for a split second looking at each other and then fell into a hug that looked like they were long-lost friends who couldn't believe they'd found each other. "You. Are. So. Beautiful!" Well, that's the gist of what was said. I couldn't separate out which of the three girls was shouting it the loudest. I guessed that probably my presence was no longer required so I went inside with Mom. She handed me a stack of plates to set the table. "Is it okay if Beth stays for dinner?" I asked. "She's practically been camped out here all day waiting for you," Mom said. "If you don't set her a plate, she'll eat off of yours." ------- "So, Lissa," Dad said as we ate Mom's incredible pot roast, "a few friends and I were wondering if you and Tony would give us a racquetball exhibition tomorrow morning. The Y is only open till noon on the 4th and we have the barbecue in the afternoon, but it would mean a lot if you would show us how the game is supposed to be played." "Sure, Saul," Lissa said. "Anything for you." I rolled my eyes. "I hope no one considers Tony too much of a local hero, though," she continued, "because I'm going to spank his butt on the court tomorrow." I swear I heard Beth moan. I just hoped she meant she was going to beat me at racquetball. ------- "They're so beautiful, Pogo," Beth said as I walked her out to her truck after she said goodnight to everyone. "And so nice!" We'd been sitting in the family room for the past two hours. It seemed that everyone had a favorite embarrass-Tony story or ten that had to be told to girlfriends, best friends, and parents. "I think so, too," I said. "Dumpling, I know you had a different kind of summer planned, but..." "It was silly, Pogo. Forget about it. But..." "What?" "Could you still paint me? I've got an idea." She laid out the basics of her plan and I had to admit it was good. This was going to be a very good visit to Nebraska. ------- "Focus!" How many times had I heard that in the past three months? I'd let my mind wander to the crowd of 30 or 40 people outside the back glass of the court and another of Lissa's kill-shots had just sailed past me. Don't embarrass your girlfriend, I reminded myself. If I didn't play like I meant it, Lissa would be very upset. She might, indeed, spank my butt on the racquetball court, but not if I wasn't playing for real. I dropped the next shot just below her racquet and took over the serve. As soon as my hand closed around the smooth blue surface of the ball, something inside me clicked. I stroked the rubber ball with my thumb, thinking of all the great games I'd had this spring and especially of the one with Karl at National Singles. Just see where the ball will be, I thought. Forget about the walls. I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Lissa to make sure she was ready as I walked into the server's lane. She saw it and smiled. Now let's play racquetball. It really wasn't fair. She was playing on an unfamiliar court with borrowed equipment—my spares. I'd given her five points before I'd gotten my head in the game. But now we were playing at the level we were both capable of. I gained three of the five points back before the game was over. We took five and went right back at it like we'd never stopped. When you are playing racquetball and are truly in the game, time stops. The world stops. There's just where the ball is going to be. I no longer saw Lissa on the court, but just the source of the ball's trajectory. Every muscle ripple in her shoulders and legs keyed into what I was going to do next; where I was going to be; how I was going to hit the ball. When a player is in that zone, he's unbeatable. Unless his opponent is in the same zone. When I had time to think about it later, I realized that Lissa had stepped up a level in her game. She'd entered the zone she'd asked me to teach her. It was a 40-minute game and she took me by one point. We opened the door of the court to stagger out, with our arms wrapped around each other and applause from the gathered crowd. "Yay Lover!" Melody was shouting. Nice safe cheer. She was covered on all sides, though I could see a couple of people give her a strange look. We were drenched in sweat and I couldn't think of anything but a shower and a hot tub before the club closed. I had to introduce Lissa and Melody to a dozen people, though, including my art teacher, my racquetball instructor, half a dozen high school friends, and several of my dad's friends. Most, we'd see again in the afternoon, but everyone wanted to say hi and how much they'd enjoyed the game. The last person I expected to see was Rev. Larkin. He was the Lutheran minister in town about ten years ago, but he'd moved away to a big church in Omaha before I was in junior high. "Did you come all the way out here from Omaha?" I asked, shaking his hand. "Oh no. I moved back here when I retired at the first of the year. I think the Synod had enough of my heresies and put me out to pasture, but when I actually had a choice of where I wanted to live, Fremont was the place. And these are?" he asked. "Sorry!" I said. "These are my girlfriends, Lissa and Melody." Rev. Larkin didn't bat an eye. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "I hope we'll have a chance to chat at the barbecue this afternoon. I'm glad you are keeping Tony in line." "We do our best," Lissa said. "It takes both of us, though," Melody added. Okay. I was a little embarrassed. But you know what? I was fucking proud, too. I was never religious and didn't go to church more than the other CEOs—that's Christmas and Easter Only—but Rev. Larkin was a good guy and I was proud that I'd introduced him to my girlfriends without stumbling over it or being embarrassed. And he just accepted it. I hugged both girls to me and said that we'd see him this afternoon. Then we headed to the showers while we could. ------- Mom's idea of a little 4th of July barbecue amounted to about 30 people gathered in our backyard gabbing and eating for six hours. Many of the people who were watching the game in the morning were also at the barbecue. In addition to ribs, burgers, and dogs on the grill, Mom had baked apple, cherry, and rhubarb pies. Everyone who came brought food, too. It was a Midwestern spread that you can only dream about in Seattle. Baked beans, potato salad, deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, cobblers, pies, a cake, chips, coleslaw ... you name it. There was even the requisite green Jell-O salad with flecks of shredded carrot in it. By 4:00, the younger kids were all gathered around the ice cream makers, cranking the handle and stealing bits of rock salt to eat like candy. There were plenty of soft drinks and beer for the adults in ice chests, and even a bottle of wine or two. Of course, there was watermelon. You'd think all we had to do all day was eat. Well ... yeah. My girlfriends were in high demand and Beth stood guard around them so the few classmates who were at the gathering understood that they were strictly off-limits. Of course, we all had to show our jewelry to everyone. It didn't take long for people to understand what the triple-hearts on their necklaces meant. Folks just kind of nodded their heads and commented about how different things were these days. ------- We all had dishes of ice cream—I love that kind where Beth's mom freezes Heath Bars and then shatters them to toss into the cream before it's frozen—and were sitting in lawn chairs under the shade of the huge Elm tree in our backyard. Rev. Larkin came to sit beside us. He also examined the necklaces and then looked at the Celtic heart bracelet that I wore. It has a trefoil woven through the heart. "I was surprised when you said you'd retired," I said. "I never think of you as being any older than my folks." "Well, Tony, church politics are as divisive as national politics. The church is divided over the same issues and is still fighting battles that were resolved in the 60s. I just had enough of it. I wanted to return to a place out here where people were just people. I got a part-time job with the Chamber of Commerce." "From what Deborah told me, it sounds like you were a little controversial," Lissa said. "Oh, the fact that I was arrested twice in demonstrations in favor of gay marriage and economic equality might have shaped that opinion," Rev. Larkin laughed. "If I hadn't volunteered to retire, I suspect I'd have been encouraged." "I think it's great that you took a stand," I said. "I've never forgotten what you did for me." Neither Melody nor Lissa had heard the story, so I told them about the day I disappeared to draw by the creek and how the whole community had been looking for me. Rev. Larkin had been the only one who asked me what I was doing. When I showed him my sketchbook it was like he understood and smoothed everything out with my parents. "That's so cool," Melody said. "You know, he still zones out when he's drawing." "Speaking of which," Rev. Larkin said, "what do you have to show me? Certainly there are some new drawings you can share." We finished up our ice cream and after checking to make sure it was okay with Melody and Lissa, we took Rev. Larkin up to my room. I showed him my sketch books and then pulled the cover off the painting of Allison. He sat at the foot of my bed and seemed to be lost in the painting for a good five minutes. When he turned away from it, he saw the three of us hugging each other. He stood and came to face us. "You know, there is no official church or state sponsored unions that include three or more people," he said. "It's too bad. I know you don't have strong faith or a church background, Tony. I don't know your backgrounds at all," he said, looking at Lissa and then Melody. They didn't volunteer any information. He took each of our hands together in his. "Well, just know this. God blesses love and when you love one another, God is there. May God under any guise that you recognize him ... or her ... bless your love and your lives together." He smiled at us and left the room. I looked at my lovers and we joined in a kiss. Our own amen." ------- Melody and Lissa were learning first-hand about hot Nebraska summers. They hadn't expected to suffer the heat in heavy blue jeans, but I think they were thankful for them as I led them through the cornfield toward a woodlot nearly half a mile away. "Knee-high by the 4th of July" is an old saw, but with fast-growing hybrids, fertilizer, and fair weather, the farmers around here would have been worried if the corn was only up to their knees this week. The sharp bladed leaves of the plants scraped and cut along our jeans and unprotected arms as we made our way through rows of corn that Melody could barely see over. They hadn't believed me when I told them that at night they could lie in a cornfield and listen to it growing. Not until we did it last night. Then we let the cornfield listen to us. "Are we there yet?" Melody whined. In the four days it took us to drive from Boston to Nebraska, Melody had tried out the role of plaintive child. It always fell apart, though, when she finished the statement with, "I'm horny." "Sweetheart, you've got to think of it like city blocks," I answered, trying my best to sound like a patient parent. "I don't see any sidewalks out here," Lissa laughed. "The corn rows are our streets," I said. "There's eight city blocks in a mile. The woods are only half a mile from the road, so just four blocks. It's like walking to Nordstrom's." "Are we going shopping?" Melody asked brightly. "No. We're going painting ... in one of the most beautiful places in the Midwest," I answered. "And I have a surprise for you when we get there." In fact, while Mom had the girls occupied for an hour at the barbecue yesterday, I'd stolen away long enough to solidify the plan for this morning. When we passed through the fence-row and into the trees, there was a noticeable change in temperature. We'd all worked up a sweat and the break in the heat was a welcome relief. I knew they were going to want to get naked in the stream soon, and I could hardly wait. "Just a little ways, now," I said, leading them down the worn trail. "Please don't leave us out here," Lissa said. "We'd never find our way back." "I wouldn't dream of it, darling," I promised. "Wait. Do you hear it?" I held up a hand and we stopped to listen, calming our breathing so we could hear the burble of a stream running through the woods. A bobwhite sang at the edge of the woods and a squirrel chattered for a minute then gave up its scolding at our imagined intrusion. I motioned them forward and moments later we came to the edge of the little stream. Spring had been wet in Nebraska, so there was plenty of water in the shallow pool the stream flowed through. Later in the summer, it would barely be a rivulet as everything dried up. The girls gasped when they saw it, but their eyes were immediately drawn to the rock out in the middle of the narrow basin. On it was perched a vision of loveliness in a halter top and rolled up jeans, her feet gently kicking at the water. "You can still find it," Beth said. "You are a goddess," Melody said as she sat on the ground to take her shoes and socks off. Lissa was right beside her. I shed my backpack full of art supplies, but just stood there watching the excited girls roll up their pants legs and wade into the water. "Try a Grace," I suggested. "What?" Lissa asked. "Which of the fairest three To-day will ride with me? My steeds are all pawing at the threshold of the morn: Which of the fairest three To-day will ride with me? Across the gold Autumn's whole Kingdom of corn?" I quoted. As I knew she would, Beth responded. "I will, I - I - I young Apollo let me fly Along with thee, I will, I - I - I, The many wonders see I - I - I - I And thy lyre shall never have a slacked string I, I, I, I, Thro' thy golden day will sing." "That's beautiful. What is it?" Lissa asked. "A verse to Apollo and the Three Graces by John Keats," I answered. "We had to memorize it in high school. I thought this setting with the three of you would be a great place to do my own painting of The Three Graces." "Ooh. Do we get to be naked in the water?" Melody giggled. "I hope so," Beth said. "That's the only reason I agreed to do it." "Hey, wait a minute..." I started. "Okay. I confess. I suggested it. If you two are willing, I mean," Beth amended. "Mmmm." Lissa hummed when she'd waded to the rock and given Beth a kiss on the cheek. "My only question is, 'why did you want Melody and me here with you?' You know we're okay with Tony painting you." Beth was my best friend all through high school. In fact, we'd been friends since first grade. She was a short, plump girl who just happened to be the smartest kid in school. In her speech as valedictorian of our class, she told everyone that we would surprise each other with what we would become. Well, she certainly surprised me. She'd changed dramatically from when we left for college. She'd shed uncounted pounds and was a real dish. And the first night we were both back in Nebraska, she'd declared that she'd saved herself for me and wanted me to take her virginity. That created a few awkward moments while I explained about my girlfriends and we got them on the phone. Dumpling—my pet name for her—had given me a searing kiss that night after talking to Melody and Lissa for an hour. She said she'd decided to wait a while, but she still wanted me to paint her. The subject, the setting, and the participants were all her idea. "After I saw that other painting that Tony did—Allison?—I realized that you two were going to be in any painting he did of me. I think she knew you were there when Tony painted her. I just decided to make it explicit. Besides..." Beth took a deep breath but didn't go on. Melody came up on her other side and kissed her cheek like Lissa had. "Besides what?" "Oh, you'll think I'm terrible. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." "Dumpling," I said, finally wading into the water myself. I went right up to her and kissed her on the lips so she'd know we were all here and in the open. "You've been my friend for as long as I can remember. Why would you ever imagine I'd think you were terrible?" Beth reached her finger up and touched her lips where I had. Then she leaned over and softly kissed Melody. When they parted she turned and kissed a smiling Lissa. "I've been so selfish," she finally went on. "You were so nice to me on the phone and then Sunday night when you got here. I felt so comfy with you at the barbecue yesterday. And I ... I..." She hesitated again. "I-I-I-I, Through thy golden day will sing," I chanted. "I like seeing naked girls," she burst out. We were shocked silent for a second then all three burst out laughing. "That makes four of us, I think," I said. "What's wrong with that?" "But they're your girls and I wasn't thinking pure thoughts," she said, laughter breaking through her own remorse. Melody and Lissa looked at each other, grinning. In one fluid move, both girls stripped off their t-shirts and stood proudly in front of Beth. "Happy?" Melody asked. She nudged me and I pulled my shirt off, too. Now the only one wearing a top, Beth worked her mouth open and closed a couple of times and then unleashed two of the biggest breasts I'd ever seen. She'd lost weight all right, but none of it seemed to come off of her bosom. I was amazed that she could carry around so much weight up top on her tiny five-foot frame and not topple over. "Wow!" I know I said it, but it sounded like a chorus to me. Melody and Lissa smooshed themselves into Beth in a hug of amazing proportions while I waded out of the stream with the four tops and dropped them on my pack. "Now that we've got that out of the way," I said, "maybe we can get some posing and sketching done." ------- I thought about talking the girls into losing their jeans, but it was cute the way they were wading in the creek with their pants legs rolled up. They continued to cluster around the rock where Beth sat and I figured that would be as good a setting as any. I got my sketchbook set and then plugged my mp3 player into a tiny speaker I'd seen advertised on late night TV a couple of weeks ago. It filled the clearing with an eerie note of flute music. "Shakuhachi!" Beth shouted. "Beautiful. A flute?" Melody asked. "Japanese Bamboo Flute," I answered. "There's a few cuts of new age flute music, too. I wanted something we could all hear and that wouldn't sound out of place here." "I expected you to put on your headset," Lissa said. "Are you going to be able to work without closing everything out?" "It's something I discovered when I drew Ally," I said as I ripped through a couple of warm-up sketches. "She wanted to hear the music, too, and it affected the way she posed." "I'll say," Beth joined in. "I was absolutely knocked out by that painting. I started crying as soon as I saw it." "Well, remember that I did the painting in isolation, and yes, I was plugged in when I did it. I only did the sketches when we were together. Like today. It's hard to do a good painting in the wild." "How do you want us to pose?" "Beth, stay on the rock, but can you tuck your left leg up under you? The Graces are happy characters—goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, creativity, and um..." I paused. All three girls looked at me questioningly. "And... ?" "Um ... and fertility, I guess." I don't know why that made me embarrassed. But it was so much more intimate-sounding than the other characteristics. "No big bellies today, okay?" Beth asked. "It took me all year to lose mine." "Right. Okay, here's who you are. Lissa, you're Aglaea which means 'Splendor.' Beth, you get to be Thalia. That means 'Good Cheer.' And Melody, my bubbly darling, you get to be Euphrosyne, goddess of mirth." "Wooo!" Melody laughed. She scooped up a bit of water from the creek and flicked it at the other two girls. They jumped and if I hadn't calmed them down, there'd have been a water fight in about two seconds. Fine, but maybe later. "Wait!" I commanded. "Melody, that's the pose I want. With you leaning in to flick water at the others. But you don't need to do it again until just before I finish. Lissa, turn to look at me a little. Lips apart, a little surprised. Nice. Beth, you're the surprise. Lift your chin. Lean in to Lissa to kiss her cheek. Nice. Nice. Can you hold it?" I quickly snapped a couple of reference photos on my camera. "I don't mind this," Beth said. I watched as she let her lips glide across Lissa's cheek. Sexy as hell. "No wonder I'm splashing you two," Melody pouted. "When do I get a kiss?" "Oh you beautiful goddess," Beth said. "Anytime you want." She turned quickly out of her pose and put a kiss on the tip of Melody's nose, then snapped back into position. Hey! Was my best friend putting the make on my girlfriends? Hmmm. Did I mind? It took me all of three seconds to process that information and decide that I didn't mind at all. The three girls chattered about everything from the weather to school to clothing as I sketched and the music filled the woods around us. One of the characteristics of the classic paintings of the three graces by Rubens and Raphael is that one of them always has her back to the artist. Frankly, my three were all too beautiful to hide. Lissa's unbelievable body has always captivated me, but I could get lost just looking at her face. The way Beth had to stretch up just a little to kiss Lissa tightened and lifted her chest. She developed that chest when she was chubby. Now that the rest of her body was slim, her breasts sagged down a bit when they weren't being supported. But stretching did amazing things and her nipples were surprisingly small and erect, perched on top of the mounds. I asked Melody to shift in just a little closer, which pushed her right breast into Beth's left. Every once in a while I could see one or the other of the two girls shift just enough to let their breasts rub together and cause their nipples to stand out even more. "My feet are getting cold," Lissa said after a while. They'd been standing in the water for about 45 minutes and I had a pretty good sketch. "Okay. Melody, now." On command, she dipped her fingers into the water and splashed the other two. I took a quick mental photo of the water and ducked my head to the drawing as the girls' pose broke down into laughter. They each got a good splash at each other before they waded out of the creek. We'd brought a couple of blankets and spread them out on the ground. The girls dried their feet and flopped out as I put away the sketching materials. When I looked back at them, Lissa was truly kissing Beth as Beth's back arched up pushing a nipple into Melody's mouth. I know how much Melody loves breasts. Her favorite position while we are making love together usually includes having one of Lissa's nipples in her mouth. It was quickly apparent that Beth liked it, too. "You guys!" Beth said as she broke from the kiss and started to sit up. "I didn't come out here to get all involved with Tony's girlfriends." "We know. You want Tony," Melody said. "But you're so luscious. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." "That's not it," Beth moaned. "I love it. I mean I really love it. Can we just cuddle a little bit? I need to tell you all something. I haven't been very honest." I stretched out behind Lissa and reached my hand across to Melody so that we were all four connected together. "Dumpling, you can tell us whatever you want. Now that Mel and Liss are here with me, I'm not quite as uptight as I was when we were alone. I don't know if I can give you what you really want, but we'll all be here for you." "That's just it, Tony. You were always there for me. That's why I thought I could take advantage of you at the party. I was on a mission." "That's understandable," Lissa said. "I remember when I went after Jack. He'd protected me and guided me for five years as and I was determined that he was going to be more than my guardian. I was on a mission and he didn't stand a chance." We all laughed. "Tony and I were never romantically involved," Beth said. "I'm not sure either of us even considered the boy and girl part of our relationship. We were always just friends." "More than just friends," I responded. "We've always been best friends." "Right. Brilliant social outcasts and best friends. But I couldn't wait to get away from here. I was going to reinvent myself. Lose weight. Get a boyfriend. Show all those guys back here what they missed." "You certainly did that!" I said. "Remember the volleyball game? None of the guys could play worth a damn because they were all looking at you." "More than anything else, all I wanted to do was snub them," Beth explained. "All but you. I thought ... I thought I could use you. I'm sorry." "Hey, any guy but Tony would have jumped at the chance to jump you," Melody said. "You weren't counting on the fact that we already had our greedy little talons into him." "That's just it. And I don't think your talons are greedy at all," Beth continued. "I came home thinking I could just kiss Tony and he'd fall back with a hard-on and take my cherry, then I could go back to my girlfriend." "What?? Your what?" I was knocked out. Beth had a girlfriend? She'd never said anything about that. "It was no accident that I chose to go to an all-girls college. I already knew who I fantasized about in high school and it wasn't a football player. It really didn't take me long after I got to college to hook up with Barbara. It started with studying together and then long talks instead of studying and then little touches and ... well, you get the idea. We were a couple by Halloween." "You never said anything in all your text messages about a girlfriend," I said. "We must have had a hundred messages a week during September and October." "But it was getting less and less. Neither of us came home for Thanksgiving and I went straight to Hawaii for my Christmas break. I didn't want anyone here see me before my freshman transformation was complete. Barbara and I worked out and dieted together. I'd started losing weight already during the summer and she kept me on-track. But there was always an obstacle between us." "Let me guess," Lissa said. "I saw these kinds of relationships develop among the models when I was on the road. You thought you were with each other just because you couldn't trust or get a man." "That's kind of it," Beth admitted. "Specifically, Barbara thought I was only with her because I thought no man would have me. And when I turned out to have a good body and tits that every guy wants to play with, she was afraid that I'd leave her as soon as a guy paid attention to me. So she broke up with me when the term ended." "Oh, Dumpling! That's terrible," I said. I was close enough that I could stroke her bare back with my right hand and she didn't seem to mind a bit. "I thought that if I came home and got good old trusty friend Tony to fuck me, then I could go back to school in the fall and tell her that I'd had a boy and now I'm sure I want her. I'm sorry, Tony. I wasn't considering your feelings at all. I wasn't thinking that you might not be a virgin anymore. And I wasn't thinking that you might be hurt by me using you like that. I figured, hey, he's never had a girl. We'll fuck and I'll leave, or at worst, we'll have a summer fling and then go our separate ways. I'm sorry." There was a shifting of positions. I've never been able to figure out exactly how we do this, even when it's just the three of us. We just slide over each other and suddenly a different person is in the middle. Since none of us had put our shirts back on, the sliding was particularly delicious. Anyway, when it ended up, Melody and I had Beth sandwiched between us, just holding her and Lissa was draped mostly over Melody with her hand wrapped around Beth's bare waist. I kissed my old friend on the cheek and she turned to capture my lips in a deep and soulful kiss. "It's still okay," Melody said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. You've been friends with Tony for years and Lissa and I are just catching up. We'll all do anything that friends can do for a friend." Beth turned those lovely lips on Melody and I could see their hearts accelerating. I swear I was just reaching to feel their heartbeats when I found my hand cupping Beth's breast. She moaned as she turned back to me and glanced down at my hand. "Tony..." "If you still want to make love, we can," I said. "But you don't have to. And you don't have to worry about what any of us will think." "And if you want to make love out here in this beautiful setting, but just want us girls, that's all right, too. Right, Tony?" Lissa said. I nodded. "Wait. Have sex with the two of you and not with Tony?" Beth asked. "How would that work? I mean, Tony you'd have to..." "Don't worry," Melody giggled. "Someone here would take care of Tony." ------- There was more talk. More cuddling. More kissing. More impossible flowing from one position to another. Someplace in the action, we lost the rest of our clothes. Beth was overwhelmed with our loving. She found a blonde head and a redhead each between her legs bringing her to two delicious orgasms. She returned the favors in kind and, while she ate Melody, she let my fingers bring her to another climax. As I lay on my back with Lissa gliding on my cock, Melody held Beth and Beth simply held my balls, feeling them pulse as I came inside my lover. We rushed back into the creek to wash the sweat off and the girls got into a splashing fest. I scrambled out of the water and took half a dozen quick photos of the three having fun. I began to rework my drawing in my head. Why did everything have to be so classical? The three graces were about fun. We were dry and pulling our clothes together when Beth came up to me and laid another hot kiss on my lips and tongue. As she did, she stroked my cock and felt it grow in her hand. When I was fully erect—which didn't take long—she gave it a squeeze and broke our kiss. "I'm not saying never," Beth said as she looked into my eyes. "I'm just not ready now. Thank you for being the best friend on earth." We hugged each other tightly and soon Melody and Lissa had us sandwiched between them in a group hug. My erection was delightfully pressed against Beth's stomach. We all pulled back to get dressed and Beth took one last look at my cock before I tucked it into my shorts. "You know, I can definitely see the attraction," she said. We all laughed and headed back down the rows of corn to civilization. ------- Chapter 2 It was Saturday at 2:15 p.m. when we pulled up in front of Lissa's house after four days of travel. We were home. As much as we liked stopping to fool around, by the time we'd gotten to Nebraska, we'd decided it was a big country and we wanted to get as many miles in each day as we could and still be able to make camp for the night. So the trip from Nebraska to Seattle had taken three-and-a-half days, towing a damn U-Haul trailer behind us. We'd made it to Rapid City, South Dakota on Wednesday night after an early start and a long drive. Thursday, we'd taken a detour to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, which meant we didn't make it nearly as far on our second day out. But it was worth it. We only made it to Sheridan, Wyoming by Thursday night, but we pushed hard on Friday and got to the big city of Wallace, Idaho. I sprang for a cheap motel that night and we fell into an exhausted sleep. We'd all taken turns driving Friday and only stopped to trade off drivers every couple hours or when food or gas was needed. We were all pretty excited to make the last 350 miles into Seattle and were up earlier than we'd been any day so far. Picking up an hour time change brought us in early in the afternoon—tired, but happy to be home. "Tony? Why are you parking on the street? We need to unload the car and trailer," Lissa said when I turned the car off. "Yeah. That's just it. I haven't backed up this trailer since that awful morning in Wyoming," I said. I'm so tired, I don't think I could get it out of the driveway if I pulled in." "Poor baby," Melody said. "Let's go in and make a cup of coffee. Then we can start unloading." I grinned at my two ... That was funny. I couldn't think of either of them as girlfriends anymore. We'd passed that stage. We couldn't get married—all three of us. They were just beginning to accept gay marriage in this state. It would still be a few centuries before they got around to polygamy. But these were my wives. There wasn't any other way I could think of them. I'd made a lifelong commitment to them. In fact, they were my life. I rushed up to the door to prevent anyone from entering as Lissa unlocked the door. "Wait," I said. "Don't go in. I'd like to propose something." "Sure Tony," Lissa said. "What is it?" "Remember when Rev. Larkin blessed us in my room back in Nebraska?" I asked. "That was so sweet," Melody said. Lissa nodded. She was already grinning. "I'd like to propose that we mark July 4 as our official anniversary. I know there were first dates and first time we made love and first time we were all together, and when we gave each other jewelry. But I'd like a real anniversary for when we were all three..." " ... committed," Lissa supplied. "Well, being committed sounds strange. When we were blessed." It was my turn to smile. I was afraid I was off in my own fantasy world for a minute, but I could see by their expressions that we were all on the same page. "That means that we're..." Melody started, but she couldn't finish the sentence either. None of us wanted to use the word. "Wife Lissa," I started. "Would you mind holding the door open for a moment?" Tears were running down Lissa's face amidst her laughter as she pushed the door inward, but stayed outside as I picked up Melody in my arms and carried her across the threshold. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Melody shouted and began dancing in the foyer when I put her down. Have I mentioned that Melody dances when she's excited? I stepped back outside to get Lissa, but to my surprise she scooped me up in her arms before I could get in position. Well ... in her arms might be the wrong way to say it. She kind of threw me over her shoulder and hauled me inside before I could say anything. We turned to pull Melody into a kiss and discovered the little minx was outside again. She crooked her finger at Lissa. Melody's method was just to wrap her arms around Lissa's butt and lift her straight up as she struggled into the house. We were all laughing and crying at the same time as we fell together for a kiss. ------- With a cup of long-missed Seattle coffee refreshing us, we fell to work unloading the car and just dragging everything to the lower level studio. We hadn't made any plan for where we would put things or how we were organizing our lives. We just needed to get the trailer empty so I could get it to the local U-Haul station. We were about two-thirds done when Lissa's car pulled into the driveway with Kate at the wheel. She'd been house-sitting for Lissa while we were on the road. Before we could reach her, she had the back door open and was releasing two wild boys. We were attacked by Drew and Damon. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life. Okay. I exaggerate a little. I was just as happy to see Lissa ... and Melody ... and Kate. "I told Jack I'd bring the boys back here with me today since I knew they'd want to see you as soon as you got home," Kate said. Lissa and Melody both kissed Kate thank you before I got to her, a boy on either of my hips. It was a light, but sweet kiss and she looked at me with a smile on her face that just knocked my socks off. With an extra pair-and-a-half of hands, we finished unloading the car before the pizzas arrived. I know ... how do you get half a pair of hands out of this combination. A Saulism: "One boy's a boy; two boys are half a boy; three boys are no boy at all." I'd heard it anytime I got together with other boys when I was growing up. So, we had the extra pair of hands from Kate and half a pair from Drew and Damon combined. It might have taken us longer than if we'd just kept unloading by ourselves, but it was twice as much fun as we laughed together. We sat around. We told about our trip and the parties in Boston and Nebraska. We showed the boys pictures of Crazy Horse Memorial and gave them presents from the gift shop. Sioux drums. They were still being beaten after the boys were ready for bed. They went for a little quiet time while the four of us sat in the living room. Kate was near me on the sofa, so I turned to her after winking to Lissa and Melody. "Kate," I said, "I understand I owe you for taking care of Melody and the boys while Lissa was sick. I can't tell you how much I appreciate what a big help you've been." I reached over and drew her to me. She looked up at me, startled. Her eyes went wide open when I pressed my lips against hers, then they drifted closed as she melted into the kiss. "Oh, that was nice," she said. "Thank you. Oh! But Melody and Lissa already gave me a kiss from you for babysitting." "I always pay my own debts. You'll have to give theirs back," I said, grinning. The smile that split Kate's face was delighted, but she didn't move. I could see wheels turning in her head. She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I'm a little short right now. Could I borrow one? I promise to pay you back." I turned and kissed Kate again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Melody kiss Lissa with just as much fervor, so I relaxed and fully enjoyed my moment with Kate. When we pulled away from each other, both of us had glassy eyes. Kate gave me a little hug and then turned to Lissa. "I guess I owe you this," she whispered. Strictly speaking as an outside observer, I think she gave more to Lissa than she borrowed from me. She'd barely finished blowing Lissa's socks off when she doubled down on Melody. My mouth was watering. "You'll stay tonight, won't you, Kate?" Lissa asked. "Tomorrow's not a work day and we'd love to have you." "Uh ... maybe not tonight. I've been here for the past week and I should really go home and check on my plants. I'll just go catch a bus." "Nonsense," I said. "I still have to go return the trailer. I can take you home." "Absolutely," Lissa affirmed. "If we can't keep you here, we certainly aren't going to let you go catch a bus." "Where are you living this summer?" I asked. "I'm staying at the dorm," Kate said. "It's cheap and I'm comfortable there. I've got a room to myself, which is better than I'll have this fall. It's almost as private as living here the past week has been. I'll just go get my bag." Kate got her bag and I kissed the boys goodnight as I was pretty sure they'd be asleep cuddled up to Melody and Lissa before I got home. We left and I carefully maneuvered the trailer to the local gas station that doubled as a U-Haul agency. "Nice car," Kate said. "My dad gave it to me as an early birthday present. He said I needed a family car." "That's sweet. When's your birthday?" "September 18th." "No." "Yeah." "We're birthday twins." "Oh, I knew there was some reason I liked you. How perfect is that?" I pulled up in front of the dormitory. Kate hesitated before she got out of the car. "Tony?" "What is it, Kitten?" "That makes me purr." We laughed. "I ... uh ... said I'd pay you back." Kate leaned across the console and laid a hand against my cheek, pulling me toward her. Her kiss was the same soft, tentative kiss that I'd experienced first before the party weeks ago. It was sweet and lingering and, as she didn't seem in a rush to move on, I let it deepen and hold us together. Yeah. I got paid back. With interest. "'Night." With that she was gone. ------- Ah, summer vacation! You'd think that we'd just lie around all day every day and make love. We all got a quick dose of exactly what it was like to be in a fulltime committed relationship—with kids. I don't think any of us were ready for it. There was a household to run, kids to take care of, jobs to go to, school to get registered for, training schedules to coordinate, meals to cook, a yard to mow, and general sorting out of who was responsible for what. Monday night we all sank into bed and went to sleep. It may have been the first time that we'd all been together in bed and didn't make love. And we were all too tired to notice. Lissa was experienced at the whole working mother thing. She'd had a job for years and Damon was almost seven years old. She knew that things never let up. But even she thought things were going to be easier with three of us sharing the responsibilities. Instead, it seemed like three times the work. Tuesday was more of the same. Lissa was tense because she had to present the new fall fashion line the next day. I was trying to work out training schedules at the club and figure out how we were going to get Lissa ready for Opens when she needed to visit stores three days a week. Melody was contributing by taking extra shifts with the boys and making meals. We barely spoke to each other until the boys were in bed—my part of the new routine. We slept like logs. Wednesday, Lissa dropped Melody and the boys off at a park and I was planning to go over to SCU to work on my class schedule. I was anxious to get started on the painting of the three Graces, though, and spent a good part of the day doing more sketches from memory and from my photo references. So I never made it to the school. This was going to be unique, and a departure from my normal romantic style with lots of drapery. Getting outdoors had been good for me and being with Lissa, Melody, and Beth together had been an incredible fantasy trip. Capturing that woodland mystique was turning out great. Wednesday night, after I'd read to the boys and got them settled in bed, I was feeling better than I had the past couple days. Drawing energizes me. I had a handle on this being a family man and I was ready to share it with my lovers. I found them together on the deck and was surprised to see that they both had glasses of wine. That was the first clue. I should have noticed. I walked out and sat next to Lissa, put my arm around her, and reached over for a kiss. Her lips weren't there. I caught the back of her head as she turned away. That was the second clue. I should have noticed. Melody was sitting on the other side of Lissa, staring out into space. I could see the track of a tear on her cheek. I looked more closely and there was a tear dripping from Lissa's eye as well. The third clue. Oh shit! "Lovers? What's going on? What's wrong?" I asked. My heart sped up to a thousand beats a minute and I could hear every one of them in my ears—so loudly that I thought I might miss what was said. But it came through loud and clear. "It's not working," Lissa said softly. "What's not working?" I asked. "We're just getting the hang of it." "Where were you today?" Melody asked. "Most of the day I was right here. You should see the new sketches..." Wrong thing to say. "You were sketching when you said you'd pick up the boys and Melody at the park in time for lunch?" Lissa asked. Oh double-shit! "Oh no. I completely spaced it out. When I came upstairs, everyone was here and having a good time. I never realized that I missed the pickup time. But you were all okay," I said lamely. "You didn't answer your phone all day," Melody said. "I finally had to call Lissa because the boys were so hungry they were fighting." "I was in a presentation on the fall fashion line," Lissa picked up. "Tony, we depended on you." "I'm sorry." "Sorry isn't enough," Melody spat at me. Oh man. They were really, really mad. "It's not going to work if we can't depend on each other," Lissa said. "I could have made other arrangements if you hadn't agreed to do it. We aren't your priority, though." "I just forgot." "You have to get past that, Tony. You can't just forget when you've got kids ... and wives ... depending on you." Now I was crying. And it wasn't the single tear escaping down my cheek. It was a torrent that blinded me. It was catching. All three of us were sobbing. I felt Lissa's hand on my chin turning me to face her. "I'm not going to be your mother, Tony," she said. "Either of you." Melody really burst into fresh tears and Lissa stood up to walk back in the house. "No, no! Please, Lissa. Please don't walk away from us!" I screamed. She stopped with her hand on the door. I thought she was going to ignore me. I stood up, but wasn't as fast as Melody who jumped to Lissa and had her wrapped in her arms before I could get across the deck. "Please don't throw away what we have because I fucked up, Lissa," I begged as I put my arms around both my wives. "I know I'm not as responsible as I should be. I know I have trouble with appointments and schedules. But I know I can do better. I showed it last spring. I can get better." "You hurt Melody, too," Lissa said. "You need to recognize that." "Wait," Melody broke in. "Lissa, you can only deal with your anger. You can't speak for me, too. I won't take sides between the two of you." "But Melody," I said. "I did hurt you. I forgot you. I'm so sorry." "I know you forgot me. But I won't break up our family over it. Lissa, if you really want out you have to know you're breaking up all of us. You can't use me as an excuse. You made your point. Now are you willing to work it out or are you just throwing us away? Maturity is a two-way street." The wail that broke out came from Lissa's heart. In an instant, Melody and I were supporting her weight as she collapsed. I picked her up and Melody opened the door so we could go in. I carried her straight to the bed because that was where we could all be together. Melody and I just clutched Lissa to us as we held onto each other until her sobs finally subsided enough for her to become coherent. "They said I was acting like a school-child instead of a professional," Lissa sobbed. "When I left, they threatened to fire me and told me that was what getting involved with kids would do to me. They accused me of neglecting my job and jeopardizing our profitability." "The bastards!" I shouted. "What kind of place is it that you work in?" "I don't. I quit." There was the bomb. I'd triggered a chain reaction when I forgot to pick-up Melody and the boys. She called Lissa. Lissa's bosses got upset. Lissa quit her job. It was all my fault. How was I ever going to make this up? "I'm sorry," Lissa said. "I made it all sound like your fault. I carried around all that anger and didn't tell anyone. And I just let it loose on you two. I hate them. I'm 26 years old and have already failed at two careers. What am I going to do?" "We'll figure it out," I said. "Together," Melody added. "We can't expect that things will always be perfect, and just because you worked for bastards doesn't make your career a failure," I comforted her. "But I let you all down," Lissa said. I raised my eyebrow at Melody. No, it was me who let everyone down. What the hell was Lissa talking about. "I'm the only wage-earner in the family," she continued. "I quit my job. I've heard all their ranting before, but I just let it get to me and then I blamed you. Christ! People have to leave work to tend to their children all the time. It's not like I'd never done it before. You put up with the ridiculous shit they give you because you need the work and have a family and because you know they can't fire you for your performance. But I yelled back at them and told them children were part of the deal when I came to work for them and that if they were changing the deal, then I quit. I threw away my job and then blamed you. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry." We held each other in silence, broken only by the occasional sniffle. Life is so overwhelming sometimes. "Lissa," I whispered, "would things be better without us?" We were quiet a long time before she answered, Melody looking mournfully at me for even suggesting such a thing. "I'm unemployed," she began. "That's hard. But I have love and support, even when I'm not being lovable. I have a precious gift I never thought I'd know. If it weren't for you, I'd be unemployed, alone, and miserable. I don't think that would make it easier." ------- The mysterious "they" that they are always talking about say there's nothing like makeup sex. Bullshit. Makeup sex is painful. Every tender caress is a reminder that you failed your loved ones. Every trembling kiss threatens to erupt in tears. Every assurance that you whisper falls on ears that are afraid to hear it—afraid they've gone too far to be forgiven. Fear turned to desperation and we clutched at each other trying to bring our partners to fulfillment—that irrational act that says that maybe I failed but I can still make you come. We tried. We tried to express our pleasure in the actions of each other, but we were so caught up in trying to make up to our partners that we stuttered our orgasms—relieved to get them out at all, because now, at last, we could escape to sleep. ------- Lissa was asleep between Melody and me when I woke up about three in the morning. I thought at first that I woke up because I needed to pee, but it dawned on me that I had a painful erection. It was helped along by the fact that Lissa had it gripped tightly in her hand. I shifted a little and tried to dislodge her, but I woke her up doing it. "Oh! Sorry, love," Lissa whispered. "Was I hurting?" "A little. It's okay." "You're really hard." "I just woke up that way." Her lips closed on mine, then opened to let our tongues dance together, lightly touching and retreating. She never let go of my cock. I didn't soften. "I'm so frightened, Tony," she whispered. "I don't know what came over me." "It's okay. We all contributed and we'll make it back to each other." "Love me, Tony. Love me, please." I moved over her and she guided me to her opening while we continued to kiss. She rubbed the head of my cock up and down her slit, over her clit, spreading the dampness and the copious amount of precum that I was leaking. Then she held me ready and I pushed in. I watched her eyes as we moved together. Her intensity in this quiet love-making was as fierce as the flare of her anger had been a few hours ago. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Melody looking at us. She slid closer to us and laid her head on Lissa's shoulder as we continued to build at an agonizingly slow pace. I saw Lissa's arm wrap around Melody's shoulders and pull her tighter as I bent my head to kiss my second lover. Then Melody raised her head and Lissa kissed her. I kept up slow long strokes as the three of us held each other. I felt Melody's hand slide off my shoulder and wedge in between Lissa and me. I raised myself up to give her better access and could feel her fingers moving against Lissa's clit, brushing up against my cock as I pushed in. Lissa felt it, too, and her pace quickened involuntarily. Her breathing deepened and her breasts rose more sharply into the air, begging to be kissed. Melody and I were inspired at the same time and each attached our lips to one of Lissa's nipples. I bit lightly and an explosion of breath left Lissa as she cried out. Her inner muscles rippled around my cock and there was no way for me to stop my climax from joining hers. I lowered myself slowly to give time for Melody to withdraw her hand before I collapsed on Lissa, but she chose to keep it buried between us. I supported most of my weight on my right elbow so I wouldn't crush my lovers, but wrapped my left arm around Melody and joined hands there with Lissa, holding our younger wife to us. Our breathing began to even out as I felt my cock shrink and slide from Lissa's depths. Her eyes were closed and there was a smile playing lightly on her lips. I let myself sink to my side, lying with my left leg still over hers. When I awoke with the sunrise, we were still in the same position. ------- Melody and the boys dropped me off at the club and headed out for a day at the zoo. After we talked over breakfast, Lissa decided she needed professional advice and went to see Jack. The plan was for her to pick me up at PCAD around noon and we'd meet the rest of the family at the zoo for lunch. I worked out with my trainer for an hour and then hit the court for another hour before getting showered and walking over to the SCU first. Today, I had to decide what I was studying. "Well, Tony," Sam said, "I'm not surprised with your choice, but I do wish you'd consider Exercise Science. You're a natural athlete and it seems a shame to have you wasted on English Literature." "I'd consider it," I laughed, "if it weren't for the fact that I hate jocks. I could be a great athletic trainer if I didn't have to deal with athletes." We both laughed. The truth is I did consider majoring in Exercise Science. Sam had been lobbying pretty hard for it. It was interesting. I just didn't see a future for myself in that field. Nonetheless, I'd enrolled in a Human Anatomy course to fulfill my core science requirement this fall and my one English class was a departmental requirement that didn't actually count toward my major. The rest of my first year requirements had been fulfilled with my AP classes in English and Math. So I had an easy sophomore standing at both SCU and at PCAD. Next year, I'd have to do some requirements for my major in Art and Literary Criticism and I'd probably have fewer classes at PCAD and more at SCU. It was confusing at best. The unfortunate part about the schedule was that Anatomy met three days a week at 7:50 a.m. It was going to be hell. My Research Paper class would meet on Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 but it was a hybrid class and there would be just as much online and library work on my own schedule. Who made up these schedules? Mostly, PCAD made freshmen get up early for classes and sophomores rarely had a class before ten. I would have two studio classes at PCAD—one in painting and one in sculpture—at Prof McIntire's suggestion. That meant I was going to have a bunch of projects to do in each of the three credit classes. My second year Liberal Arts requirement was Art Criticism. That was going to be a challenge since I was going to have to stay awake through Bychkova's lectures again. At least the four-credit Art Crit class wasn't first thing in the morning. So all told, I'd be taking ten semester credits at PCAD and seven quarter credits at SCU. I'd barely survived 15 last year. I was convinced that I was crazy. I left Coach Sam's office and made my way out of the athletic building and straight into some kind of campus rally. It was the middle of July and still there were about a hundred people out on the athletic field. I wandered toward it to see what was going on. After all, I reasoned, this was going to be my campus in the fall. I should be aware of what was happening. Awareness. When it came down to it that was my one goal for the year. When I zone out while I'm painting, that's one thing. But I couldn't really remember anything of my first term at PCAD last year—in fact, nothing before Melody reached into my heart and pulled me into life. I knew there were campus events, plays, concerts, politics ... all kinds of things happening while I sank deeper into my darkness. This year I swore I'd be aware of my surroundings and of other people. First and foremost, that meant my family, but it also meant being aware of my environment and taking advantage of the opportunities available to college students. " ... one hundred people in each of four camps in the Seattle area. They live in tents, people. They don't have running water and electricity. They aren't there because they are lazy. They've had homes repossessed. They're victims of illness and injury. Yes, some of them are transients. Our society has all kinds of people. They don't need handouts, but they do need our help." I'd heard about the tent cities in this area. Homeless people who camped together for safety. They were moved out of various underpasses and then the local churches got involved and invited them to stay for three months at a time on their property. "This field where we are standing is empty in the winter months. What student wants to come out and play soccer when it's raining?" The speaker continued. "For the last three months of the year, the student government has proposed that we invite Tent City 3 to occupy our sports field. We want to reach out our hands and help the homeless." "Did you get a flyer?" asked a guy next to me. He was maybe an inch or so shorter than me, wearing khaki cargo shorts and a bright blue t-shirt that said "Pitch-a-tent" on it. I took the offered brochure. "So there'll be a tent city here this fall?" I asked. "We passed the resolution at the last student conference in the spring," he said. "I'm Eric, by the way. Damn fine to meet you." I laughed. Animal House was required viewing in Fremont, Nebraska before we all went to college. "Are you recruiting?" I asked. "Recruiting socially conscious volunteers to help with making a smooth transition when we have 100 homeless people living on the soccer field and using the Fitness Center showers." "Aren't the athletes going to be pissed that their field is being taken over?" I asked. "This is an intramural field, used entirely for intramural and pickup sports. The most action we've seen on it in the past two years is an occasional cricket match among the Indian students. We aren't touching the varsity athletic fields," Eric said. "Okay," I said. Cool. Maybe I could do something for this. I took the flyer and Eric wrote his phone number on it with instructions to call and set up my volunteer time. I headed for PCAD. I needed to set an appointment with the special advisor the school has hired to work specifically with the students who were on the dual major program. Since joining the program, I'd discovered there were eight students from each school who had been recruited for the first year of the program and I'd have to attend SCU orientation in September, just as if I was a new freshmen. Of course, there was hardly anyone at the school. PCAD doesn't have a very big summer program, so campus is just about deserted. Miss Stevenson, I discovered, was handling the appointment schedules for my new advisor. "Oh, hello, Tony," she said. "It's nice to have you back." "I got the email that said I need to set an appointment with my new advisor," I said. "I figured that since I'm back in town I'd better get it over with." "Have you registered already?" "I have the schedule, pending approval." "Okay. Mr. Randolph is in on Tuesday next week. Will that work for you?" I got out my Daytimer and checked to see if I'd already committed to anything. After yesterday's fiasco, I'd decided that this thing was going to be in my hands at all times. "What time?" "Let's say, 10:00 a.m." she said. "Okay. Thanks." "Oh, Tony, I almost forgot." I turned back to her. "You've got mail. There have been some letters arriving for you ever since the gala. Your year-end forwarding information was incomplete." "Wow! Look at all these. Thank you." I didn't have time to open anything because I was supposed to meet Lissa in a couple of minutes, so after thanking Miss Stevenson, I stuffed the mail in my backpack and ran out the doors just in time. ------- If you've never been to a zoo with a seven-year-old, don't miss the opportunity again. I swear, I found out more about pygmy marmosets and baby sea otters than I ever hoped to know. And Drew was just as squirrelly. He wanted to hang around the big animals. You'd think a guy that little would be a little nervous around the exhibits of gorillas, elephants, and hippopotami. If one of us hadn't kept a hand on him the entire time, I think he would have been in the cages with them. We were eating lunch when Lissa brought up her conversation with Jack. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited Jack over for dinner tonight. We can grill something. And it gives us a two-to-one advantage over the children at bedtime." "What's the occasion?" I asked. "You know we all like Jack and I haven't seen him to thank him for all he did while the kids were sick." "I got a lot of advice from him about my career move," Lissa chuckled. She'd been very quiet all day and maybe a little self-deprecating. "I've been talking about a business idea for a few years and never had the courage to do anything about it. Jack thinks maybe this is the right time to discuss it. He thought it might be easier if he was there when I tell you about it." "You can tell us about anything, Lissa," Melody said. "I know. But this is ... I want to do it right and ... oh! Please don't think I asked Jack to come because I can't talk to you. Oh no!" "Lissa, take it easy," I said. "Nobody is suggesting anything. We kind of went overboard on that last night. If it's easier to discuss with Jack around, then fine." We cut the afternoon short, stopped at Whole Foods and got some chicken sausages to grill with some fresh vegetables and went home to prepare. We were practically falling over each other trying to help with the meal preparations and the boys. I was finally relegated to getting the gas grill cleaned and ready for use. Jack got there about 6:00 o'clock and we were ready to eat. The boys loved the "hotdogs" but didn't want anything to do with the buns or my carefully grilled zucchini. After we'd eaten, I got the boys ready for bed and read to them in their bedroom. I looked up from the book—I'd moved them from Hop on Pop to If I Ran the Zoo in celebration of our day—and saw Jack standing in the doorway. "Hey, look, guys," I said. "Daddy's come to say goodnight." I stood up and kissed Drew on the forehead. "'Night, buddy." I did the same for Damon and then I slipped out the door to let Jack say goodnight to his sons. "Love you, Tony," the boys chorused as I left. "Love you, too," I said as I left the room. ------- "Lissa's been talking about this business for nearly five years. She went to work for Forever Lilly in order to get experience. Well, she got the experience. She came to me this morning asking me if I thought the time was right," Jack said as we sat on the deck. "Gosh, Lissa. You never mentioned a business," Melody said. "What is it?" "Well, I've got a pretty high profile on the racquetball circuit right now," Lissa explained. "I got to thinking that I could sell women's sports clothes and exercise wear. It's not all that original. I found a manufacturer in Singapore a couple of years ago with a line of white label sportswear that would simply attach my label. I was just too overwhelmed with the boys to even think about starting a business." "I think it's cool," I said. "Will you model all the outfits for us?" Okay, I was hoping for a private showing, so to speak. I got a slap on the wrist for my efforts. "The thing is that Lissa's involvement with the racquetball circuit is heating up with her Open championship last year and now her intercollegiate access through you, Tony. It's still a big step, though," Jack said. "What made you think that now was the right time, Lissa?" I asked. I wanted to just jump up and down and scream 'Yes!' a million times. I sensed, though, that unbridled enthusiasm wasn't what was called for just now. "After my meltdown yesterday, I thought I was at the end of the world. But then, last night you showed me we all were going to support each other, no matter what. I woke up this morning feeling so free and light that the first thing that crossed my mind was that nothing could stop me now." "What will be involved?" Melody asked. "Starting a business is never easy," Jack said. "There is no way that one person in a family can just go into business and not have it affect everyone else. In fact, the idea of a family business is inherently that the family is involved. Right now—and I know this sounds presumptuous on my part—we are all a family. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to be in your household, but Lissa and I share children, and I consider both of you to be the boys' step-parents. That ties us all together and it will take all of us to make it successful." "How would it affect our school work?" I asked. "It's not going to be easy," Lissa said. "I brought that up with Jack this morning. I don't want you to ever jeopardize your schooling or your scholarships. We should think of your involvement in the business as a kind of work-study so that you have particular tasks and times that you are working on the business and can plan your schedule accordingly. For you, school is top priority. I can treat the business as a full-time job, but you can't." "How about you, Jack?" Melody asked. "How involved would you be?" "That's a tough one, Melody," he answered. "I'm a retired ex-husband, which means that I have both an advantage and a disadvantage. Retirement gives me more time, but I'm definitely outside your household unit and would be less directly affected. I'd like to help, but only as an advisor. Maybe I can pick up a little extra slack with child-care like I do when Lissa is traveling. I'd be happy to help with preliminary business management until you can afford a professional." "So, there's a lot of work, but Melody and I haven't got summer jobs, so for another month-and-a-half, at least, we could work more on the business. But, it seems like there's a lot depending on your high profile, Lissa. You know what that means?" I asked. "What, Tony?" "It means you have to win the Womens' Open again this year." ------- It was going to take us days to get the business organized. We talked until nearly midnight. Eventually we were just relaxing and I finally took the opportunity to grab the mail I'd collected out of my pack. "What'cha got, lover?" Melody asked. "I had a bunch of mail at PCAD when I was over there this morning. I haven't opened it yet. A bunch of it looks like advertising, but there's some fan-mail, it looks like." I separated out half a dozen personal-looking letters and tore the first one open. My face must have given me away as I tore into the next letter. "Tony? What is it?" I tore open the rest of the envelopes and scattered them around on the table. Offers. Requests for proposals. Nude pictures. "Jack," I said. "I think I'm going to need that agent you mentioned contacting a couple months ago." ------- Chapter 3 We really didn't get much sleep Thursday night. I laid out the letters I'd received on the dining room table and went through the rest of the mail. There were four more letters that looked like junk mail or utility bills that had offers or requests in them. Two were offers for my painting of the boudoir scene that I exhibited at the gala. One offered $5,000, but said he'd double it if I could deliver the four companion pieces with it. Apparently he was taking Bob Bowers at his word. I wondered if anyone else had received offers. There were two requests for proposals for public art—building murals—in Bellevue and Tacoma. And a total of five handwritten letters that included nude photos of women in artistic poses asking if I would consider a commission to paint them. I had no idea how to respond to any of these letters. Thank god no one knew my email address. I could just imagine the kind of messages I'd be getting. At least these people had to be interested enough to write a letter and send it to the school. "You definitely need to talk to an agent," Jack said. "I really have no idea what to tell you about pricing these pieces or how to go about creating your proposals." "Do you know someone?" I asked. "I think so. Lissa, what do you think about putting him with Clarice?" "Grrr! You know I don't like her." "That was just a misunderstanding that was quickly set straight," Jack chuckled. He turned to Melody and me. "Before Lissa and I were married, Clarice thought I was just an eligible middle-aged bachelor. I was never quite sure if she was acting as an agent for someone else or on her own behalf." "She invited you to Rome with her." "She retracted the invitation when I told her that I only traveled with you. We've had a cordial relationship ever since. She's never even suggested anything since the divorce," Jack chuckled. "But what's important is that she knows the art world. And I can't think of anyone who would be better at negotiating with these women who all want to get naked in front of Tony." "Strangely enough," I said, "those are the projects I feel most comfortable with. I know how to paint a portrait, and I've seen naked ladies before. But planning out a full mural proposal? I can't even conceive of the idea." "I'm going as your chaperone," Melody said. "I know what happens after you stop painting." "Only with my darlings," I said quietly. "You can trust me about that." Both Lissa and Melody kissed me. Sweetly, not passionately. "Even when we've told you to play around," Lissa whispered. "We know how much you love us, Tony." "I don't think it's a bad idea for Tony to have an assistant with him if he does this kind of painting, though," Jack said. "It's not about how trustworthy you are; it's about your clients. It's quite possible that Clarice would insist on being present for some of them." "That's true," Lissa agreed. "She is protective of her clients. She wouldn't want Tony accused of inappropriate behavior just because he wouldn't have sex with one of his models." "My god! That could happen?" I asked. "The reason you have an agent is because the world is full of unscrupulous people and you shouldn't have to worry about them when you are practicing your art. You wouldn't believe some of the things reputable producers and designers tried to pull when I was rep'ing Lissa." "I'm sure I only heard about half of them," Lissa said. "But those were hair-raising." "Speaking of which," I said, "how do you think having me take on some of these projects would affect our new business? I wouldn't be able to do as much if I was painting commissions." "I see it as being another contributing factor. Maybe we can even use your art in the advertising campaign," Lissa said. "I wish I had something to contribute," Melody sighed. "At least I can babysit." "Oh, sweetheart!" Lissa exclaimed as I folded Melody in my arms and Lissa petted her hair. Jack quickly disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the three of us alone. A tear had escaped from Melody's eye even though she was valiantly trying to keep it back. "I just want to help," she whispered. "Darling, I will absolutely take you with me as my chaperone," I said. "I didn't mean to play that down." "Not only that, but I foresee a lot of work for you in the business if you can do it," Lissa said. "What would be better in our fashion line than our own fabrics, designed by our own personal textile artist?" "Really?" "Yes, really. I thought it would be obvious, but I should have said something sooner. We're the three musketeers. All for one and one for all," Lissa boomed. I pulled Melody with me over to the sofa and sat down with her in my lap. Lissa curled up next to us and for a minute I was distracted by our image reflected in the fireplace doors. Someone needed to paint that. But I quickly pulled myself back to the moment. I reached up and touched Melody's necklace with my finger, just to remind her that it was there. Then I did the same with Lissa's. They both put a hand on my bracelet. "You know, we're going to have to make it legal," I said. "How? We can't get married," Melody said. "I meant, our business arrangement," I said pausing, "but now that you mention it, maybe we can cover both parts at once." "What do you mean?" Lissa asked. "I assumed we'd have to create some kind of legal entity for the business." "What if we formed a partnership among the three of us, and then the partnership owned the business, or businesses if it makes sense to separate painting from textiles from fashion? What's marriage, anyway? It's a partnership that's had some kind of blessing as far as I can tell. We already got our blessing. We could make our partnership the basis of everything else. I'll bet we can even get some kind of documents drawn up that give us like medical power of attorney for each other so that we can be admitted as next of kin." Both Melody and Lissa looked at me speechlessly. Then they looked at each other. Finally, there were lips and hands and squirming girls all over me. "I'm going to go home," Jack said from the front door. "You seem to have your hands full. I'll call tomorrow morning after I've talked with Clarice." We scarcely heard him leave. ------- We wouldn't have gotten out of bed Friday morning if it hadn't been for the two bundles of boy-power that jumped on top of us at 7:00 a.m. Fortunately, Molly was there by eight. She'd taken a few days off to spend in the mountains with her boyfriend and it looked like the time away had done her a world of good. She looked really happy. The boys were fed, scrubbed, and dressed for a morning at the beach and would be going to Jack's for the weekend when Molly dropped them off. I loved having them with us, but as soon as they were out the door, the three of us were naked and back in bed. I had visions of hot, loving sex in my head right up to the moment I fell asleep, which was about two seconds after Melody and Lissa. We woke up two hours later to the phone ringing. ------- "Tony Ames? This is Clarice Bortelli. I understand you have need of an agent. We should meet. Are you available for lunch?" "Uh ... what time is it?" "It's ten o'clock. Meet me at Carmine's Cucina at noon. Just ask for my table." And she hung up. I guess I had an appointment. But it was two hours away and I had two incredible wives to satisfy before then. When I got off the phone, Lissa had the spa filling and Melody was brushing her teeth. I joined her and got minty fresh, then we joined Lissa in the tub. "We all have lots of work to do today," Lissa said as we cuddled together in the jets. "Melody, there's all the papers for the company in Singapore that you need to get familiar with. They've got a great website, but they're really struggling at the moment. We're going to need a firm order for them and you are going to be in charge of it." "Aye-aye, Captain. Warp speed, full ahead." We all laughed. Then we all kissed. And then we kissed some more. "I know I sound like a boss, but I'm not," Lissa apologized. "I'm just so excited that we're really going to do this." "Well, this part is your idea," I said. "It makes sense that you have to get us up to speed on it." "That's fine for me," Melody said, "but you have to meet with an agent and start signing contracts. While I'm reading fabric specifications, I'll also call Sandra, Amy, and Kate. We need to alert them that there's an offer on the Rhapsody Suite." "Okay, boss," I said. "I'm going to love having two bosses who are so cute." We were all feeling high, we were so happy. "But you, Miz Grant, have training this afternoon. If you're going to win the Women's Open, you have to be ready. At the club and on the court at 3:00 sharp." "Is that in your Daytimer?" Lissa asked. "That should be perfect. I have an appointment with John MacDonald at 12:30 to go over our legal needs. He's only expecting to incorporate the fashion business. I wonder how he'll respond when I tell him we want partnership papers." "There's one other thing about that, Lissa," I said. "You guys convinced me last night that we were equal partners and we would put everything we have into the partnership, just like a marriage would be in a community property state like Washington. But we missed one thing. I couldn't say anything last night because my tongue was otherwise occupied." Suddenly both my girlfriends took a deep breath and disappeared beneath the surface of the tub. I felt two tongues start at my balls and work their way up my stiffening shaft. I almost lost my train of thought before the one blonde and one auburn head rose above the water again. "Oh god," I sighed. "What did you forget to mention when you were otherwise occupied last night?" Lissa purred in my ear. "Oh yeah," I said. "Otherwise occupied ... The boys. You are putting more upfront capital into our partnership. Melody and I have good prospects; you just have a head start on us. But making all our assets into a single entity doesn't consider how the boys get provided for. Plus, I'm not happy about you having a one-third share when you are putting in the house and 90 percent of our assets. That's silly." Lissa started to object and I held up my hand. "But I understand. That's what would happen in a marriage. But a marriage has special considerations for the children and the way we've got it set at the moment, they would only have a right to the one-third of the total that is your share of the partnership. Melody and I can't adopt them because there are too many stupid laws and that just wouldn't work. But, I was thinking, somewhere between dreamland and blowjobs, that there's another solution. We can make them partners, too. They'd get an equal share of the assets of the business without having voting or management rights. I think they call them silent partners or something. That at least puts three-fifths of the business assets where they belong, taking care of you and our children." I couldn't believe that I got all that out without being interrupted. Lissa and Melody looked at me silently, then took a deep breath and plunged beneath the surface again. Oh god! I've just decided that all our board meetings need to take place in the Jacuzzi. "I love you, Tony!" Melody said as she reemerged. "You always know what to say," Lissa added. Both girls kissed me soundly. "Let's let the lawyer figure out what the right legal twist is. I'll tell him your idea and see what he comes up with." We got out of the tub, dried off and stumbled to the bed where I fell between Lissa's legs and Melody landed with her pussy pressed against Lissa's mouth. Lissa told me that she quit shaving and had her pubic hair waxed because it stayed smooth so much longer. I couldn't argue. Her pussy was slick with her juices and my saliva in no time. I had to wonder, though, who applied and removed the wax every few weeks? I rose and captured one of Melody's nipples between my lips as she rode Lissa's mouth and I let my cock slide into that slippery, waxed channel. Only impending appointments with lawyers and agents got us out of that bed. We'd all three have happily stayed there the rest of the day. ------- By some miracle, I walked into Carmine's Cucina at three minutes until noon. I asked for Clarice Bortelli, but it was obvious where I was going as soon as I walked in the door. I carried my backpack over one shoulder as I approached her booth. Papers were scattered all over the table and she was talking into a Bluetooth headset while she shuffled through them. She looked up at me as I approached and waved me into the other side of the booth. I slid into the seat and looked up to see a smiling waitress with tiger-striped hair crawl into the booth beside me. "Tony!" "Wendy!" I said around her lips as she kissed me. "Long time, no see!" "It has been, hasn't it?" she responded. Then, looking behind her to see if anyone was watching and with hardly a sideways glance at Clarice, Wendy grabbed the hem of her t-shirt and pulled it up above her braless breasts, then dropped it quickly. "Better?" I was speechless. Clarice had her head buried in one hand as she continued to talk and shuffle papers. Wendy pulled me to her for another kiss. "What can I get you?" she asked. I ordered a Coke and told her I'd just have soup and a salad for lunch. Then I waited patiently while Clarice finally finished up her call. "Do they all greet you like that, Mr. Ames?" "All who, Miss Bortelli?" I asked innocently. "It's just Clarice. Bortelli isn't even a real name—at least not as far as I'm concerned. And all the girls, Tony. Do you expect me to flash you my boobs?" "Ah ... no Miss ... ah Clarice. Wendy is an old friend. It was a private joke." "You may have been joking, but she surely is not. You ordered?" "Yes. I know you are very busy. Here are the letters that I've received." "Oh, relax, Tony. You're paying me. I work on your schedule." "I'm paying you?" "Well, you will be. I collect lots of money on your behalf and you pay me 10%. That's my deal." She shuffled all the papers to one side and started opening the envelopes I pushed toward her. The second one she opened had a Polaroid photo in it. "My god! They do all do it. Very well." She grabbed the hem of her blouse and pulled it up to show me a very sturdy bra before she dropped it back down. "There. That's all you get. It takes at least two martinis to get the bra off. Now let's see what kinds of offers you're getting." She kept muttering as I tried to recover myself. Seattle was so strange. She said things like, "Good." "Too far away." "Bargain-hunter." "Naïve." "We can do better." Before she'd gone through all the envelopes Wendy was back with my soup and salad. "Thank god we never have a big crowd for lunch," she said as she slid in next to me. Clarice looked up at her. "Isn't he wonderful, Miss Bortelli?" "Wendy, how often do I come in here for lunch?" "About four times a week," Wendy responded and then turned to me. "There's a Rotary meeting here on Wednesday. It gets too crowded." "And how many times a week do I tell you to call me Clarice?" "Oh. Four. I'm sorry Miss ... Clarice. Are you going to represent Mr. Ames?" She grinned and I could tell she was playing with us both. "Tony and I are going to talk business. I take it you want a portrait, too?" "He's already done me," Wendy said. "But he's welcome to again anytime." "I'll keep that in mind," Clarice said. "Now I need to do the spiel, dear, so please wait on someone." "Yes ma'am," Wendy said as she slid out of the booth. She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek and winked before she left, though. "Okay, Tony," Clarice started as I sipped my soup. "Five of these are legitimate offers. That's more than most of my clients bring me, so I'm cutting you the 10% deal. Most newbies start off at 15%. The question is, what do you want to do?" "I'm good at portraits," I said. "I'm interested in murals, but I've only done one little segment of a mural and don't really know how to plan the whole thing yet." "Good. Let's not put proposals in on the two mural projects. One of them is way too far away anyway and the other is just inconvenient. Now, of the five bits of porn that were sent to you, three are legitimate requests for serious artwork. Here, take these two home and put them in your scrapbook to masturbate to. They're groupies. If you really need a fuck, call them. But I understand you are with Lissa Grant, so there's not much chance these bitches could add anything to your life." I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. I was having a really hard time reading this brusque and off-the-wall woman. I could see why Lissa didn't like her, but I also was kind of attracted to her way of doing business. "That brings us down to three portraits and an offer for existing artwork. Let's deal with the "Rhapsody Suite" first, shall we?" "Yes ma'am," I said. I was wishing that Jack had come to lunch with us. I was feeling way out of my depth. "We can do better," she said bluntly. "If you are in urgent need of cash right now, then I'll talk him up some, but it will only amount to enough to cover my commission. If we wait six months, we can get double that—if you can hold the suite together. If any of your fellow artists balk, we'll sell now and you'll get your first sale. That's not bad. But six months is better." "What happens in six months?" I asked. "Your showing. Let's see. Holidays are over. Galleries are distressed because they have inventory that didn't move over Christmas. Sales are going on. Into this market walks 'fresh, ' 'young, ' 'talk-of-the-town.' If you have ten other pieces to put on display February first, we'll double the price of the suite." "Wow!" That's all I could say. "Will you have ten more stellar works for the opening, Tony?" "I have one finished and one that I think will be the same class of work. I think I can do eight more before six months is up." I hesitated. There was something else. "What if one of the other artists showed with me?" "The charcoal artist that Bowers fell in love with?" "Yes." "I wouldn't normally consider a two-artist show, but this one might work. Bring her with you when we meet next week." "When is that?" "Thursday at noon, here in my office," Clarice said. "Every week between now and when you start school again. I want to know every piece you paint. I want to examine it and put a value on it. Don't show them publicly. I want to bring you to the public in a grand show. Now, about the portraits. Do you want to do them?" I was a little unsure what she meant. Of course, I want to work. I want to make some money off my art and I love doing portraits. Why wouldn't I want to do them? "Sure. I guess. Why wouldn't I?" "Well, Tony, you've got art and you've got a living. If you need to make a living, then I'll send you to do a portrait every month. But you've got to understand that every time you paint a commercial piece like a commissioned portrait, you aren't painting something for a gallery. Perhaps we can use them in the gallery show, but you only get paid once. You can't sell the piece to someone else later. These three are okay. They will be good pieces that you can exhibit and still make good money. Your intro rate for these portraits should be about $2,000 as long as the clients agree to let you show the pieces in your exhibition. If they won't let you show them, you don't paint them. Portraits after your exhibition will go for $5,000 or more. These are just numbers right now. They become money after you've done the work and the clients are satisfied. Capiche?" "I understand," I said. She was totally blowing me away. I could hardly keep up with her. But I was growing to like her. Actually, I was thinking I could like being an artist. Clarice wouldn't let me sign the contract. She gave me everything back and told me to take the contract to my lawyer and make sure he read the whole thing. Then, if he said it was okay, I could sign it next week when I brought Kate with me to meet her. This was going to be a wild summer! ------- I met Lissa at the club at three. Our workout set a new level of expectation for our training. It was good to be back on the court with her. The little exhibition match that Dad set up for us on the 4th was great, but it was just a teaser as far as training goes. This time we played for an hour, then hit the big gym where we did movement drills, balance exercises, and stretches. I saw several basketball players take an interest in what we were doing, but I suspected they were most interested in watching Lissa and not in our workout. John Gilbert, my trainer at the club, found us just before we were ready to hit the showers and said that he had a training schedule set for us and we'd be doing Pilates together on Saturday mornings. He'd be working with us for our next off-court session on Monday and we had regularly scheduled court time daily from here out. With the new interest on the part of SCU and Lissa training to defend her title, the club was taking a strong stance on promoting racquetball. They were using Lissa and me to encourage participation by more local high level players. While it was nice to have the red carpet rolled out for us, it also meant that we were going to start playing tougher competitors in club tournaments and practices, and that there would be a fresh batch of newbies who were less serious players. But that was part of the process. When you play a sport like racquetball, it isn't just about winning tournaments. You really want to promote the sport. If there were twice the number of serious players in the country, it would become increasingly unlikely that the same people would be on the podium year after year in the national competitions. Lissa and I decided to just grab our things and head home to clean up instead of using the club facilities. ------- Melody was in the kitchen. Sitting on the floor. Crying. There was a half-chopped zucchini and a pile of minced onion sitting on the counter. One burner was lit on the stove, but fortunately there was nothing on it—just the blue flame dancing in the air. I turned that off and Lissa and I sank to either side of our lover. "What is it Little One?" Lissa asked softly. "What's wrong?" "We're here, Meddy," I added. "Tell us what has you upset, love." There was a lot of sniffling and when she raised the knife and started to wipe her eyes, I gently removed the blade from her hand and set it back on the counter. "I'm fat and I'm ugly and I have cramps and I'm a bitch and you all hate me." "The only thing I heard that might have a shred of truth is that you have cramps," Lissa said. "Is it that time?" "I'm all PMSy and I can't stop crying and I'm sorry." She buried her head against my shoulder and sobbed as Lissa reached to rub her tummy. "Don't worry, Little One," she said. "I know a cure for pre-menstrual cramps. I used to have them all the time." "Used to? You don't have cramps anymore? I hate you!" Melody sobbed more furiously. "I stopped having cramps after I got pregnant." Melody sniffed and pulled away from me to turn toward Lissa. "I don't really hate you. I love you," she moaned. "I'm just so miserable. And you both stink." "We can cure that, too," I suggested. "Come on. Let's head for the shower." Lissa started the tub filling while I adjusted the temperature of the shower, undressed both Melody and myself, and got us under the soothing water. Lissa was right behind me and we held our poor, uncomfortable lover between us. As soon as we got the sweat and stink rinsed off our bodies, we led Melody to the spa and sank into the luxurious hot water. I'd been looking forward to this ever since we walked off the court. We kept Melody sandwiched between us, letting the jets work their magic, and constantly stroking and soothing our sweetheart. Melody finally settled down and her cramps began to subside. "Is this the cure?" Melody asked. "It feels better." "Oh, this is just stage one," Lissa said as she kissed Melody. "Next, Tony is going to sit up on the edge of the tub and you'll get on his lap so he can hold you with his hands rubbing your tummy." I sat up on the edge of the marble spa and leaned back against the wall. It was great having a tub that was big enough for all three of us—and a guest or two—and had a ledge around it wide enough to serve dinner on. We'd done that a couple of times. Melody crawled up in my lap facing Lissa. Lissa gently parted her knees and pressed her face against our lover's pussy. I couldn't tell exactly what Lissa was doing, but Melody started to relax against me and let out little moans. As she squirmed against me, my cock became wedged between her ass cheeks. The first time she came, she stiffened up and pressed back against me so hard I was flattened against the wall. The second time she raised up off my lap until she was almost standing in the tub and I held her so her feet wouldn't slide out from under her. I felt Lissa's hand on my stiff cock and when Melody relaxed and began to sink back down on my lap, Lissa guided my cock into her. "Oh," Melody moaned. "That is so wonderful. I like this cure." "It's not over yet," Lissa smiled. Soon her face was back between our legs and I could feel her tongue taking long strokes from beneath my balls, up across the base of my cock, and lingering on Melody's clit. I played with Mel's nipples as Lissa continued to bring us both higher and higher. When Melody came, the intensity of her gripping my cock and bouncing brought me off, too, and we howled at the ceiling as we hit our peak. I was still shuddering inside Melody when Lissa brought her to yet another peak. I slid down into the water and with our faces even with Lissa's we began a kiss-fest that ended with us giggling. ------- I was in the kitchen, making spaghetti sauce while Lissa dried and pampered Melody in the bedroom. Melody was feeling much better. I'd put on one of the big butcher's aprons that we kept in the kitchen so that we didn't have to dress in order to cook. A little Italian chicken sausage and a jar of Arrabbiata sauce with the fresh sautéed vegetables is all it takes to make a great dinner with a minimum of clean-up. Probably enough garlic to keep vampires away for a month. A much mellower girlfriend emerged from the bath to sit and eat at the breakfast bar. "I was going to have dinner all ready for you when you came home from practice," Melody said as she slurped up her spaghetti. She didn't bother twirling it on a fork. "Then all of a sudden it seemed like such a big job, I'd never get it done." "Does your period always affect you like this?" Lissa asked. "Sometimes it's worse than others. Not usually this bad," Melody said. "But I feel so much better now." "That was still only stage two," Lissa said. "Dinner is stage three." "There's more?" "Just you wait." I cleared away the dishes and loaded the dishwasher while Lissa led Melody back to the bedroom. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'd enjoyed curing Melody's cramps so far. I'd go with whatever Lissa had planned. I wasn't expecting what I saw when I entered the bedroom. The girls were lying side by side on their stomachs. Their heads were turned toward each other and they were talking quietly. Occasionally they would kiss, but they just lay there waiting for me. It didn't take long to see why. Next to Lissa was a bottle of oil and a towel. "Sweetheart, Melody needs a little back-rub. I thought as long as you were at it, maybe you could rub my back, too," Lissa said when she saw me approach. "I'm so sore after our workout." It was only a matter of logistics, not willingness. To them, it was sweet soothing relaxation for their tired muscles and cramps. For me ... I had my left knee wedged between Melody's legs and my right knee between Lissa's, both nestled far enough to feel the heat on my thighs. I wasn't quite sure how I'd work this, but I decided to split my attention equally between the two. I warmed cedar-scented oil between my palms and then ran my hands up their spines to their necks where I began stroking and rubbing. My hands worked as mirror images. I worked the outsides of their necks and then rotated my palms inward and worked the inside. Their outside shoulders and then their inside shoulders. Melody is shorter than Lissa, but their torsos are surprisingly similar in length. Lissa has longer legs, but Melody doesn't lose much in length above her waist. I marveled at the feel of their skin. Lissa's muscles are much tighter than Melody's, but there is a sensual flexibility in Melody that says she could curl up in a ball in your lap and feel like she didn't have a bone in her body. Melody's skin is a shade darker beneath her auburn hair than Lissa's crowned by blonde. Both are silky, especially beneath well-oiled hands. I didn't want to move from my position lodged between their legs, but I did slip back farther and farther as I worked on their butts, thighs, calves. Finally, I worked their feet, one at a time. Each girl's left foot, then each girl's right foot. I ended by kissing twenty toes and then crawling up next to Melody. "That was so dreamy," Melody sighed. She rolled to her right side facing me and Lissa spooned behind her. I pulled a sheet over us so we wouldn't get chilled in the night. "You're all slippery," Lissa said to her. "I want to rub my tits all over your back." "Mmmmm. Do whatever makes you happy," Melody said as Lissa kissed her ear. "It makes me happy to be with you." She pulled me closer and kissed me. My right arm lay across my lovers as we drifted off to sleep. ------- About four in the morning, I woke to find I'd been pushed onto my back. Melody was astride me and my cock was slipping in and out of her. Her eyes were closed and her head was thrown back, lost in her own world of pleasure. I'd gone to sleep hard, so it was no burden to me to be the source of her ecstasy. As tempting as it was to take control and thrust up into her, she was so beautiful that I lay mostly still and let her set the pace. I glanced to my left and saw Lissa smiling at us. She scooted closer so she could kiss me and then we both lay there watching our lover as she rose to her climax. There was a kind of Tantric bliss. I felt the long slow build-up of pressure in my balls, but held myself back from pushing toward release. When Melody came, that brought me to a climax as well. I felt the release deep inside—feeling like it had been drawn from me instead of ejaculated. I was definitely going to experiment with this again sometime. Melody came down, gradually becoming aware that Lissa and I were watching her. She lay on top of me, with Lissa partially supporting her weight. We kissed. "I woke up feeling crampy, again," Melody whispered as we drifted back to sleep with me still inside her. "Thank you." "Anytime my love," I said softly. "Anytime at all." ------- When Lissa and I got home from our Saturday morning Pilates, Kate was over talking to Melody. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" I asked, kissing Melody. "Much better." "Were you sick?" Kate asked. "Just cramps. These two have the best cure," Melody said after she kissed Lissa. I noticed that in spite of what she said, she was clutching a heating pad to her stomach under the pillow as she and Kate talked on the sofa. "I have a tea for that." "Oh, this is so much better than tea." "Really? Maybe I should try it next time." "Oh, we'd love to help you out," Melody said, giggling. Both Lissa and I rolled our eyes. "Better get the details before you agree, Kitten," I said. "When I'm not around," I added. "Melody called yesterday and said you have an agent and we have an offer for the whole Rhapsody Suite," Kate said. "I thought I'd drop by this morning and see what was up." "That's sort of true," Melody said. "I convinced her to come over and went and picked her up. It's so nice to have two cars." "Well, I would have come on the bus," Kate admitted. "I want to hear all about it." "Right. Well, here's the thing. Clarice thinks we could get a lot more for the paintings if we wait six months, but I'm not going to hold up the sale if any of the four of you need money for school. We could walk off with a couple thousand apiece right now, but twice that in six months." "What happens in six months?" "Our show." "Our show?" "Yeah," I said. "Here's the thing. Clarice thinks she could get me a show with a dozen pieces. That's a lot of painting to be done before February. I could include a couple of sketches as well, but the big dollars will be in the paintings. So, we thought that maybe you would be interested in showing at the same time. I know your portfolio of charcoals is incredible." "Tony?" Kate said, slowing me down. "Us?" "Um ... I know you should have a show of your own, Kate, but I just thought that maybe..." "It's a beautiful idea, but what about Melody? And Amy and Sandra?" "All three of us are in areas of applied arts and design," Melody spoke up. "You don't want graphic prints or textiles or advertising art in a fine art show. This would really have to be you and Tony. I don't think any of us want to go shopping for another compatible artist. You've got really different but complementary styles. Mixing it with something else would really mess it up. Except for the Suite. Since Bob Bowers reviewed it as a single piece, everybody would benefit by keeping it together." "Is this real?" she asked. I handed her the letter with the offer for the Suite. "Our lawyer is going over the contract for Clarice to represent us. Clarice wants to meet with us on Thursday at noon," I said. "Wait," Kate said. She was scowling. "What are you trying to pull, Tony?" "Kitten, I'm not trying to pull anything. What's wrong?" What the hell? I was so excited, but maybe I missed something. Did Kate feel like she was being railroaded? "You said a couple thousand a piece. That's not what this letter is offering. The letter says $5,000 for your piece and another $5,000 for the other four pieces. I'm not dumb. I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. That comes out to $5,000 for you and $1,250 each for the rest of us." "But the Suite has five artists," I said. "That's $2,000 each to sell the whole thing." "You can't do that, Tony. You'd lose $3,000 on the deal. I won't do it. Melody, get Sandra and Amy on the phone," Kate demanded. "The deal for the Suite has to be 50% for Tony and 50% to split among the rest of us. None of us would have an offer at all if it wasn't for his central piece." Kate was adamant. I'd never seen her so steadfast before. Once Amy and Sandra were on the phone, Kate took over and laid out the facts as she saw them—including the benefit of waiting six months, I was happy to note—and Amy and Sandra were on her side immediately. "Don't be a dipshit, Tony," Amy said. "I've got customers here and I've got to get moving. But in my opinion, it should be your painting for 50%, Kate's for 30% and the other three of us splitting 20%. It's you two that are going to get the price up. You should benefit most from it. Gotta roll. 'Bye." After the whirlwind phone discussion, we determined that we would wait until February and the split would be 50% for me, 20% for Kate, and 10% each for Sandra, Amy, and Melody. Everybody seemed happy with that except me. "Tony? Would you give me a hand with the grill?" Lissa called from the kitchen. She'd let the five of us hash things out for ourselves, but it was clear she had a few things to say to me. I kissed her as I walked into the kitchen and she wrapped me in her arms and led me to the deck, closing the sliding door behind us. "I love you, Tony," Lissa said, kissing me again. "Part of what I love is how generous and giving you are. But they're right and you know it." "It seems so unfair for me to benefit so much from their work," I said. "Not so," Lissa reminded me. "That offer letter was for the same amount if you sold your piece without their work as what you've just been forced to agree to with their work. You don't get any benefit from bringing them along." "But..." "Be honest, Tony. Leaving Kate's picture out of the equation for a minute, which of those other three paintings and drawings would ever sell for $1,000? Let alone, the possibility that when you and Kate exhibit this winter it is the talent of the two of you that will drag the price of the other three up. Don't insult them, darling. You are doing a wonderful thing for your friends. They'd all feel terrible if they thought you were giving them all money to be charitable to them. Now grill us some hamburgers and let the women in your life boss you around." She sealed her lecture with another kiss and it was several minutes before I got the grill as hot as I was feeling. ------- For the next several days, time collapsed. Monday, Lissa's former employer called her and asked her to come back. They said that the people who ragged on her last Wednesday were out of line and had been disciplined and that Lissa was always considered a valuable part of the team. In fact, they were considering expanding the fashion acquisition department and opening a new office in New York. They would like to consider Lissa for the job of managing it. Lissa thanked them and consulted with her attorney. He suggested they were trying to cover themselves against a possible harassment suit and asked Lissa if she'd like him to pursue that course of action. She declined, but the company still gave her a full severance package that may have included more paid vacation time than she actually had coming to her. The check was held for deposit in a brand new business or partnership checking account, whichever was coming on-line first. We practiced every afternoon with a two-hour workout. I had never worked so hard at racquetball. Lissa and I were growing more and more evenly matched. Coaching each other was working, but I stopped at the club's management office on Tuesday to see if they could do some research on other top players in the area. I had in mind an invitational tournament in late August or early September. We needed to sharpen our competitive edge by facing more competitors. ------- "You've done a good job with your schedule as far as making a schedule work," Mr. Randolph said, "but it's not really what we have in mind for the Dual Degree Program." Shit. My first meeting with my new academic advisor and the schedule I worked so hard on is shot to hell. This was such a mistake. I should never have agreed to the stupid program anyway. I was going to be a working artist. Why did I think I needed a BA in English as well? I should have ... what? Quit school? Take the transfer back to UNeb and leave Lissa and Melody? What the hell was I moaning about? "No one has really explained the program to me, I guess," I said. I was trying not to be offensive. Not yet. "Well, let's learn it together and make things work out best for you, Tony. Believe it or not, I only started on this job the fifth. So, I'll tell you what the powers that be told me and then we can figure out what works best for you, okay?" I thought I might like him after all. "Okay, Mr. Randolph." "Tony, if all goes well, we're going to be working with each other for the next four years. Call me Cary. Now, here's how they designed the program." It took nearly an hour just to explain what the program meant. Man! If anyone had explained it when they offered it to me I probably would have run for my life. I thought I was going to be attending each school about half time and was going crazy balancing a school that was on semesters with a school that was on quarters. Turns out that they expected students to rotate with a year at one school and a year at the other, then the fifth year would be focused on the studio project that would be supervised by faculty from both schools and had to relate to both degrees. But that would mean... "Wait. You mean that I wouldn't be going to PCAD at all this year? That's where all my friends are." "Like I said, Tony, that's the way the program was designed. Now we're going to figure out how it works. There's logic to the system. With the two schools on different schedules, you've already seen what a pain it's going to be when breaks aren't at the same time, classes run on different schedules, and finals come five times a year. But let's say that one school is your main focus for the year and the other you just keep your foot in the door. How many classes would it take to make you continue to feel connected to your friends and your first campus while still having your focus at Seattle Cascades?" I have to admit, after we were finished, my schedule looked a lot more manageable and it was clear that I was an English major with an emphasis in Art and Literary Criticism. I'd be taking a full load at SCU with just a studio class at PCAD. Mmmm. Doc was gonna shit. "Now we've still got details to work out for funding." "They said I was getting a full ride." "Right. Now, housing. Dormitory or Fraternity?" "I live off-campus." "You are technically a freshman with sophomore standing at SCU. Dormitory, private room. We'd better make it a full athletic meal plan. Health insurance. Sport? Football. Athletic fees and uniforms. And the rest of the application fees, student union membership, and travel allowance." "Wait! I don't want any of that. I play racquetball, not football. I live off-campus and I don't need campus meals." I was getting railroaded and I was pissed. "That's right," Cary said. "That's why on the first day of classes, you go to the bursar and get a refund for all the things you paid for that you aren't using. Then you take the check they give you and give it to your landlord to pay your rent for the year. What's left over, you put in your food budget. It does mean that you'll probably have to pay for court time out of that, but it's a lot cheaper than football equipment. And this gives you a budget to travel to competitions." I looked at him with my mouth hanging wide open. "I'm on your side, Tony," he said with a grin. ------- Kate, Melody, and I sat together most of Wednesday evening going through our portfolios. Kate had some really impressive work. I discovered that even though she loved charcoal as her medium of choice, she had an incredible talent with pastels. She painted with such detail that I was in awe. As a result, she tended to paint small things very large. I mean, she'd look at a landscape, and instead of painting the whole thing, she would paint every detail of a single flower in the foreground with the rest looking blurred in the background. I'd never seen someone paint such idiosyncratic depth of field. She loved the new painting of Lissa, Beth, and Melody in the woods, but when I showed her the sketch that I'd done after the fact, she liked it even more. The oil I was working on was the scene they'd posed in the woods. Beth was on the rock with Melody to her left and Lissa to her right. They were smiling, loving, a little mischievous, and very pastoral. But the sketch I'd done later was of the three laughing and splashing each other in the water. It was less posed and I loved the action. That image was just burned into my memory. We finally put together a portfolio that showed an equal number of my pieces and hers and went to meet Clarice on Thursday at noon. ------- Wendy met us when we walked into Carmine's Cucina and gave each of us a hug. We went straight over to Clarice's booth and slid in. She immediately started perusing our portfolio. Wendy brought us Cokes and we each ordered a salad. Now that I was working out so hard every day, I was becoming more conscious of what I ate. I'd lost two pounds in the past week. "This is good," Clarice said. "It's not enough, but you knew that. Kate, we need more painting. Your charcoals are beautiful, but look, they are already smudging. Kids, you've got to look at your work as your assets. Pieces like this need to be protected and sealed—preferably behind glass. You can't let them transfer to other pieces." "Yes ma'am," Kate said politely. She looked sheepish. "Tony, the oils have higher value in the market than the watercolors. The two of the nymphs in the woods we'll want to keep as a pair if we can. They'll be matched in size, won't they?" "I'm not sure I want to sell those," I said. Clarice looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "There may not be any need for us to continue," she said. "I'm sorry, Tony, but I represent artists who are ready to enter the market. That means selling their works. If you are simply painting for your own pleasure, that's different." "It's just ... they're my friends ... and lovers." "Then get models you aren't emotionally attached to. And paint something besides nudes. That's not the biggest market right now. The Internet killed it. But I need to know, if you are going to paint works that can be sold or works that you want to keep hidden in your own bedroom. You decide." "I want to sell," I said. "It's just been a little sudden. I know this is a great opportunity." "Then let's talk contract," Clarice said. "Did your lawyer look it over?" "He said it was fair and only questioned how much 'management' you would be doing. It sounds like you have pretty strong opinions regarding what I should be painting." "No," Clarice said. "You paint whatever you want in whatever medium you want. I'll be very straight with you, though. I can simply negotiate the sale of your Suite and commissioned works, or I can help launch your career. If I'm launching your career, I need nine salable works—not including the portraits you exhibit that are commissioned—from each of you in six months. If you commit to that, I can get the space and you can both make a successful entry into the market. You have to answer whether that's what you want out of your college education. I won't be able to put your first projects in art museums where lots of people will see them, so selling them in a show is the best I can do. After the first show, you will need to keep producing artwork at a rate that we can keep doing shows and keep selling. If you stop producing, we'll stop selling. If you stop selling, it is much harder to start again. That's what I do to manage your career." "I'm good with that," I said. "It will be hard, but I can do it." Clarice pushed the contract over to me to sign. Our lawyer, Mr. MacDonald, had gone through the papers and pointed out where I would have to sign when I made my decision. I also had to fill in my address, date of birth, and Social Security number. I found the places in the contract and signed them. I was now an agented artist. It didn't require a notarization or anything as it was more like signing an employment agreement. Clarice was signed up to represent me for the next twelve months. "Now, Kate," Clarice said. "I have a contract for you as well if you want representation." "I'd rather not sign right now," Kate said quickly. "Of course, it's not necessary yet if you aren't planning to do commissioned works. We can still work something out for the exhibition in February." "That's what I was thinking," Kate said. "I mean, I'll commit to doing the show and we can make an agreement before that, but I'm just not ready to sign something right now. I'd like to wait at least a couple of months until I know how this fall is going to go in school. May I take the contract with me?" "That's not a problem," Clarice said. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do and it's a beautiful afternoon in July." ------- We left Carmine's Cucina and I walked Kate back to work at the Art Museum. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere along Second Avenue, Kate's hand slipped into mine as we walked. We talked about what was happening in our lives, how exciting and overwhelming the conversation with Clarice was, and even about the upcoming birthday party for Damon on Saturday. "Um ... I have a question," Kate said. I was getting used to the fluctuation between Kate the confident negotiator and business woman and Kate the shy and hesitant friend. She squeezed my hand a little harder. "What is it, Kitten?" "I have tickets to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Woodland Park Zoo next weekend and I was hoping you'd come," she said softly. ------- Chapter 4 I suddenly became aware of my hand held in hers and had a moment of panic. We'd become such good friends and Lissa and Melody were hoping that we would all find a way to invite Kate into our lives, but it sounded an awful lot like Kate was asking me out. "Kate ... um ... you know that I ... um ... like you a lot, but it's not like I just go out and date other people besides Lissa and Melody. I mean..." "Tony! You ass! I wouldn't ask you out without Lissa and Melody. Not on our first date. I've got four tickets. Do I need to speak Southern and say I was hoping all y'all'd come?" I laughed at myself. Then I heard what she was saying. "Our first date?" I asked. "Are you asking the three of us out on a date?" "Well ... um ... yeah." I was grinning so hard I thought my face would break. I pulled her into a hug. "Let's do this right," I said. I pulled out my phone and dialed the connection that would ring on both Lissa's and Melody's phones at once. "Did you do it?" Melody shouted. "Did you sign?" "Yes," I said. "I now have an agent." "That's wonderful, darling," Lissa said. "Are we on speaker phone? There's an echo." "Yes. I'm standing under the Hammering Man with just the cutest little brunette you've ever met," I said. Kate blushed and pushed at my arm, but she kept hold of my hand. "She's just popped the question." "What?" screeched Melody. "Which question? I've got about 20!" I turned to Kate and held up the phone. "Oh ... I thought this would be easier if I just spoke to one of you first and you'd all just ... oh. Tony ... Melody ... Lissa ... would you go out with me to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Woodland Park Zoo a week from Saturday? I'd ... I'd ... I'd like to take you out on a date." There was a squeal over the phone and I could just see Melody bouncing up and down. "Yes!" all three of us said. "We'd love to go out with you," Lissa said. "What should we wear?" Okay. Now that's just silly. We just accepted a date with a girl we've all three had a crush on for months and the first topic of discussion is what should we wear? To the zoo? There were a few moments of excited chatter before Kate said she really had to get back to work, but she'd see us on Saturday for Damon's party. I told my lovers I'd see them soon and gave Kate a sweet, gentle kiss—three times—before she went into the museum to continue her day's work. A date with Kate. Sweet! ------- "Hi. I'm Noelle James." "Hi. Tony Ames. We rhyme." "If we let a seven-year-old hear that we'll be stuck together for the rest of the day. James and Ames. I thought I knew all the parents. Which of these are yours?" "Damon and Drew," I said nonchalantly. I let her chew on that for a minute. She did. "Uh ... Jack... ?" she asked looking over where the boys' dad was pitching the softball. "Their dad?" I asked back. What of it? Noelle James was one of those cute moms-of-money that you sometimes hear about. She was thin and toned. Her teeth were perfect. Her nails were highly polished. Her hair looked like she'd just come from Paule Attar. I bet her pussy was waxed and her toenails were ... yup. Open-toed sandals showed me her toenails matched her fingernails. I just bet she'd be gossiping with the other moms in five minutes. Then I saw Lissa. Shit. Thin and toned, perfect teeth, beautiful manicure, easy-to-care-for hair that always looked great, waxed pussy ... I was such a hypocrite. I was saved by Melody who chose that moment to sweep in and kiss me on the cheek. "Hi, sweety!" she chirped. "Hi my love," I answered. "I'd like to introduce you to Noelle James. Noelle, you're Jimmy's mom, aren't you? This is Melody Anderson." "Oh! Of course!" Noelle nearly shouted as apparently lights came on. "Tony and Meddy!" "Yeah," Melody agreed. "Drew hasn't quite managed to get his mouth around 'Melody' yet." "Well, get used to it," Noelle said. "I read an article recently that said childhood mispronunciation of names frequently become nicknames that last an entire lifetime. Once the name is learned, it is never replaced." "I don't mind," Melody laughed. "Even Tony and Lissa sometimes call me Meddy." "That's what I mean. If you keep this up, everyone you know will be calling you Meddy by the end of the year." "I think we'll keep it in the family. How'd you happen to hear it?" "My daughter, Ella, is in the same preschool as Drew. I was volunteering one day this spring when I heard Drew talk about getting sick on his big date with Meddy and Pretty—or pretty Meddy—I never quite got that straightened out. He was more concerned about spoiling his date than about how sick he was." "Well, now you've met us in person. Anything else we should know about the stories the boys have been telling about us?" "Oh, not so much. Both boys refer to you both as their girlfriend. Exactly how does that work?" "Mmmm. Noelle, perhaps this isn't the best time to go into that. Maybe when Lissa is here." "Where?" Lissa said coming up to me. She kissed me on the cheek. We had agreed this morning that a kiss on the cheek, shared with each other, the boys, Jack, and Kate, was the maximum public display of affection permitted at Damon's birthday party. I returned the kiss, and so did Melody." "Are you European, or is this a new standard greeting for Damon's girlfriends?" Noelle smirked. "Noelle, don't be catty or I won't tell you the secret," Lissa said. "Oh no! Lissa? Are they the secret?" Noelle whispered. "Well, not for long," Lissa said. "But we're not advertising." Noelle immediately looked at Lissa and then at Melody. She reached out and touched Lissa's necklace. "Not much." Her eyes swept over me and lit at once on the bracelet I wore. She reached out, raised an eyebrow at me, and I raised my hand so she could examine the symbol. "Maybe we could have dinner together sometime soon?" Noelle asked Lissa. "Lunch would definitely not be enough time. How about a play date with—let's say all nine of us? Patrick would love to hear about this!" "Don't gossip, Noelle, and you can all come over for dinner at our house. What do you think, lovers? You wanted to meet more of my friends." "How about Friday?" Melody suggested. "I'll fix that Greek thing I've wanted to try. You need a big group for that." "Okay!" Noelle said. She made a motion as if locking her lips. "Not a word until then. But I am dying here." "Thank you, dear," Lissa said. She kissed Noelle on the cheek. Melody and I followed suit, offering our thanks as well. ------- We found Kate in the blow-up bouncy tent with three adoring boys and a little girl jumping up and down all around her. When she saw us looking in the plastic windows she waved, said something to her playmates, and did a forward roll out the exit. She landed on her butt at our feet with a wild expression on her face, raised her hands in the air, and shook her head. "Aaaaah!" she screamed. We helped her up and each planted a kiss on her cheek. "How'd you get roped into the bouncy tent?" Lissa laughed. "Little Carmen," Kate responded. "She didn't want to go in with only boys inside. So..." "But she's still in!" Lissa said. "She wouldn't come out when I said I was leaving. She said that if the boys didn't like her they could leave. But I don't think any of them are." "Still..." Lissa hesitated. "I'm always concerned that someone is going to get ganged up on. It's so silly, but I worry." "I'm going!" Melody said. Her shoes were off in no time and she was inside the tent. I think she was just waiting for an excuse. We were all wearing shorts as the day was an incredibly clear and hot day in Seattle. Kate, I noted, was in cut-offs, showing her shapely legs; but she had cut-off one of her standard school-wear bib overalls with just a t-shirt under it. I thought it was just me, at first, but one glance at Lissa told me her mouth was watering, too. "I've never been to a concert at the Zoo," Lissa said. "What do we wear?" "This is Seattle," Kate said. "Pretty much nobody wears anything but cargo shorts and Doc Martens. It's a picnic." "Fun!" I said. I had visions of the kinds of picnics we had in Nebraska with grills going all over the park and everybody sampling everyone else's potato salad. "What shall we bring." "Nope!" Kate said. "I'm packing everything. Oh. Except we will need a couple of blankets to sit on. You can bring that. The only thing I've got is what's on my bed in the dorm." "Blankets. Check," I said. "Oh ... there is one other little thing," Kate said. "We'll help pay for the tickets and food and everything," Lissa said. "No way! I asked you out on a date and I'm taking care of the food and entertainment," Kate said. "What else can we do, then?" I asked. "Um ... Could you drive? I don't think I could get the picnic on the bus all alone." "Of course, I'll drive," I said. "Jack's going to have the boys again starting Friday night," Lissa said. "There'll be plenty of room." "It's a good thing. I don't think Dad was thinking of this when he gave me that car." "There is something else, though," Lissa said. She put her arm around Kate's shoulders and turned her away from me, but she spoke loudly enough that I could hear. "I understand the importance of a first date and doing things the way you've always imagined. God knows, I wish I'd managed that just once and I'm thrilled that we're going out with you, Kitten. But after this date, we have to figure out a way to split expenses. It isn't fair for you to pay to date three people when three people are splitting the expenses to date one. Next date, we'll have to work out a system." "Hmmm," Kate said. She looked over her shoulder at me and winked. "I think we'd better see how the first date goes before we decide there's a next one." Lissa gasped, but I just about choked laughing. Kate had a wicked sense of humor when she was comfortable with people. I just loved her. Four little balls of energy stumbled out of the bouncy tent and staggered toward the potato chips. Melody rolled out last and lay sprawled on her back. "I want seven-year-old energy!" she panted. "I'm a teenaged college student. They shouldn't be able to wear me out." ------- "Happy birthday to you!" we sang as Damon blew the seven candles out on his cake and the kids dove into the sweets. It had been a great afternoon and parents who hadn't stayed were arriving to shuttle their own six- and seven-year-olds back home. I'd cleaned up the grill and Jack had cleared the yard of sports equipment and was sprawled on the deflating bouncy tent—just forcing the air out, so he said. Drew—completely exhausted—was cuddled in Meddy's lap and even as he pushed a piece of cake into his mouth you could see his eyes drifting closed. He'd done his best to keep up with his older brother and all his friends. We waved goodbye to the last of the guests and Damon planted himself in front of the fireplace to play with his new radio-controlled car. It buzzed around and around the room, bumping into furniture, and frequently flipping over on a turn. Damon thought that was great and proceeded to figure out what would cause the most spectacular accident. Drew had become very attached to his father as it finally dawned on him that all the new toys were Damon's. I watched as Damon considered what toy to play with next. Jack stood up and indicated he had to get home now and was going to drop the tent off at the rental company on his way. Drew was hanging on his leg and it looked like the little boy was on a short fuse. Surprisingly, it was Damon who rescued both the situation and his brother. "Drew!" Damon shouted. "Let's play Lincoln Logs. We'll build a fort in the bedroom and then we won't have to put them away." Apparently, the idea of playing with one of his brother's new toys and not having to put it away appealed to Drew. Damon tucked his car under one arm and wrapped the other around his brother as he said "'Night," to his father and led the way to his bedroom. "That boy has more savvy than any child I've ever known," Jack said. "He lives the example that's been set," Kate said matter-of-factly. We all looked at her. "What?" "That's very profound, Kate," Jack said. "Can I drop you somewhere on my way home?" "Um ... well..." "Oh, Kate," Lissa said. "I was hoping you'd help Melody and me clean up the kitchen while Tony gets the boys ready for bed. Do you mind?" "No. That'd be fine. Thanks, Jack, but I guess I don't need a ride right now." Jack glanced at Lissa and then at Melody and me. "Okay. I'll see you all later in the week. I understand I'm invited to a presentation Tuesday night?" "Yes," Melody said. "Kind of as a consulting board member." "Interesting," Jack said. I saw him shake his head and chuckle as he left the house. "Do you mind spending the night, Kate?" Lissa asked. "We'll take you back if you'd prefer." "If you don't mind me taking the guest room," Kate said, "I'd appreciate it. And thank you. I like Jack, but I'm just a little nervous. It's not about him, though." "Kate," I said, "if anyone acts inappropriately toward you, I'll personally take him—or her—down a notch or two." "Are you a possible date or a big brother?" Kate asked. "Just for the record." I stood there and spluttered, not knowing what the hell to say until Melody and Lissa started laughing. Then Kate lost it, and all I could do was shake my head and raise my hands in surrender. "Still ... thank you, Tony," Kate said. "That's really sweet." ------- The boys were in bed at last. In spite of how mature he acted one minute, there had been a dispute over the roof of the fort the next minute and a few Lincoln Logs had been thrown. It had taken both Lissa and me to get them settled down and storied so they might possibly get to sleep. Kate and Melody had finished tidying up the kitchen and taken out the trash by the time we felt it was safe to leave them. It was one of those rare nights when Lissa opened a bottle of wine and poured all four of us a glass. It's not like we never drink, but Melody and Kate and I are still under age and technically Lissa shouldn't share a glass with us. But, special occasions ... I noticed Kate set hers aside almost untouched. "Ahhh. Is it over?" Lissa asked as she sank into the sofa. "Hey, that reminds me of something," I said as I grabbed my sketchbook. "Are you going to draw?" Melody asked. "No. I just wanted to get Kate's opinion of something." I flipped the book open to a very free-form sketch I'd doodled one afternoon. "Do you have an idea of what to do for your exhibition paintings, Kate?" "Not really. I was kind of down after Clarice criticized my charcoals. I haven't drawn anything since." "What did that bitch say?" Lissa demanded. I held both hands up palms outward begging her to be patient. "She said I wasn't taking care of my drawings and they were all smudged and not salable," Kate said. Yeah, that was pretty much the gist of it. But... "What she was really saying—or reacting to, maybe—was that she thought your charcoals were great and should be framed immediately so they wouldn't get damaged." "You have such a nice way of phrasing things," Melody laughed. "We love you." "Yeah," Kate said. "I guess that's what she was saying." "Well, she's negotiating some commissions for me. I bet she'd find some for you, too. But there's one that I thought of that I can't do. I was wondering if you'd be interested. It's a little out-of-the-ordinary for you." I showed her the doodle. "See, I was sitting there where Lissa is and Melody was in my lap—see? This is what I was trying to do—and then Lissa curled up beside us. I caught the reflection in the glass. But I don't think I can actually draw it the way you'd see it. Would you ... well ... I was wondering if..." "Go get in the position and let me see it," Kate said. "Um ... Lissa, can I sit there?" "Ugh," she said, pushing herself upright from where she'd sprawled. I sat and called Melody over to sit in my lap. "Remember the other night when we were all cuddled up on the sofa?" I asked. "Now, Lissa, face me and put an arm around Mel. Tuck up." In a moment we were all back in the very comfortable little pile we'd been in a few nights ago. Kate stood over by the fireplace and looked at us. Then she started walking around us, stopping to look from nearly every angle. We sat like that for nearly five minutes before she stopped circling. She sat next to Melody and me on my left and managed to snuggle into our arms. "I can see it," she said. "But it's like I can see the things that you draw. It's a beautiful composition, but it's so broad that I don't know if it is compatible with what I'd put in the exhibition. On the other hand, I'd love to try it, but let's not tell Clarice about it. At least not yet." "What do you think, lovers? Could we sit for a portrait like this for Kate?" "Hells yeah!" Melody said. "I was wondering how we were ever going to get a picture of the three of us." "Wonderful," Lissa mumbled. She rolled a little and lay back in Melody's lap looking up at the three of us. "Do we have the energy for a hot-tub? Or should we just go to bed?" I felt Kate shift a little beneath my arm and raised an eyebrow at Melody. "Let's just call it a night," she said. "I'd just fall asleep and drown." "Yeah," said Kate. "I think I'll just crawl down the hall and go to sleep. This was a fun day." "You can..." I pressed a finger against Lissa's lips as Kate extracted herself from our pile. We all unwound and stood up. I caught Kate's hand before she left and pulled her to me for a kiss. "Goodnight, Kitten," I said. She smiled at me. Then turned to Melody. They kissed sweetly and Melody had a dreamy look on her face. Kate turned to Lissa. That kiss might have been just a little longer and a little more intimate than Melody's and mine, but I wasn't sure if that was Kate's doing or Lissa's. "'Night." Kate wandered down the hall to the guest room. "That girl just does something to me," Lissa said. "Me too," I affirmed. "But she's not ready to join us in bed. I know you were about to invite her." "Yeah." "But why not?" Melody asked. "She's shared the big bed with me when you were in Chicago and Lissa was sick." "And with me while you were in Nebraska and Melody was in Boston," Lissa added. "If you were both someplace else, she'd probably sleep with me, too," I said, "exactly the same way she did with you—chastely. When she has all three of us together, though, I don't think she intends it to be chaste." "You know something?" Melody asked. "It's just a feeling. When she asked us to the zoo concert, you know, she asked me. I thought she was just asking me at first, but she just assumed that if she was asking me, she was asking all three of us. When I explained what I thought, she told me she'd never ask just me on our first date. It's the same thing. She won't be involved with any of the three of us until she's involved with all three of us." ------- Melody was wearing a grey skirt cut just above the knee and conforming tightly to her womanly curves from there to her waist. Her blue silk blouse was neatly tucked in. Her hair was tied in a bun on top of her head and she was wearing the cutest pair of secretary's glasses I'd ever seen. I'd never seen her in glasses before, and I wasn't really sure there was glass in them. But they looked cute. Even more amazing, though, were her legs in charcoal mesh nylons with a seam up the back leading down to a pair of high heels that screamed sexy. At least two of us sitting in front of her as she gave her presentation couldn't think of much beyond getting her to the bedroom instead of the boardroom. I wouldn't have bet on Jack thinking any differently. "So to capitalize on both our spokesperson's image as a fashion-setter and her reputation on the courts, I give you 'Ice Queen Sportswear.' Our slogan: 'Take it to the court.' Our logo, a racquet hitting a snowball. Just the right amount of whimsy mixed with attitude. Lady and gentlemen, an Open Winner." Melody's presentation was beautiful. She'd done the requisite PowerPoint, but sitting in our boardroom/living room, we'd have had to all gather around a laptop to view it. Instead, Melody had huge flipchart pages pasted up on poster board so she could dramatically reveal what was behind. I started applauding. Lissa and Jack joined in. "May I?" Jack asked permission of Lissa and me to question our presenter. We nodded. "Miss Anderson, that was a very nice presentation, and I understand you have more, but I'd like to ask just a couple of questions if you don't mind." "Of course, Mr. Wade," Melody answered. She sounded confident and professional, but I could see her wobbling on her high heels. "Name search. Has this been vetted by the attorney?" "Yes sir. I did the preliminary search and having found nothing in the marketplace on the Internet, I submitted the proposal along with my short list of alternatives to our attorney, Mr. MacDonald. He has indicated that the name is in-corp-or-able? and trademarkable." "Good. Now about the image. Don't you think Ice Queen has a bit of a negative image overall?" "I put out a SurveyMonkey on exactly that subject. While it appears that when men use the words, they are derogatory. 'That bitch will turn you on, but she's a real Ice Queen, ' meaning that she's a prick tease. But among women, the phrase takes on a more admirable quality. It means a strong woman who won't let men—or anyone else—take control of her. It's more akin to the old phrase 'ice water in his veins, ' meaning a person who is totally cool and focused. Nothing raises her blood pressure. This has been advanced by such popular movie icons as Lara Croft, Hermione Granger, Bella Swan, and Natasha Romanoff. They are powerful, sexy, and they don't take shit from anyone." "Well. Thank you. I think that's all my questions." "Are there any other questions?" Melody asked. "Are you wearing garters?" Lissa asked. At that point we all broke up laughing and Melody proceeded to her next point in the presentation. "SingWear has agreed to supply us with an initial run of our logo apparel with exclusive rights to certain textile products. Miss Grant has provided design specifications, modifying some of SingWear's basic designs to suit the powerful woman image. SingWear had a tendency to make everything look like French-cut swimsuits. They are very proud of their line of beach volleyball outfits. But they've agreed to cut to the specifications that Miss Grant gave them. In the meantime, acting on information that SingWear provided regarding their fabric supplier in China, I've had a couple of late night calls to Beijing. Unfortunately, we have to assume that if we have the fabrics dyed to our specifications in China, every cut-rate sportswear manufacturer in the world will have our designs in their fall lines. It's possible that one of them could even beat us to market." Melody paused and took a long drink of water. I was scowling. The one thing that I didn't want was for Lissa and Melody to get ripped off. They were putting a lot of work into this. You always expect things to be copied the next season, but you lose your edge if everyone comes out with the same thing. People would buy Nike over Ice Queen simply because it had the Nike name on it. "I have found a U.S. textile mill that would supply our designs exclusively for our uses with certain minimum orders guaranteed. The nice part about this is that the designs are difficult to replicate if you don't have the dye formulae. So even a second run with a different dye-lot would likely have color differences recognizable to the average consumer. It's costly, but we'd be guaranteed exclusivity. The fabric would be shipped to Singapore for tailoring and the goods shipped back to the U.S. and other international markets as we see fit. Mr. Wade, I can see the questions forming. We may as well deal with them as they come." "Thank you Miss Anderson. I agree strongly that if you pursue custom fabric designs you should do everything possible to protect them. But I've looked at the numbers you kindly provided in advance and this is expensive. Would you lose that much by just using stock fabrics for the first season? Isn't it the designs of the outfits themselves that will sell the goods?" "Good question and I've tried not to be too sold on my own work," Melody said sadly. "Stock fabrics would be cheaper. They might even be unique since all the major sportswear manufacturers will use custom fabrics." "Not so," Lissa said. "If we went with stock fabrics, our goods would fall into the same category as the white label clothes that get branded for Target, Walmart, K-Mart, Sears, and J.C. Penney. Without custom fabrics we'd have to cut the prices so much that it would end up worse for profit than paying for premium fabrics." I wanted to cheer. I don't know why I felt like we had to convince Jack that we were doing the right thing. Technically, he was an unpaid consultant without even an interest in the business. We all knew he was as emotionally vested in Lissa's idea as the rest of us, though. "I see the point," Jack said. "You've done your homework. So what is the potential distribution?" Lissa stood and Melody sat down to yield the floor. Of course, Lissa and I were still dressed as we'd come from the club—in our warm-ups. We'd showered and cleaned up before coming home, but we hadn't taken formal meeting-wear with us. When we got home there'd been light hors d›oeuvres and bottled water waiting for us and the meeting started as soon as we were settled. "As of today, we have interest from regional retailers in Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Dallas. Of course, these are not orders, but they are based on personal contacts I've maintained with the buyers in each of those stores. If we have a line of sportswear that is unique and well-supported, we have customers. But, of course, we expect wholesale to those stores to be far less than our own retail endeavor online. The full marketing and sales presentation is scheduled for next week." I can't say that the rest of our meeting went with everyone in complete agreement on every point. But with a few minor changes to the plan based on a couple of good suggestions from Jack (like adding a child-labor clause to our manufacturing contracts), we came out with a manufacturing plan. All we needed was about a quarter million in capital funding! ------- "Two hundred fifty thousand?" I croaked. "I've never even seen that much money, let alone know where I can get it. How are we going to finance it?" We were in our second favorite meeting place—the spa. The living room where we held the board meeting? That's like third or fourth on our list of meeting places, but we had Jack there. Now it was just the three of us, soaking in the tub. Melody still had her hair up and was wearing her glasses, which were fogged over. She'd proven to us that she was, indeed, wearing garters—and not much else—under her skirt, but we'd managed to get her out of them. "Who do we have that we can borrow from?" Melody asked. "My dad probably has that money, but the chances that I could get it from him are between zero and none." "Not my folks," I said. "I'm pretty sure they've got more than Social Security to live on when they retire, but Dad's a school teacher and Mom makes dolls. Most of those she gives away. I might be able to talk them out of some of my college funds since I've got a scholarship, but they just gave me a car." "I don't think parents are a good funding resource," Lissa said. "No more than I'd take the money from Jack, even though he's already said he would front it. I just don't think that's a good idea. But we've got to come up with something." I reached over in front of Melody and drew hearts in the steam on her glasses. She had to take them off to see what I'd done, after which I got a big kiss. And then another. There was a lot of fumbling and groping that went on after that and ... well ... we never did get back to the issue of capitalization. ------- I walked into Carmine's Cucina on Thursday at noon and a very reserved Wendy met me at the door. "Usual, Mr. Ames?" she asked. "Uh ... Wendy?" She pointed at Clarice's booth and I saw there was another person in the booth with her. I nodded at Wendy. "Okay." She smiled and I went over to join Clarice. "Is this a good time, Clarice?" I asked. "I can come back later." "Tony. We were waiting for you. Here, sit with me." She slid over on the bench to make room and I sat face-to-face with a middle-aged woman. She had coal black hair with a streak of white through it that reminded me of that late-night horror movie lady on television. She was wearing way too much makeup for any normal person and her eyebrows had been plucked or waxed and then drawn back on with a pencil. She was dressed simply, but her blouse was unbuttoned one button too far—make that two buttons—so her bra and cleavage were exposed. I suppose that if I thought less critically, the look might have been sexy on a woman half her age. But it looked kind of sad on her. "Sharon Reeves, I'd like to introduce you to Tony Ames. Tony, Sharon would like you to paint her portrait." I recognized the name before the woman. She had sent me a picture. I was pretty sure now that the picture wasn't recent. The woman snaked her hand across the table and I took it. At least she had a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you Mr. Ames." "Please, call me Tony," I said. "The pleasure is mine." Sharon looked at me, then at Clarice. She shook her head slowly side-to-side and lowered her gaze to the table. "What a stupid fuckup," she sighed. What had I done? "I'm sorry, Ms. Reeves..." "No, no. Not you, Tony. Me," she said. "I must look like a complete tramp to you." She immediately started fiddling with her buttons and pulling them together. "I am not a cougar. Somehow I imagined you would see me like you painted those glorious young women I saw at the exhibition. I can tell by your eyes that you just see a trashy old woman. I should have known better." Clarice gave me a nudge which I assumed meant that I should reassure the woman. What could I say? "Um ... is that how you'd like to be seen?" I asked. "I find that sometimes we think of ourselves differently in our heads than in our mirrors. I had a model in class last fall who was a really old woman—I mean 80s at least—who loved the portrait one of my classmates did that showed her without wrinkles. She said the artist captured who she really was." "My god. Do you psychoanalyze all your clients? Yes, that's how I want to think of myself. I want to see me as I was when I was twenty and fresh and had four fewer children and two fewer husbands. I need someone to Photoshop me, not paint me." "Well, let's go back a bit," I suggested. "Let's say you've never seen me—in other words, like it was five minutes ago. How did you imagine me?" "I imagined you had a beard," she began. "I thought you would have long, narrow hands and an angular face. I thought you might have long hair, probably pulled back in a ponytail. You were taller." "Were you disappointed?" "Perhaps. But not anymore. The artist I imagined was not very bright." We laughed and the ice began to thaw. I reached into my pack and got a sketchbook. Sharon's eyes grew wide as she realized I was going to sketch her right there at the table. "Oh no! Not looking like this. Please." "It's not a camera," I said. "Let me show you what I see." While I sketched, Clarice captured Sharon's attention with contract details, explaining my working process. I didn't know I had one, but Clarice told Sharon that I would always be accompanied by a chaperone, but that the chaperone did not need to be positioned where she could see my client if there were modesty issues. She said that the sitting would include reference photographs. We would work for a period of approximately two hours to do sketches. If Sharon did not see a pose that she liked, a second sitting of two hours would be scheduled. If we couldn't agree on a pose, she would pay a cancellation fee that would cover my time and labor. If we agreed on a pose, I would take additional reference photos and then I would do the painting in my studio. The finished work would be delivered when completed and installed if desired, but the contract would specifically indicate that the painting would be used but not sold in the artist's premier exhibition. Framing was at the client's expense. Sharon had become so attentive to what Clarice was explaining that she completely forgot I was drawing. And as her face relaxed, I began to see the woman she saw inside. I repositioned her eyebrows, emphasized the joy in her expressions while letting the frown lines disappear. I softened her lips and tried to imagine what they would be like in her husband's or lover's eyes. I dropped the white streak in her hair to just a highlight. As I drew, I felt myself begin to smile. I could paint this woman. Clarice noticed when I'd stopped drawing and re-directed the conversation. "Now, Sharon, what remains is to see whether you believe Tony's vision is compatible with what you would like to have in a portrait. Why don't we take a look and see what you think." I handed Sharon the sketchbook and she looked at it intently. Her expression suggested to me that she was coolly receptive at best. But then it began to change. She traced parts of the drawing with her finger. She tilted her head to match the image. And as she laid the sketchbook down on the table, I saw a tear escape from her eye. She looked at me and simply nodded. Clarice filled in the blanks on a contract and pushed it over to Sharon. She signed it and then dug her checkbook out of her purse, quickly filling in the numbers and signing the check. "We only require 50% at signing," Clarice said. "Oh well. I don't mind paying up front," Sharon answered. We set a time on Monday to meet for our first posing session and Sharon excused herself. She shook my hand, then held it for an instant longer than was necessary as she nodded again. When she was out the door, my salad and Coke instantly appeared in front of me. "Sorry it took so long, Tony," Wendy said. "I didn't want to disturb you while you were drawing." "Thanks Wendy. I really appreciate it," I said. She beamed. "Well, Tony? What do you think?" Clarice asked as she held out the check for me to see. Wow! "Um ... I thought we agreed on $2,000 as the price," I said. "This is for $2,300." "Well ... there's really no reason for you to pay my commission if the client is willing to. You will get $2,070. Pretty close to what we agreed on." "But I can't take it yet. I need to actually do the work." "Your name isn't on the check, my dear boy. It will be held in escrow until the work is completed. Then the funds will be released to your bank account. You are now a working artist. If you don't have a chaperone for Monday, by the way, I will arrange my schedule to accompany you. I wouldn't mind being there for your first outing." ------- Lissa and I cut our workout a little short on Friday and rushed home to help Melody get ready for dinner with the James family. The house smelled incredible but I swear that every pan and flat surface in the kitchen was a mess. I set about scrubbing up the dishes while Melody put the finishing touches on the salad and Lissa set the dining table for five adults and four children. This was going to be interesting. At least we outnumbered the rugrats. Lissa answered the door promptly at 6:00 p.m. and the house was instant chaos. Damon and Drew had been keyed up all afternoon, according to Molly, who had dropped them off at five. They were so excited to have an evening play date with their school friends. Fortunately, dinner was ready to be served, so by 6:20 we were all sitting at the table dishing up the most spectacular meal I think I'd ever tasted. "What is this, Lissa?" Noelle asked. "It's delicious." "Melody cooked tonight," Lissa said. "It's called pastitsio," Melody said. "It's Greek macaroni and cheese." "It should be called 'dirty every dish in the kitchen, '" I moaned. "What was that stuff I was scrubbing out of the saucepan?" "It's a béchamel sauce," Melody explained. "Sorry I left the pan on the stove after I poured the sauce over the top." "And I assume this has no calories and no fat," Patrick said. He took a sip of the wine he'd brought. It was a nice gesture, but when Lissa and I declined because we're in training and Melody pulled her "do I look old enough to drink?" routine, Noelle decided to be the designated driver for her family. So Patrick was the only one with a glass. "I hope that's not an issue," Melody said. "I'm not sure there's a way to make a low-calorie, low-fat version of this. It has your entire month's allotment of cholesterol, just in the egg-yolks." "Ah," Patrick said, turning to Noelle, "so you have an accomplice in your plot to collect my life insurance." We all laughed. The kids, of course, raced through their meal so they could go play. To a one, they had scraped off the top béchamel layer and left the meat layer, having only eaten the macaroni and cheese part. They politely asked to be excused and all the parents gave their assent. I think when they disappeared back into the boys' bedroom that we all breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, now we can have adult conversation," Noelle sighed. "What do you think? Twenty minutes?" "If we're lucky," Lissa said. "Then talk fast," Noelle prompted "The secret." Lissa took a deep breath and looked at Melody and me. "Tony and Melody are my partners," Lissa said. "What kind of business?" Patrick automatically asked. "Oh. Well we have a new fashion line coming out this fall," Lissa said. "Lissa?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "This was so much easier when it was your friends," Lissa laughed. "All right. We are business partners, but Tony and Melody are my life partners." Noelle squealed and bounced in her seat in a way that was reminiscent of Melody. There was a little more of Noelle that was bouncing, though, and I tore my eyes away from what I was seeing. Patrick, on the other hand, was staring at us with his mouth open. He took a huge gulp of wine and refilled his glass. "You mean you both share Tony?" he asked. "We all share each other," I said. "Oh." Noelle wanted to know all the details about when we'd met, how we fell in love, and even how we were going to manage the legal aspects of being a three-parent family. We told her as much as was appropriate. If she had prurient interests in what we did—and I could tell she did—she'd just have to let her imagination run wild. Patrick listened. He wasn't critical, but I was sure he shared some of his wife's interest in the intimate details we weren't sharing. Gradually, he re-entered the conversation and if anything was more bemused than amazed. "Sweetheart," he said as he casually put his arm around his wife, "it strikes me that you've been negligent in our relationship. Why haven't you brought a cute nineteen-year-old into our lives? We could have an expanded relationship." I held my breath for a moment. That kind of remark could be explosive and besides, it wasn't what we were all about. I suppose that for most men, though, that was the way we'd be seen. Noelle didn't miss a beat, though. "I've been thinking about that," she said. She leaned in to talk to Lissa conspiratorially, but loudly enough for all of us to hear. "You know that new tennis pro at the club? I swear he doesn't look like he's out of high school, but he is so built! I got him to work with me on my backhand for nearly half an hour Wednesday. I had to shower twice." "Hey!" Patrick said. "Not a guy!" "Oh, darling," Noelle said sympathetically. "What good would bringing a girl into the family do? You know 19 would go into 31 a lot more times than 36 would ever go into 19." Wine came out Patrick's nose and we had a great laugh, which he joined enthusiastically. "Well, it looks like I'll have to polish up my bi-genes a bit," Patrick laughed. "Want to give me a hand, Tony?" "Uh ... we don't really share outside the family, Patrick," I said. "I met a nice guy on campus last week who might be interested, though." "Don't you dare," Noelle said turning Patrick's face to her. "We aren't sharing outside the family anymore either." Well, that might have been too much information, but it piqued my curiosity. We definitely weren't in Nebraska anymore. Sorry, Toto; I meant Kansas. Noelle turned to Melody and deftly changed the conversation. "Melody, I meant to ask you about the dress you're wearing. I've never seen anything like it and I'm just enthralled. Where did you get it?" Melody had a light summer sundress on that was cobalt blue and set off her auburn hair perfectly. Spaghetti straps over her shoulders left acres of beautiful pale skin exposed. There was a ruffle of fabric at the bust line and the waist was cinched with a matching belt that tied in a cute bow. The skirt stopped several inches above her totally edible knees. What was most striking, though were the little stars all over the dress. They were pale blue against the deeper blue background and appeared completely random. "I made this," Melody said. "It's a standard pattern, but I did some modifications, including the fabric." "The fabric is beautiful. What is it?" "Well, it's a light cotton," Melody began, "but it was solid blue when I bought it." "You dyed it?" "Sort of. It's a dye discharge technique. Instead of using colored dye, you use a bleaching agent and suck the color out of the fabric. It's almost never done commercially. There's about a million ways it could be messed up. I confess that it took me three yards of material to make a dress that only uses a yard and a quarter." "You should sell these. Lissa, were you serious that you have a new fashion line coming out this fall? Is this part of it?" We all three looked at each other with our eyes getting wider. We were going to need another board meeting. Before Patrick and Noelle bundled up their kids and took them home, Noelle had placed an order for three summer sundresses from Melody and agreed to pay for the extra fabric so Melody could experiment with different discharge designs. ------- "Could we do that?" I asked Lissa and Melody as I cuddled up with them in our favorite meeting place. "It's massive," Melody said. "I've never even considered doing it with the quantity of material that we're talking about. We'd have to set up our own manufacturing facility to prepare the fabric. I've got to talk to Professor DeWitt. It might not even be possible." "We'd never be able to make athletic wear out of cotton, though," Lissa said. "It just isn't sexy enough." "Rayon," Melody said. "Dye discharge works well on any natural fabric like cotton, silk, or wool. Rayon is a sexy, durable, pseudo-natural fabric that will work, as well. We just can't use microfibers or polys." "It could cut our start-up costs by nearly half and give us a product that simply couldn't be replicated," I said. I could see the possibility of some patents as well if we had to create any special equipment to do the work. Hell, dream big. ------- Chapter 5 I swear; I'm a girl. I'm missing some of my favorite girl-bits, and I've got this extra tackle between my legs, but maybe living with two girls is rubbing off on me. Is that possible? When Lissa and I got back from Pilates Saturday morning, we were downright giggling about going out with Kate in the afternoon. We got home to find Melody alternately dancing in place while she bounced up and down or running to the closet to grab yet one more possibility to wear and lay it on the bed. All three of us were so excited! "Wait! What am I going to wear?" I interjected as Lissa and Melody swapped sundresses. "Oh my god!" Melody yelled. "Don't you have shorts and ... no, no, no. Those are too ratty." "White pants," Lissa said. "With a nice polo shirt. One with no logo on it." "Do they make those?" I asked. "I don't have any white pants. And it's a picnic. We're sitting on the ground. I'd be grass-stained." "Wait, not jeans." "We have to go shopping!" ------- Well, Melody and Lissa went shopping. I found myself back at Quick-Cuts where I went before the party back in May. I hadn't had a haircut since and they were all appalled. "So, how many dates do you have tonight?" Donna, the hairdresser, asked. When she'd done the cut in May I had five girls on my arm that night and picked up four more before morning. "Only three tonight," I said. "Howard!" she called. "He needs another shave." The big barber headed our direction. "He'd be furious if I let you tell me about it without him being here. I think your last adventure gave him wet dreams for a week." "Mmmm. Me too," I said. "So spill the details before I put the lather on," Howard said. I grinned. "Well, my two wives and I..." "No way!" "I'm telling the story." "Go ahead. Go ahead." "Well, the three of us have a crush on this really sweet girl. We've been friends for a while, but tonight's our first date." "You finally got the courage to ask her out?" "No, she asked us." "I'm not believing any of this anymore," Howard said as he lathered me up. "If there's more than one, I bet they weigh 250 each." He scraped off the remains of my beard and mustache while he ranted about beautiful women only being in that kind of relationship if it's a porn movie. He gave me credit for having a good imagination, though, and he'd certainly look up some good pictures on the Internet to plug into my story that night. Once he'd finished, Donna held up a mirror for me to inspect the job. I saw behind me Melody and Lissa walk into the shop with their arms full of packages. I thanked Donna and pulled out my wallet to pay her as I walked up to the girls. They both kissed me on the cheek. "Oooo. So smooth!" Melody squealed. "Your face would feel so good betwe ... um" Lissa cut her little fantasy short realizing that Donna was staring at us. I gave her the money. "Hey, Howard!" she called. "I think they like the shave." We looked toward the back of the shop in time to see Howard's head come up and look at the three of us. I grinned. He dropped his razor and narrowly missed doing damage to his foot. The look on his face was precious. I waved and we left. On the way home we stopped to wash and vacuum the car, running around each other, splashing, and laughing. Then we had to decide what the proper seating arrangement would be. I definitely won that because we all agreed that the place of honor was the front passenger seat. I'd be driving and Lissa and Melody would be in the second row. ------- It was only two o'clock and we couldn't pick up Kate until 4:30, so we found ways to entertain ourselves and each other. That included a hot-tub, and a fair amount of fooling around in bed. Lissa told me exactly where she thought my face would feel good and I proceeded to put it there. While I pushed my freshly shaved cheeks up against her smooth mound and legs, Melody played with Lissa's nipples. There's something to be said for having a couple of orgasms before you go out on a date to calm you down. But by 4:00, we were all dressed and fidgeting around wanting to leave. "Would you look at us?" I asked. "We look like we've never been on a date before." I was wearing a nice pair of chinos, sandals with no socks, and a thin, short-sleeved linen shirt. I felt pretty darn good, but looking at Lissa and Melody, I was barely up to standard. Melody was wearing one of her custom-made sundresses—this time strapless. It was green and had a leaf pattern. I still hadn't figured out how she made them. It was something about scattering leaves on the fabric and then spraying it with bleach. Amazing. Lissa chose to wear shorts and a linen blouse that nearly matched my shirt with epaulets on the shoulder and pockets that covered the necessary parts of her breasts since she'd decided to go braless. I could tell from across the room that she was excited. "Well, we've never been on a first date like this," Melody said. "I mean, think of it. When we first got together we came right over here and spent a weekend trying to screw each other's brains out. Then when we got together with Lissa, we did the same thing." "I've never been out on a first date," Lissa said. She blushed. "I never dated." I gathered Melody and Lissa into my arms. "Are you excited?" I whispered. "As excited as I am?" Both girls looked up at me and then at each other. Their eyes were glistening as they nodded. We kissed all together and I held them tightly. "Well, let's go pick up our date, then," I said. ------- Kate was a knockout! She chose shorts—really short white shorts—and a pink tank top. She wore a gray, lightweight jersey hoodie that fell off her shoulders and down to about the bottom of her shorts. It was pulled just far enough in toward the front to cover her nipples, which I was sure would be visible otherwise. Her hair, instead of hanging in her usual ponytail was pulled up in a knot at the nape of her neck so the back of her shoulders was bare. The three people with her—yeah, that was us—couldn't keep their tongues in their mouths. We'd brought the blankets and Kate had a picnic basket, a cooler, and a big thermos. We went through the gates promptly at 5:00 p.m. when they opened and joined the mad rush to the concert lawn. We staked out a space just right of center and about half-way up the lawn. It wasn't long before there wasn't even a path between the blankets as hundreds of people came to set up their places. The meal that Kate set out for us was unbelievable. "Did you make all this, Kate?" Lissa asked as food kept coming out of the baskets. "My dorm room includes a gourmet kitchen, didn't you know?" she laughed. "It's just up the street at Whole Foods. You don't think I overdid it, do you?" "Kitten, this is a feast. We may have to invite everyone else here to help eat it," I said. "Sushi? Are you literally trying to feed the 5,000 with 'loaves and fishes?'" "I've never had it before, so I thought this would be a good time to try it. Do you like sushi?" "I've never had it either," I answered. "In Nebraska, this is called 'bait.' Lissa?" "You can't live in Seattle for as long as I have and not have at least tried it. Oooo. Sashimi." "Is it raw?" Melody asked. "All the fish where I come from are cooked. Really well." "Oh, well, there's some traditional stuff, too," Kate said. "Fried chicken and potato salad. And I have some Indian samosas and a cold soup they called gazpacho, I think." "Cold soup?" I asked. "I'd never imagine such a thing. I'll try it." "I expect you'll try everything, Tony," Lissa laughed. "You can be our official taster." "There's no poison in here, is there, Kitten? The taster doesn't particularly want this to be the last supper." "If there is, we'll sue Whole Foods when you're gone," she giggled. "For mental distress and hardship." "And loss of services," Melody added. We were sitting in a circle around the food and it was all really good. That also gave us the right angle so that we could all see each other. I have to say that with Lissa, Melody, and Kate ranged around me, I had the best view. I guess, though, that I was getting plenty of looks, too. Once I caught Kate staring at me and for some unknown reason, I could feel myself blush—you know, that kind of tickling behind your ears and feeling your face get hot? She smiled at me. I know that lots of times, someone grins, smirks, leers, laughs, giggles, or some other facial expression that you get the meaning of right away. But who just smiles? I don't mean a forced smile for a camera that always looks like your face got frozen. I mean just a happy, open—yeah, loving—smile. When Kate smiled, she committed. When she smiled, her whole body smiled. And it didn't hurt that her hoodie had fallen back so far that it was just hooked at her elbows and we could see every curve and every breath she took. "I wish I'd known Seattle was so beautiful when I moved here last year," I said softly. "Do you mean the weather or the company?" Lissa asked. "Yeah." ------- We had the remains of dinner—except for the pie, the cookies and the thermos—packed away and I flopped back on the blanket. I was almost too full to move. I felt a familiar presence beside me and Lissa leaned up to kiss my cheek. She reached her left hand across me and laid it on my chest. I had my eyes closed as we waited for the singers to start and felt a hand in my right hand and a bare leg against my leg. I raised the hand to my lips and then brought it to my chest where Lissa's hand joined them. I lifted my head just a little and saw Melody cuddled up on the other side of Kate and knew she was holding hands, too. We stayed that way for maybe five minutes watching a few errant clouds scuttling across the sky. Then a single voice cut through the air and suddenly it was full of the amazing sound of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was like we were pulled back to a sitting position and were wrapped in their magical sounds. They were in the third number when I felt something pulling me inside. By the fifth, I couldn't sit still and I knew I was disturbing Lissa and Kate. I slipped out from between them and let Lissa slide over to take my place. She looked at me quizzically, but I couldn't respond. I was rummaging in my pack and in a minute I had a sketchbook and pencils. "Do you guys mind if I make a quick sketch?" I whispered. We were supposed to be enjoying a concert together, but I just had to draw. All three girls gave me a broad smile. The park was a riot of colors. We'd brought a blue and white quilt and a bright yellow blanket to sit on. The cooler lid was blue and the basket was sepia. Kate's tank top was pink next to Melody's green sundress. The people on the next blanket over were sitting on little camp chairs that were a burnt orange with dark green and wheat stripes. The guy and girl sitting right in front of us were both dressed in black and I thought for an instant that they must be art students, too. I had watercolor pencils somewhere in my bag and after racing through a couple of graphite sketches, I pulled out the colored pencils and began filling in spaces. My heart was beating in time with the African rhythms being sung. I couldn't stop my pencils. I was in the zone. I pulled a brush out of my pencil box and Kate reached across Lissa to hand me a bottle of water. The colors blended. The whole scene came to life. When the music ended, everyone broke out in applause, but my three dates were looking at me as they clapped. I felt that magical release that is almost like an orgasm, but it's quieter and not as messy. For all that, it is no less intense. It totally drained me and I was shaking. When we got back to the car, I handed the keys to Lissa. She drove with Kate in the passenger seat and Melody held me in the back. I seriously hoped that I'd not ruined our big date. But I was sure Kate understood, just by the way she looked at me and smiled. I bet she experiences the same thing when she draws. ------- "Would you like to come back to our place?" I heard Lissa ask Kate. "Gosh. Aren't I supposed to be asking you up for a drink?" Kate giggled. Then she got serious. "Guys, I'm not really ready for the evening to end if you don't want to, but I'm not really ready for anything else, either. I like you a lot, but I really want to date you for a while, you know? I mean ... I'd like a second date. God! I'd like a million dates, but a second one would be nice. Could we just sit and talk and maybe cuddle or hold hands for a while before I go home?" "Kitten, you are in control," Melody said. I don't think I'd ever heard her use the pet name before. "Let's go back and make tea and see what food we can salvage and have for lunch tomorrow. When we're done, you can use the guest room so we don't have to go back out after we get comfy. I know you still have a toothbrush there." "Okay. Can I borrow a pair of pajamas? If you don't mind ... I mean ... I just..." "Hey," I said. "This is our first date. I'm still not sure if we should kiss you goodnight." ------- When we got back to the house, we discovered there were two containers of salads that we hadn't even opened. Everything was still cold, so we wrapped it all up and got it in the refrigerator, then went to sit on the deck. It was such a beautiful view over the Sound. I couldn't imagine how much this place must have cost Lissa. It was a lingering dusk—still light enough to see the water and the various lights coming on below us at ten at night. The heat was lingering as well. I jumped up from my chair. "Drinks!" I said. I ran into the kitchen and got out my favorite summer concoction: a bottle of cranberry juice and a bottle of ginger ale. I considered making floats, but with all we had to eat this evening, I thought my special cocktail would do the trick. I got out tall glasses and straws and served my ladies. "That's pretty," Kate said. "It doesn't have any ... uh..." "Alcohol free," I said. "Your honor is safe with us." "I wasn't really worried," she hastened to add. "I just don't do alcohol. That little drink you served at the party was more than I've ever had." She took a sip. "This is good!" "Tony's a man of many talents," Lissa said. "We are not going to catalog them tonight," I said firmly. "I know, let's get ready for bed and play Scrabble," Melody said. "It's cooler in the house anyway." We agreed and all rushed to put pajamas—or in my case, a pair of cutoff sweats and a t-shirt—and then moved to the living room. Lissa cleared off the coffee table while Melody got the game and I refreshed a pitcher of drinks. I felt arms wrap around me from behind and got a nice hug. Kate laid her head against my back. "Thank you," she said. I put both my hands over hers. "We should all be thanking you. We've wanted to do this for a long time and didn't know what to do." "Maybe it will get easier now." "Or at least more frequent," I said. That got me one more squeeze before she slipped away to the living room. I turned to see her sexy butt bouncing in a pair of Melody's pajama bottoms and a baby-doll top. Oh wow! Scrabble is not my best game and it was made more difficult by having three sexy girls barely covered in summer PJs. I made a couple decent scores, and Lissa made some good words, but it was soon evident that the contest was between Melody and Kate. Melody certainly had not had that much competition in when Lissa and I played her. Melody thought she wrapped up the game when she played off a trailing 's' near the bottom of the board and put down all her letters to spell SQUARELY. It took us a while to add it up with the 'q' on a double letter score, the 'e' on a double word score and all her letters played. Her proud tally was 108 points for the word. The best I could think anyone would be able to play on that would be something like YES to get a triple word score, but Kate's play was next. She laid all her letters down. TRIPTYCH. We were blown away. She'd covered two triple word scores. It took us a bit of arguing to decide if the word was tripled and the results added to another triple, but we finally agreed that the only fair way was to triple it and then triple the results. Plus 50 for playing all her letters. She scored 221. That was about twice what I'd scored in the entire game. "Agh!" Melody screamed. "I hate you! Don't you know you're supposed to let your date win?" She slid off the sofa with a pillow and started hitting Kate with it. Kate responded by wrestling with Melody to try to get control of the pillow. They narrowly missed knocking over a drink, which I grabbed and set with the rest of the drinks on the mantel. Lissa quickly scooped up the scrabble board and pieces and set them on the dining room table. Lissa and I were both turning back to the fight when all the giggling and laughing suddenly stopped. We saw Kate with Melody pinned beneath her, their lips mashed together. Their pajama tops had ridden up high enough that their bare tummies were pressed together. It didn't look like they were going to come up for air anytime soon. "I wonder if they're ticklish," I said to Lissa after we'd shared a little kiss while watching them. She grinned and we fell into the pile. More wrestling ensued and pretty soon Lissa surrendered to Kate and Melody and I shared a kiss while we watched Kate thoroughly buss Lissa. I wasn't really sure that Lissa tried all that hard to keep from being pinned. When Melody and I had decided this had gone on long enough, we launched back into the fray. I turned the tables on Kate and pinned her beneath my larger frame. "Gotcha," I said. I missed my wives sneaking up behind me and before I knew it, they had pulled me off Kate and each sat on one of my arms as I lay flat on my back with Kate on top. "I am the champion," Kate said. Then she lay fully on top of me and my mouth got the workout she'd given Melody and Lissa. The tentative shyness that I'd experienced with Kate before was gone and the kiss I was getting had serious intentions. My hard cock was firmly rising between Kate's legs and she ground herself against it. Suddenly Kate was up off of me and moving toward the hall. "I'm really tired and need to go to bed now," she said, panting. She backed away from us toward the guest room. "Thank you for all the really nice goodnight kisses and a wonderful time tonight. Goodnight!" With that, she dashed into the guest room and shut the door. ------- "Oh my god! Did she just tease us?" I asked when we'd recovered enough to wobble to our own room and shut the door. "Prick tease and pussy tease rolled into one," Melody sighed. "If one or more of you doesn't do something about my leaking pussy right now I'm going to explode," Lissa said. "I don't know, Lissa," I said. "Isn't that like the equivalent of a high school boy going home after a date and beating off?" "Oh!" "No, it's not like that, lover," Lissa said. "We're partners. We're all turned on and need each other. I want you, Tony." By the time she'd said the words, she was stripped naked. I glanced over my shoulder and Melody was flinging her bottoms across the room somewhere near where her top had gone. "I don't think so, darlings," I said. "I don't think you want Tony's boy cock. You want to taste our sweet Kitten's pussy. You want to feel her tongue lapping up your juices. You want her perky nipples in your mouth and pressed against your aching tits." Both Melody and Lissa were moaning on the bed and writhing around like cats in heat. I was on a roll. "You want her purple-painted fingernails scratching along your back while she kisses you and tells you how much she wants you. You want to feel her fingers caressing your ass as she pulls your pussy against hers. You want to tangle your fingers in her hair as you pull her face to your lips, your breasts, and your pussy. You even want to suck her little toes into your mouth and bathe them with your tongue while she makes you scream out your orgasm." Both Melody and Lissa grabbed pillows and stuffed them in their mouths with one hand while the other madly frigged their pussies. Twin Peaks. I swear that if they'd come any harder, I'd have to wash the ceiling. Oh, they'd done the same thing to me a few months ago and Allison had heard us clear down the hall. It was fun to get them back a little and to see them climax without ever having touched them. The only problem was that I was horny, too. I wanted Kate just as badly as my lovers did. And my cock had left a huge wet spot of precum on my sweats after Kate ground her pussy down on me. Lissa and Melody were coming down enough that they'd removed the pillows from their faces and turned to kiss each other. They looked at me. "Evil man," Lissa hissed. Both girls' eyes came to rest on my erection, still tenting my sweats. "Somebody's gonna get it," Melody said imitating Lissa's tone almost perfectly. They got on their hands and knees and came crawling toward me. I realized there were things other than fear that could freeze a man in his tracks. I couldn't have moved from that spot if the house was on fire. They pulled my sweats down and once they were around my ankles, I stepped out of them. My t-shirt followed. Two loads of cum weren't far behind. ------- I was up first and decided to bring coffee to my lovers who were still wrapped in each other's arms as they slept on. It was going to be a lazy Sunday morning and I thought maybe I'd make omelets for everyone if we had all the makings I wanted. I figured we probably did. I remembered buying bell peppers and ham the last time we were at the store. Of course, there was all that food from last night, so maybe we didn't need to cook at all. It was that thought that made me suddenly realize I wasn't the only one awake. I heard what I thought was crying coming from the living room. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw Kate huddled in the middle of the sofa with her face buried in her hands. I walked over to her and put my hands gently on her shoulders. "Kitten? Are you all right, sweetie? Tell me why you're upset." "Oh, Tony!" she sobbed as she grabbed hold of me so hard I fell onto the sofa beside her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to all of you." I looked around quickly, thinking that maybe she broke something, but I didn't see anything out of place. "Why are you sorry, Kitten?" "I teased you last night and then I ran off and sent you away with bluebells and you must hate me. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant, but I got carried away and then I got scared and then..." "Shhhh," I comforted. I pulled her up out of the sofa and led her to the big recliner next to the fireplace. I plopped down and pulled her into my lap then leaned the chair back so she was cuddled up on me. Just like a kitten. "You're not very experienced, are you?" I whispered. She shook her head, barely letting it leave my chest. "Well, first—all those stories you've heard about guys getting blue balls—that's the word—are an exaggeration made up by whiny men to get their way. Guys know pretty well how to take care of things themselves. Girls, too. We're all pretty good at satisfying ourselves—especially when we don't know what our relationship is." "You're okay?" I nodded. "Melody and Lissa, too?" I nodded again. She relaxed in my arms a little. "There's something else you should know because you're dating a trio, remember? There're three of us. Things have been pretty hectic since we got back. Between the boys and the new business and art commissions ... I'll tell you ... and you don't have to pass this on to anyone ... last night was the best sex since we got back." "Just kissing you?" "Uh ... no ... uh ... what happened after you went to bed." "Oh." She gasped. "Oh!" She looked at me intently and I could see her eyes filling with tears again. I pulled her back to hug her to me. "You ... you ... you ... don't really need me at all, do you?" she sobbed. "Kate. We ... I love you. We want you. We might even need you, but that's really lowest on the list. We want you so much that we will take things at any pace you set. None of us are going to push you to do anything you don't want to do or don't think you're ready for. We want you to be happy." She didn't say anything for a long time and I thought that she might have cried herself to sleep. I wasn't objecting. I'd held Kate's hand and we'd hugged and kissed. But somehow, having her curled up in a little ball in my lap was so much more intimate that I could hardly bear it. When she spoke, it was so softly I almost missed it. "I love you, too. All y'all." I sat there and just petted her back as we both drifted off to sleep again. ------- I woke up to a soft kiss on my lips. It took a second for it to register that the angle was wrong for it to be Kate. I pried my eyes open to look at Lissa leaning over to kiss Kate softly. "Coffee," she whispered. Kate stirred and Lissa moved her kiss from cheek to lips. That progressed to me leaning in to add my lips to the two girls. "Me too." I heard Melody's voice as she came up and pushed Lissa and me out of the way. She had a slow luxurious kiss with Kate and then kissed me with such sweet abandon that I was afraid I'd dump Kate on the floor. When Melody pulled back at last, Kate snuggled deeper against my chest if possible. "S'eepy," she said. "Coffee," Lissa said plaintively. "Sorry, Kitten. That's my call. I bet someone here will cuddle you, though." I straightened the recliner and lifted Kate in my arms. Lissa and Melody ran to the sofa and curled up next to each other holding out their arms for Kate. I deposited her in their laps and went to make the morning coffee. It's not that there's any great art to making coffee—especially when you've got a fancy machine like Lissa's—but somehow it's become my job to get coffee for my lovers. I suddenly realized that I didn't know how Kate liked her coffee. Melody likes hers with cream and sugar. Lissa just likes cream. I drink mine black like my dad—his coffee I mean. I took Lissa and Melody's coffee to them and found them talking softly with Kate. I figured they were having the same conversation after some fashion as I had with Kate earlier. "I don't know how you take your coffee, beautiful," I said. "Oh. I don't know. I only ever drink lattes, so I don't know how to drink just coffee." "Not to worry," I said. "I know what to do." I went back to the kitchen and heated and frothed some milk. I poured coffee over the foam. I grabbed my cup and went out to join the girls. I handed Kate her latte and she sipped it and smiled at me. Have I mentioned her smile? Yeah. I guess I have. "We're all agreed," Lissa said. "Kate sets the pace. We love her and want her in our lives, but we aren't going to do anything that doesn't make her happy." Kate started crying again and I sat on the floor in front of them so I could reach her too. "What is it, Kitten? Doesn't that make you happy?" "Yes. I was so alone last year and so afraid. And then ... and then there was you three and everything was different. And I just don't want to ruin anything. I'll do whatever you want." "Huh-uh," Melody said. She was firm and direct, holding Kate's face in her hands as she spoke. "You'll do whatever you want. I was so dense last year. I had no idea you were feeling so lonely. I should have known. We all were in one way or another." "Tony was an absolute wreck," Lissa said. "I was feeling isolated and alone, too, and I've been living here for years with two sons and an ex-husband." "We never seem to think that other people around us feel lonely, too," I said. "I almost didn't come back for second semester. I actually packed my dorm room and sent everything home by UPS before I flew out." Lissa and Melody both gasped at that. I'd never told them how close I was to quitting before I found them or they found me. Lissa grabbed my face and kissed me. "The important thing is that we've got each other now," she said. "Whether we're lovers or the very best of friends—or both—we won't be alone." "I'm sorry I'm just not ready for the 'lovers' part," Kate said, "but I'm so glad about the best friends part. Can we go out for another date?" "We'd love to!" we all said at the same time. ------- Sunday night, it was back to the three of us. After a lunch of continued great food from the picnic, we all piled into the car and took Kate home to her dorm. We each kissed her goodbye and it was sweet. We sat at the table planning out our week. "So tomorrow I'm supposed to go sketch Sharon Reeves," I said. "Are either of you available to chaperone me? Clarice said she'd rearrange her schedule to go if neither of you are able to." "I'll go!" said Lissa. "I'm sorry. I still don't like her very much, but I know you have to work with her. I won't get in the way if you want her to go." "I'd go," Melody said, "but I want to go see Professor DeWitt if she is around. I need to find out if our idea about dying our own fabric is even remotely feasible. Then I've got to buy fabric and get started on the designs for Noelle's dresses." "Okay. If you are really available, I'd like you to go, Lissa. I'd feel a lot more comfortable." "I'm with you. It's really only going to be a couple of hours, right?" "Two hours for the sitting and it will take us half an hour to go over the sketches. And travel. It's not too far, though, I guess." "Okay." "Ahem," Melody cleared her throat. "It has come to my attention that someone has been withholding important information from the partnership." I looked at her trying to figure out what the heck she was talking about. "Tomorrow is the first of August. It seems that for one member of the partnership, it will be the last day that she is 26 years old." My head snapped around to Lissa. She was shaking her head. "I don't want to celebrate my birthday," she said. "I'm sorry, but it embarrasses me." "Why?" I asked. "Birthdays are important. Of course we want to celebrate yours." "But I'm so much older. It just reminds me that you guys are still in your teens. I feel ... old." I wrapped up Lissa in my arms and Melody threw herself in Lissa's lap with her arms wrapped around her waist. "You are not old," I said. "And I have a way to fix you feeling that way." "What?" Lissa asked. She hadn't started crying, but I recognized the expression that I'd seen last when she was ready to bolt. No way was I letting that happen. "Well, I was going to say that we would just celebrate your 20th birthday Tuesday. We don't have to celebrate whatever one your birth certificate says. We can celebrate any age you want. But ... I've changed my mind. I like having an older wife, and I've discovered that she likes an occasional glass of wine. So, I've decided we'll have to celebrate your 21st birthday this week. How's that sound?" "Wait. I'm going to be 27, but we're going to celebrate my 21st? That's insane. I like it." "You've always said you didn't get to do some of the things other kids did. There's no reason not to go back and do them now," Melody said. "Oh, you sweet, sweet loves," Lissa said. "Let's hurry and get the rest of our week calendar set so we can go to bed." I was all for that. We set up our training schedule, my meetings with Coach Jacobson, and Melody decided she wanted to take a drive on Saturday to go see Amy if she could. She was convinced we were going to need someone stronger in advertising graphics to finalize our logo and website design. We all agreed that Amy would be perfect. Finally, we made it to the bedroom. "It seems different," Melody said. "Well, for one thing, you won't have to stuff a pillow in your mouth when you come," I said. "Last night was pretty intense." "I noticed you had your face buried in a pillow, too," Melody said. I flopped down in the middle of the bed. We'd never made it back here this morning and I still had my shorts on. Melody and Lissa followed me and we all lay there fully dressed. "Melody? Lissa? You know how much I love you, don't you?" I asked. "Of course, darling," Lissa said. "And I love you so much I can hardly breathe sometimes." "Me too," Melody said. "You really mean all the world to me. When I gave you these—" I pointed to the necklaces they both always wore—"I married you. In my heart, I gave my all to you and there is no one more important to me in the world than the two of you are." They both reached up to kiss my cheeks, but didn't say anything. I think they knew what I was about to say. "No one." "So... ?" Melody encouraged me. "So, why am I so attracted to Kate? Why, with the two most beautiful and satisfying women in the world lying next to me, do I think of her? It's not too late, you know. We could break it off. We could just be best friends and stop this dating thing. I don't want anything or anyone to interfere with what we have. I'd stop." "I'm not sure I could," Lissa whispered. "It's not about not liking what we have, darling. I love you fiercely. And you, Melody, I couldn't imagine my life without you, I love you so much. But I want Kate. There's just something about her." "She calls to me. It's like I can't get enough of her," Melody said. "Listen to me. We haven't even slept with her and I feel addicted to her. She just left and I can't wait to see her again. I want to hold her hand and kiss her and..." "I told her I loved her," I said so softly that I hoped they couldn't hear. "So did I," Melody said. "I wish I had," Lissa said. "Tony, remember what you told Allison? We'd know when it was right?" Melody said. "Kate's right. We all love her and she loves all of us. I know Allison loves all of us, too, but Kate doesn't have any hang-ups about kissing girls ... and I hope about anything else. She just seems so..." "Inexperienced," I said. "When you and I got together, neither of us really knew what we were doing and we discovered everything together. Then Lissa came along and pretended to know the whole world and teach us ... you little devil." We were all laughing and tickling each other. I eventually continued. "But we were all on our own mission of discovery. Kate looks at the three of us and what we have and feels outside and inexperienced. She might actually be inexperienced. She sure seems like it." "Which means we have to be even more careful and gentle with her," Lissa said. "I just want to wrap her in my arms and carry her around and protect her. She's not a baby, but I just want to hold her." "And she's done more than I ever dreamed of," I said. "Did you know she took the ferry to Victoria by herself? I've never been out of the country!" "We're going to have to take you to Canada!" Lissa said. "Maybe we could get Kate to guide us." "You're right though," Melody said. "There's just something about her that is right. I don't want to mess anything up." "Here's to our Kitten," I said and soundly kissed both my wives. ------- Chapter 6 My phone rang about half an hour before Lissa and I were ready to leave for my painting gig. "I'll drive," Clarice started. I'd noticed she never said hello when she called. It was like joining a conversation halfway through. "Give me your address and I'll pick you up in 20 minutes." "Uh, hi, Clarice. Lissa and I were going to drive over together. She's my chaperone today." "Good. I'll pick you both up. What's the address?" I stumbled through the address and she hung up before I thought to ask why she was coming or to ask Lissa if it was okay to ride with her. I figured I'd better remedy that last bit right away. I went into the kitchen. "Sweetheart?" "Yes?" chimed both my sweethearts at once. "I love you." "I love you, too," they chorused. "Lissa, I just got informed that Clarice is picking us up to go to the appointment this morning." "What?" "Uh ... Clarice..." "I heard what you said. Why? Is this really necessary?" "I have no idea," I confessed. "Sometimes talking to her is like listening to music with just one earbud. I miss half the stuff I'm supposed to hear." "I'm not happy, Tony." "I know, love, but let's at least figure out what's going on, okay? It's my first gig. I suppose she just wants to make sure everything goes well." ------- Lissa sat in the back seat of Clarice's Audi with her knees practically touching her chin. I pulled my seat forward as much as I could to give her room. "Clarice, why are you driving this morning?" I asked. "We were practically ready to go." "Did you look at the address?" she asked. "Someplace in Bellevue. I was going to look up directions." "Yes. Someplace in Bellevue called Medina, to be specific. Someplace in a gated community of multi-million dollar homes," Clarice said. "I did a little research. That check Sharon wrote us was nothing compared to what she and her friends could be paying. It's no wonder she didn't mind just paying the whole tab up-front. Her husband is among the high and mighty at Boeing. I want to make absolutely positive nothing goes wrong. I'm not slighting you, Lissa, but I've got more experience in this kind of thing." "Right," Lissa answered shortly. It was clear she was unhappy. "Please, Lissa," Clarice said. "I only want what is best for Tony. You can agree to that, can't you? Can't we work together on this?" "As long as you don't think what's best for Tony is to take him away from us." "That was a long time ago and I didn't know you and Jack had married. For god's sake, let it go." "Sorry, Clarice. I just never got over it. I'll try to do better. I don't want Tony to end up..." I turned my head and looked at Lissa, but she turned her head away. "Would someone like to tell Tony what the hell is going on?" I asked. "I'm sitting right here in the fucking car with you." "Tony, there are predators in the world. Some of them are agents. Not all agents want to marry their clients ... or to put a leash on them," Clarice said with an apparent dig at Jack, but also something else that was going on I couldn't figure out. "Brandon Michaels," Lissa said. "Precisely." "Who's that?" I asked. "Brandon Michaels is a dancer who is currently residing in Spain with his mistress." "What's having a mistress got to do with anything? I'm happy with what I've got." "Not that kind of mistress," Lissa said. "Brandon's agent, Dona Caliente, is also his lover, his patron, and his mistress ... as in master," Clarice proceeded to explain. "You mean he's a slave?" "In a manner of speaking. More like a pet. He wears a collar at all times and a leash whenever he is not working. She leads him to the theater where he is working and lets him off-leash while he is dancing. When he is finished, he comes like a good boy and she leashes him again," Clarice explained. "The world is a strange place. I think that both Lissa and I want to protect you from some of the stranger aspects." "Lissa? Is that why you don't want me to be around Clarice?" "Yes ... but not exactly. Tony, it worries me to have you under the influence of anyone. The fact that Clarice and I got off on the wrong foot several years ago doesn't have anything to do with it. I jumped at the opportunity to chaperone today because I don't trust what a rich woman might try to do or offer." "We're in agreement there," Clarice said. "I don't think there will be anything untoward with Sharon Reeves. But people at her level of society sometimes don't think the rules apply to them. I wanted to make absolutely sure you were surrounded. We can stay out of the way, but even if we can't see Sharon while you are sketching, it is imperative that we be able to see you at all times." "Holy shit. What did I get myself into? And why did you not think Lissa was enough?" Clarice looked in the rearview mirror at Lissa. I turned back to her and she was meeting eyes in the mirror. "Frankly, I wasn't sure that Lissa wasn't a Dona Caliente," Clarice said at last. "But even though she isn't, I wasn't sure that the client wouldn't assume the wrong thing about her. Young man with a beautiful older woman at his side? Should be easy to take her place, don't you think?" "Lissa?" I said. "Can you help me make this work? I'm in way over my head here." "You have a handle on all the important things, darling," she answered. "I'll work with Clarice and we'll keep you safe. We'll all learn better as we go." ------- I'd never thought of art as being a dangerous profession. When we got to Sharon's house, it started almost faster than I was ready. A woman who introduced herself as Rebecca answered the door. She said that she was Sharon's chaperone for the sitting. Okay. I could see that. Seems like we were setting up sides for a war, though. We went to the sitting room where Sharon met us wearing an elegant robe that dragged along the floor. Her hair was freshly done and the ghastly white streak was gone. She was wearing no makeup as far as I could tell. Well, her eyebrows did look kind of bald. It took half an hour to decide what type of pose she wanted, how big the final picture was to be, and where she planned to hang it. We reminded her that it would also be displayed at my exhibition in the winter. She said that while she wanted something classically nude or nearly nude, that she would like to be discreet and not have it full frontal. "I didn't wear makeup. Your sketch took it all off of me last week anyway, but I already feel naked," she said. "Do you mind if I use some foundation?" "No, I certainly don't mind. You should be comfortable," I said. Lissa leaned over and whispered in my ear. I looked at her, surprised, but nodded. "If you wouldn't mind," I continued, "my assistant could help with your makeup. She knows what I'm looking for and is skilled in applying makeup." "Would you?" Sharon sounded truly excited for the first time since I'd arrived. "Certainly," Lissa said. "It will take Tony a few minutes to set up to do the sketch, so why don't we get you ready?" "I'd like to watch this," Rebecca said. The three women went off to Sharon's bedroom. Windows over twelve feet tall overlooked Lake Washington from the sitting room where we'd work. I estimated that any time after about one in the afternoon, the light would be too strong to pose there. All I would see was a silhouette. I was getting antsy to get started. I set the chair and table about six feet in front of the window so I didn't get a reflected image in the glass. I used Clarice as a stand-in for Sharon and she sat where I told her to. The chair was positioned three-quarters away from me to appear that she had been looking out the window. When Sharon reappeared, her makeup was perfect. Lissa always had a light hand when applying her own makeup and what I saw was a youthful looking woman of means enjoying her morning coffee and looking out at the world. I showed her where to sit, how far to turn, and how to look back in such a way that she appeared welcoming. She crossed her legs and the near side of her robe fell open, exposing her thigh and calf. I suggested that if she was comfortable with it she should loosen the robe and let it fall from her left shoulder as she pivoted her torso toward me. The result was exquisite. Her left hand held her cup and was raised enough to shield most of her left nipple, but her shoulder was bare and her back was quite elegant. Her left leg was completely exposed, but the fabric of the robe covered her right thigh and she dangled a lovely slipper from her toe. I quickly snapped half a dozen reference photos using different lens settings on the camera to get light on her and to capture the view of Seattle out her window. She could have been in one of those old-time movies with Audrey Hepburn or Myrna Loy, even if not quite as beautiful. I pushed my headset into my ears and blocked out the hum of voices as the chaperones talked quietly behind me. Occasionally, Sharon would say something to them as well. I did three sketches, changing the position slightly and adjusting the props to make a better composition. When I finished, she shrugged back into her robe and came to look at the sketches which I laid out on the dining table. We discussed the relative merits of each one and she chose the one she wanted me to develop. "Do you want to come back here to do the painting?" she asked. Now that it was done, she was almost shy. I couldn't tell if she was afraid I'd say yes or hopeful. "It shouldn't be necessary," I said. "I paint from the sketch and use the photos for color reference. I think you'll be pleased with it." "How long?" she asked. "Not that I'm in a rush. I just ... now that I've done it ... I want to see the results." "Well, it's a big canvas," I said. She'd asked for a painting that would be about 30 inches wide by 48 inches tall. "So I'm afraid it will take a while. I'll start stretching the canvas this afternoon, but it will take most of the month to actually get it painted and several days thereafter to let the paint cure before it can be framed. If you'd like, we can set an appointment later in the month so you can see the progress." "I'll think about it. Miss Grant, did you see the progress on the portrait Tony did of you for the school while it was in progress?" "I watched about the last hour. It was an amazing thing to see." "Well, I can't hope to have as beautiful an image as you, but it was so inspiring to see. I should have done it in my twenties, but of course I couldn't have afforded it then," she said. We were on the way to the door when Rebecca tugged at my arm. "I might want a portrait myself," she said, "if you are available." "I'm sure it can be arranged, ma'am. Clarice is handling all the contracts." "I was thinking of something more intimate." Oh shit! This was exactly what they were talking about and Lissa and Clarice were already out the door. I edged my way quickly there, but she was pressing a piece of paper into my hand. "Really, ma'am," I said with rising panic, "I only do paintings." She let go and I sprinted for the car, practically throwing my gear into the open trunk. I was in the car before Lissa and Clarice had finished their goodbyes. "That was a little bit of an abrupt departure, Tony," Clarice said as she started the car. "Is everything okay?" I handed her the folded paper. I hadn't looked at what was on it. "'Call me, '" Clarice read. "Did she say what she was interested in?" "She said a portrait, but when I told her you handle all the contracts she said 'something more intimate.' I don't think she wanted a painting," I said. "I'll kill her!" Lissa said. She was already scrambling in her seat to go back, but Clarice had the car in gear and we were down the driveway. "That is why we were there," Clarice said. "I'm thinking we might want to make sure Tony always has two people with him, and we need to make sure that at least one is always focused on him and not distracted as we just were." "I'm thinking maybe I should just do landscapes," I said. I was morose the rest of the way home. ------- The house stunk. There was no nice way to say it. My eyes started watering the minute I walked in. "Oh god! What is that? Melody!" I shouted. "Windows," Lissa coughed. We ran through the house opening every door and window that we could while looking for Melody. We turned on the bathroom fans, but I didn't find Melody upstairs, so I ran downstairs. The smell was worse. By this time I'd identified it as bleach and cleaners we kept in the laundry room. Fabric was laid out on the floor in the basement and there was a huge slippery puddle of bleach leaching out the colors. Melody had the sliding doors open and was lying half outside, coughing, and crying. "Call 911!" I yelled as I as I grabbed hold and dragged her the rest of the way out the door. Lissa wisely came down the stairs from the deck with her cell phone in hand rather than going back through the house. Melody turned her head away from my arms and threw up. "My fabric is all ruined," she sobbed. "I spilled it." Her skin felt slippery beneath my fingers. "We need to wash this off of you," I said. Even outside she smelled like bleach. Lissa was talking to the operator on the 911 line. I grabbed the hose from the side of the house and turned on the water. I wasn't sure I could make it back through the house to get soap and water. I just started running the water over her arms and hands. That caused Melody to squeal, but I held her and rocked her as I kept washing her until we were both soaked to the skin. Lissa disappeared and returned a minute later with a bottle of dish soap and handed it to me. She was still on the phone with the 911 operator. Sirens came into the neighborhood and Lissa ran around the house to direct the EMTs to the backyard. The first one to arrive pulled an oxygen tank behind him and had a mask on Melody faster than I could answer his questions. He pulled a towel from his kit and began drying her arms and rubbing them vigorously. The whole time his partner was talking into her phone and giving instructions and saying things like "What were you using? Did you swallow any?" I was pretty much pushed aside as they worked. Then I got the second shock. "Don't come back in here," a voice said. Behind me firemen were setting up huge fans in the house. They wore boots, masks, and gloves and Melody's precious fabric was unceremoniously used as a mop to get as much of the bleach off the floor as possible and then thrown into the back yard. They threw some kind of dust on the floor and used a big vacuum to suck it all up. It was pretty amazing. These guys were equipped for anything. Lissa crawled into the ambulance with Melody and held her hand while I watched the house as it was aired out. One of the firemen came to talk to me. "That was quite a little adventure," he said to me. "Was that your wife? Girlfriend?" "Yeah," I said. "Do you know what she was trying to do?" "She's an artist and was working on bleaching a pattern into some fabric, I think," I said. "She spilled her whole bottle and I think she was overcome by the fumes while she was trying to clean it up and save the fabric. I guess there's not much chance of that now." "You might tell her not to clean up bleach with an ammonia-based cleanser." He held up an empty bottle of Mr. Clean. "I didn't know that!" "Well, I'd suggest you get those rags into plastic bags. You'll need to mark them when you put them at the curb, or call Argos Disposal Systems and see how they want to pick it up. We're using some of the same chemicals we use when removing smoke fumes from a house and we'll let the fans blow for another fifteen or twenty minutes. Then you should leave anything open that you can and set up your own fans if you have any." "We turned on the bathroom fans." "That's a good start. If you don't have any other fans, this would be a good time to buy some. You might also try an ionization filter. That will often take the lingering smell out of a house," he said. "Thank you. I'll call Lissa and see if we have any other fans here. We've been running the air conditioner since mid-July." "Well, that'll help, too. We'll just clean up and get moving." "Thanks." I called Lissa and she told me there were a couple of fans in the garage. I got one set up downstairs and one in the kitchen window upstairs. Melody would be fine and they were likely to release her in the next couple of hours. All I could do was change into dry clothes, pack a bag for us, and lock the doors. I left all the windows open. Well, if someone decided to break in, more power to them. No self-respecting thief would go into a place that smelled like that. ------- Of course, neither Lissa nor I were allowed anywhere near Melody until the hospital had called her mother and Lexi asked them to please communicate with us since she was in Boston. We were going to have to do something about this. Those power of attorney things were going to be really important. Fortunately, the boys were at Jack's this week, but I called him to let him know what had happened. I had an idea for the weekend I wanted to run by him, too, and was pleased with his response. Lissa and I missed our training time and didn't even think about it. I was sure the club would be pissed about us leaving our court empty, but they could just suck it as far as I was concerned. When I finally got to the hospital and got to see Melody, I was pretty morose and angry and scared and ... well, let's just say it hadn't been a good day. I called the Hotel Monaco downtown and reserved a suite with a king sized bed. They brought Melody out of the hospital in a wheelchair. How dumb is that? She inhaled bleach, but somehow now that they're releasing her, they couldn't let her walk. The guy pushing the chair got just outside the doors and put the brakes on. He wasn't going one step further. Apparently that's where the hospital's liability ends. I'm surprised he didn't tilt the chair forward and dump her. Lissa walked her to where I was opening the car door. We got to the hotel and I left the car with the valet. The doorman wanted to take our bags, but I only had the one, so I shouldered it and we went in. The room was nice. There was a big tub, but it wasn't meant for three. Melody and Lissa went in to bathe while I ordered room service for dinner. We were all sitting on the sofa—the girls wrapped in cuddly robes—when there was a knock at the door. The server wheeled in a cart that folded out into a table. It was very elegant and we ate like we hadn't seen food all day. As it turned out, none of us had eaten anything since breakfast, and that was a long time ago. While we were eating, there was another knock. A young maid stood there. "I turn down your bed?" she asked the statement. She was Asian and as I'd been schooling myself in facial composition, I thought she might be Vietnamese, but it was a wild-ass guess. I motioned her to go ahead and dug in my pocket for another dollar to tip her. She was done and in the main room before we started dessert. "Make sofa bed?" she asked. I looked at Melody and Lissa and grinned. "That won't be necessary, thank you," I said. The two girls were giggling. The maid looked at us, smiled, and ran back into the bedroom. She was out a moment later. "Goodnight," she said. "Thank you." She took the modest tip and left. I stepped into the bedroom and saw that she'd placed a chocolate each on three pillows. "Somehow, I don't think we're nearly the strangest thing she's ever seen in this hotel," I ventured. "Let's get rid of the dinner tray so we won't be disturbed again," Lissa said. I pushed the table out into the hall and left it there. When I returned, both Melody and Lissa had moved to the bed. They were kissing as I walked in. What perfect sweetness. I loved these women. "I want to do something kinky," Lissa said. Melody and I looked at each other and I raised an eyebrow. "Darling, we're a threesome. By society's standards, everything we do is kinky." "But it's my birthday—almost—and I want something special. I want to do something very naughty." "Somehow, I think I'd enjoy that," I said. "What do you want to do?" Melody asked. "I want you to watch." "I've done that before," Melody answered. "That's not new or kinky." "No," Lissa said. She drew a deep breath. "I want you ... both ... to watch ... me." Now I was stunned. I didn't think of Lissa as an exhibitionist, but at the same time, she didn't mind modeling nude and was completely comfortable without clothes at home. Maybe this was something kinky. "How do you want... ? What should we... ? Where... ?" I wasn't getting my words out very well. "I just want you both ... to sit ... there," she said pointing to the bench at the end of the bed, "and watch me ... and not touch ... me ... or each other. I want to come for you." Oh my god! I was hard already. I'd read stories online—hey, everybody knows where to find that kind of stuff—and some included voyeuristic scenes. But they were always directed by the viewer, often having to convince or order the performer. But Lissa wanted to just entertain us. Well, no. Not just entertain. She wanted to be sure our attention was fixed on her and not on each other. After removing the chocolates, she stacked the pillows so she could recline without lying flat on her back. She wanted to see Melody and me sitting at the foot of the bed. And she wanted to talk. I sensed somehow that something more was going on than an act of exhibitionism, but I had no idea what. All we could do was wait and watch. "I suppose you are wondering why I called this meeting," she giggled. "God! This is harder than I thought it would be. Somehow having your face buried between my legs—either of you—feels less exposed than just spreading my legs and letting you look." She hadn't done that yet, but her hands were smoothing her robe over her curves. I realized she wasn't just smoothing the fabric, she was petting herself—her shoulders and arms, her breasts, her legs. She closed her eyes for a moment and then they snapped back open. She looked directly into my eyes. "I'm beautiful," she whispered. Duh! Still, in all the time we'd known each other, I'd never heard Lissa talk about her looks. "You don't know how much that was drilled into my head when I was young. 'You're beautiful. You should be a model, ' was all I heard from the time I was six or seven. My parents didn't push it, but they let Jack set up a few gigs for me. They absolutely forbade me to enter any beauty pageants. I think they were disappointed that I didn't have more brains than beauty." "But..." I began. "Shhh," she cut me off. "This is my story—a bedtime story I'm telling my lovers." She untied her belt and let the robe slide down her shoulders. Her head was lifted and she used a finger to stroke down the perfect symmetry from the center of her forehead, down her nose, across her lips and under her chin. She continued down her center axis, almost the way I would draw her, tracing through the hollow at the base of her throat and down between her breasts. The fabric moved away as she continued the line past her navel and down between her labia. "I always compared myself to the other models and thought I was only average. But people acted different around me. I never trusted what anyone wanted. Jack was the only person who had cared for me because I was me and not because my body was perfect. So I got a reputation. I snubbed everyone and became the Ice Queen." Her left hand casually stroked her breast, pushing the robe away so we could see her tight hard nipple as she pinched it lightly. I could feel Melody's breath deepen next to me. She so loves to play with Lissa's nipples. "Then Tony came into the club and we played racquetball. He was a nice guy and we played well. And he never once made a pass. Oh, you were never rude, darling. You may have even paid me a compliment or two. But I never felt that you wanted anything from me except good competition on the court. I started to relax around you. Mmmmm. Maybe once or twice, while I was sitting in the hot-tub after our game, I let myself think about you in the next locker room sitting naked in a tub..." She let the robe fall fully open as she stroked both of her breasts and pushed down toward her center. I could tell this was affecting Melody by her breathing. At least, I hoped it was what she was seeing and hearing and not a residual effect of the fumes she'd breathed. I know I was hard as a rock. I wiggled a little to get things more comfortable. "Take your clothes off so I can look at you," she said. That took about a second. "Yes. Just the way I imagined it at the club. But then there was Melody." I glanced to my right and Melody shrugged out of her robe with a grin as broad as the room. I almost missed the first time Lissa's hand dipped down into her pussy. The deep breath she took caused those magnificent breasts to rise and fall. Her eyes drifted closed and her legs parted to give her better access—and us a better view. I wanted to stroke myself. No; I wanted to jump up and plunge into that beautiful creature in front of me. I sat still. "I let all my barriers down the day Melody walked into the club. At first I just thought 'oh, they're cute and they're together, so they'll be safe enough.' But something started to happen to me. I felt the ice melting. I felt two people, who were obviously in love, turn their affections on me as well. I know we were a little awkward at first, trying to figure out what body part went where, but you laughed with me, and tickled me, and kissed me." Her eyes closed again as her breathing sped up. Two fingers were plunging into her depths. Wet slapping sounds came from her as she rubbed her clit. She neared her peak and then slowed down as her eyes came open again to look at us. I was leaking. I could smell the sweet fragrance of two women in high arousal. Melody had let her legs part and periodically squeeze closed, but, like me, she hadn't let her hands wander. "I wasn't nearly as experienced as I let on when we met," Lissa continued. "My few encounters with other models and with Jack revealed more about them than me. No matter how often I'd had sex with my husband, he was still my guardian and protector more than my lover. But the way you both looked at me changed the way I saw myself. Mmmmm!" she whined suddenly. Her hips jerked involuntarily and from five feet away, so did mine. "The way Tony painted me ... I saw ... saw for the first time ... what it meant to be beautiful. That there was more to me than a body everyone wanted to use. Someone loved me—someones loved me for everything I am. From the first time my Little One took my nipple between her lips, I knew she wanted to love more than my body. She wanted all of me. And when I lay between her legs with our lover next to me, Tony and I shared more than the sweet taste of her nectar." Lissa spread her labia, glistening with her juices, as she fingered her clit faster. The opal bud of her arousal was glowing pink and her lips were flushed crimson. I'd seen her more closely as I ate her, but I'd never looked more intently—my eyes going from her rapidly moving hands to the expressions on her face and back. The open passage that she showed us as she pleasured herself was a coral reef inviting divers. Melody moaned beside me. "We shared our love. We shared joy in pleasing our lover. We shared joy in pleasing each other. Whatever combination we were in, I saw how beautiful I was in your eyes. You never asked for the Ice Queen—the cold symbol of physical beauty I made of myself. You wanted the warm, living, breathing, wet, lustful, loving person I am. Look at me, loves. Look at how I'm dripping. Look at how my clit stands up for you. Look how wet my fingers are when I pull them out of my pussy. Look at what ... you ... do ... to me ... just being there ... looking. OH!" That was it. Lissa shuddered and convulsed. Her exclamation was punctuated by Melody's gasp as she threw herself against me to keep from falling off the bench and my cum skyrocketed out of my cock. We rocked back and forth, prying our eyes open to look past the still-open pussy of our lover and into her eyes. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her robe and held them out to us. "I love you so much!" Lissa said. "Every good thing in my life is better because of you. Come and love me. This is the happiest birthday of my life!" ------- The house was all in one piece when we got back on Tuesday and we set about getting things cleaned up. The bleach smell had pretty much dissipated. We looked at the ruined fabric, which made Melody sad, but two pieces of the three she bought for Noelle's dresses hadn't been unpacked, so the damage was more limited than we all thought at first. Melody decided to wash the ruined material instead of throwing it out. "You never can tell," she said. She also spent a good bit of time on the phone with her textiles instructor, Prof. DeWitt and decided to go meet with her again while Lissa and I went to the club to work out. We all agreed that we'd go out for dinner to officially celebrate Lissa's birthday, even though we'd had a rather expensive impromptu celebration last night. "Can we invite Kate?" Lissa asked. Melody and I grinned and I sent a text to Kate since she was at work. We agreed to have an early dinner at Carmine's since it was a work night. It was a tough workout. John, our trainer, ran us sideways up and down the basketball court for nearly half an hour before he had us work on a machine that both stretched and strengthened our upper bodies. It wasn't exactly Pilates, but by the time we made it to the court for practice, we were both dripping sweat. I thought maybe we'd take it a little easier after the intense off-court workout, but Lissa had other ideas. Her first serve came in an inch off the floor when it crossed the short line. I fumbled a return into the side wall and ten seconds later she fired another serve past me. Hmmm. Someone wants a birthday spanking! I thought. It took me two more serves before I could get fully settled into the zone, but then it was a run for the money. Half an hour later we were exhausted and neither of us had any idea what the score was. We wobbled off the court to find John standing there with his arms crossed. He doesn't usually watch us on-court all that much, so I was a little surprised. "No. That's all today," I said as he approached. "It's Lissa's birthday and we need to get ready to go out." "Oh. Happy birthday," he said. "Actually, I just caught the tail end of your scrimmage and it suddenly struck me that you two should play doubles." Lissa and I just looked at each other. "Could we do that?" I asked. "Not without some practice," Lissa said, "but, yeah. We could do that. Do we have any doubles teams here at the club, John?" "There are a couple teams. Nothing like the level you two are at, but it wouldn't hurt to practice a bit." "See if you can get something for us. We should have a September tournament, too. Is anyone sponsoring one?" "I'll check the schedules and let you know." ------- "Uh-oh," Wendy said to me as the four of us entered Carmine's. She led us straight to a booth. "What's wrong, girl?" I asked. She looked really tired. "Are you okay?" "Oh yeah. I just didn't sleep very well last night." "And what's the uh-oh about?" "Nothing much. It just looks like I missed my opportunity," she smiled. "You've already got your third girlfriend, I think." She glanced over to where Kate was kissing Melody and Lissa. Yeah. I guessed she was right. "Didn't know you were interested," I said. "Well, there was the pig-headed boyfriend in the way, but he's gone now. Oh well, maybe there's room for a fifth wheel!" "You never can tell," I laughed. "I'm still trying to figure out how to ride a tricycle and you're talking about a big rig? Don't know if I could handle it." "With four girlfriends, you'd never have to handle it," she laughed. "Hi everybody! Are you just having soup and salad again tonight?" "No!" Melody shouted. "It's a pasta night. It's Lissa's birthday." "No kidding? Happy birthday, Lissa." She leaned over and kissed Lissa on the cheek. Melody jumped up again and presented her cheek to Wendy. "Me, too!" Wendy warmly kissed her cheek. Then she glanced at Kate who remained seated on the inside. "Uh ... Hi, Kate," Wendy said. "Hi, Wendy," Kate asked. "Do you work here all the time?" "Every shift I can get," she answered. "I need to put some money away before classes start this fall." She took our orders and we were laughing and giggling about our day when she came back with appetizers. "On the house to celebrate your birthday, Lissa," she said. "Oh. Celebration. Wendy, I'd like a Cosmopolitan." "Well ... I'm sorry to do this, but I have to card you. Restaurant policy says that if you look under 35 we have to ask for ID, and with these kids next to you, you don't really look old enough to drink." We all laughed and Lissa pulled out her driver's license. "We're celebrating my 21st birthday," she said proudly. Wendy looked at the date on the license and cocked her head. "Really? This says..." "Don't say it," I broke in. "She never celebrated her 21st, so we're doing it tonight." "Oh! Okay." She looked at the rest of us, but we all shook our heads, so she went to get Lissa's drink. "She looks really tired," Kate said. "I hope she's okay." "Well, she said she wasn't sleeping well and apparently she broke up with her boyfriend," I volunteered. "Still ... I hope..." Kate mused. I thought that was really sweet. There was no question that Wendy had treated Kate coolly, but Kate was genuinely concerned for her. I wondered if something else had passed between them over the past few weeks. We saw Wendy mostly here at the restaurant, which had quickly become a favorite place since the dinner with Jack and Melody's mom, Lexi, and was Clarice's office. We were soon lost in the celebration and Wendy brought Lissa a gelato with a candle in it for dessert. Lissa unwrapped her presents, a sketch I did of her with Melody and had framed from me, and a beautiful wrap-around sundress Melody had made. We headed out and each stopped to hug Wendy on our way. I noticed that she accepted the hug from Kate, as well, and they held a short conversation as the three of us waited for Kate on the sidewalk. "Oh, by the way," Kate said when she joined us, "I didn't have a present for you because someone didn't tell me in time," she glanced at me, "but I was wondering if I could take you out to a movie on Saturday as a birthday present?" "Well, Melody's going to go visit Amy this weekend," Lissa said, "and we'll have the boys." "I didn't mean all y'all," Kate explained. "It's your birthday. I thought I might just take you this time." "Oh!" Lissa looked at Melody and me. You know, sometimes I think we'll break our face muscles with all the grinning we do when we're around Kate. We both nodded enthusiastically. "That would be nice," Lissa said. We dropped Kate off at her dorm since she said she had to be at work early tomorrow morning to lead a group of twenty preschoolers on a discover-art tour in the morning. Before she got out of the car, though, she leaned into Lissa and whispered, "Happy birthday, honey." Then she kissed Lissa with more fervor than I'd ever seen before. My mouth was watering as I watched them. When Kate let Lissa go, my wife collapsed in the seat next to her. The expression on her face was priceless. Kate reached for the door to get out as Melody and I turned around in the front seat to get into position to kiss her next. "Sorry, guys," Kate said. "You'll have to share that one tonight." She slipped out the door and ran into the dorm. ------- Melody left early on Saturday morning to go visit Amy on the other side of the mountains. Amy had arranged to be off work after the lunch rush and they'd spend the night at her parents' house before Melody came back Sunday. Lissa left to pick Kate up at about 1:00, asking me repeatedly if I was sure it was okay to leave the boys with me. "We've got plans," I said. "If we're not home when you get back, don't worry. Just text me and I'll let you know when we're coming back." She finally left and I got the boys dressed for our outing. About half an hour later Jack showed up. ------- "This was a great idea, Tony. How much do I owe you for the tickets?" "A hotdog and a bag of peanuts," I laughed. "Really, Jack. I'm just glad you agreed to join us. I know it's not your weekend, but I thought..." "I wouldn't have missed it," Jack said. "I try to think of everything, but sometimes two heads are just better than one. We looked at the boys sitting next to us. It was still early in the game, but both boys had met a major league player and had a newly signed baseball in their gloves. Their hats were almost as big as their heads and Jack and I had smeared them liberally with sunblock. We were in cheap seats on the second deck, but I figured that just meant we were closer to the sun. "That's something I wanted to talk to you about," I said. "I remember, when I was about eight, my dad took me on a trip to Kansas City to see the Royals play baseball. We went to a double-header against the Twins. The Royals lost both games miserably, but I didn't care. I was with my dad going to a real baseball game. I wanted to share that, too, but I'm..." " ... but you're not their dad," Jack finished for me. "Tony, there've been conflicts between dads and stepdads for centuries. We're doing a pretty remarkable job of not having many. What you did today by inviting me along was the right way to do it and I've got to say thanks. Maybe Drew's a little young for it, but it's never a good idea to make the older wait to do something just because the younger isn't ready. With two of us here, if Drew gets too tired to go on and Damon wants to stay, we can split up." "I was afraid you'd think I was overstepping my ... well ... I don't have any authority or responsibility or anything. I'm really just a babysitter when it comes down to it." "Is that what you feel like, Tony? Just a babysitter?" I looked at the boys. I hadn't been paying much attention to the game, but they both stood up and yelled just as Justin Smoak put one over the fence. Everybody was standing and the boys couldn't see anything. Jack and I reached for boys at the same time and Damon was up on my shoulder at the same time that Drew was perched on Jack's. Both boys were screaming as loud as the rest of the crowd put together. The organ was playing; fireworks were going off on the big screen as a picture of a baseball flying through the air with the cover coming off streaked across the board. When we got settled back in our seats, Damon stayed on my lap and Drew on Jack's. I looked at Jack. "No. That's not what I feel like," I said. Jack held out his hand. "Partners?" he asked. I shook the offered hand. "Partners." ------- Chapter 7 "Well, well, well, young lady. You finally got home," I chided Lissa. It wasn't that late, but at 10:00, the boys were in bed asleep and I'd had a good hour to focus on drawing in the quiet house. With Lissa out on a date with Kate and Melody across the mountains with Amy, the house seemed very big and empty after the boys went to sleep. "Oh, Tony," Lissa sighed. "It was so nice." "Come here, lover, and tell me all about your big date," I said. Lissa cuddled up with me in the recliner. That had become my favorite spot for one-on-one cuddles with my wives and I could hold both boys there while I read. Lissa curled up in my lap and gave me a long, slow-burning kiss. "I can taste Kate," I said. "How long were you two making out?" "A while," Lissa said. "Can you really taste her? She has such sweet lips." "So do you, darling. I suppose, though, that I just imagine I taste her. Now, tell me all about it." "We need to figure that out," Lissa said. I stroked her cheek and let my hand trail over her shoulder and down her arm until we intertwined our fingers. Lissa had chosen a summery dress that hugged her curves and left her shoulders bare. It was unusual to see her in yellow, but her hair seemed to reflect the brightness. I hadn't turned on a lamp yet and we could still see the mountains silhouetted against the horizon on the other side of the Sound. I nibbled her ear and she squirmed delightfully in my lap. "What do we need to figure out?" "How much we tell each other about what happens on our dates," Lissa said. "I don't mean we should hold anything back from each other, but Kate is in an interesting situation. She wants to be with all three of us, but she wants to get to know each of us individually. It wouldn't be fair to her to tell you everything she said to me, because then she would feel like she had nothing to share with you when she takes you out. Does that make sense?" "I can definitely see your point. Did you talk it over with her?" "Yes, a little. In fact, most of what we talked about was how dating worked. She just hasn't had much experience dating. She didn't say much about her home, but I got the impression that her choices for dates before she came to college included horses, cows, and pigs. I'm not sure if she was being literal or figurative." "Probably both. I looked up her hometown area on-line and there's nothing there. Population is 49 and she said she lived way outside of town." "Kate's really smart and a wonderful artist, but dating isn't the only thing she's inexperienced at. She's so hungry to do things. It's almost like taking the boys out. Everything is new," Lissa explained. "Speaking of which, what did you and our sons do today?" Our sons. Wow! I hugged Lissa close and gave her a kiss. Then I told her about Jack and the boys at the baseball game. "What a wonderful idea!" Lissa said. "I want to do it, too!" "Why don't we do a ballgame next weekend? Just for the four of us?" "Wait. Which four?" "A date." "Okay. Are the Mariners in town?" "No. But the Aquasox are." "The who?" "It's our farm team up in Everett. A lot cheaper than Safeco and just as much fun, I'm told. It probably would have been a better place to take the boys for their first time out, but they had fun and it wasn't too crowded." "Who gets to ask our girlfriend?" "We'd probably better let Melody in on it first, but speaking of girlfriend, you cleverly diverted the conversation away from your date." "Yeah." "Okay. There's just one thing I want to know. Did she give you a kiss to share?" Wow! We spent half an hour as Lissa attempted to get the exact nuances of Kate's kiss correct as she practiced on me. ------- "It was so much fun!" Melody squealed when she got home from visiting Amy. She pulled into the driveway at about two o'clock Sunday afternoon. Lissa and I had spent a quiet morning as the boys played in the back yard on this bright and sunny day. Amy had to go to work at noon and Melody left to drive back home after having schnitzel at Amy's drive-in. "And look at the drawings!" She pulled out a small portfolio that held new sketches for the company logo. "Amy will do the whole website design, too. And she has an idea for our market launch at Opens." "This is great!" Lissa said. "We can go to market in the fall if we can get the fabric problems and financing worked out." "And that's where I come in," I said. Both Lissa and Melody looked at me in surprise. "My agenda yesterday was more than entertaining the boys," I continued. "We took them to Red Robin for dinner after the game and Jack and I talked a little business. After I told him all the details about the little bleaching catastrophe and my portrait appointment, we agreed that it would be a good thing to have a studio someplace that was appropriately set up to do our necessary manufacturing and where any of us could paint or bring in models. Jack is investigating the possibilities." "Wow! You didn't tell me about any of that last night." "We had other things to discuss, and I wanted to wait until all three of us were together." "But the whole bleaching thing would still leave the studio smelling bad, even with good ventilation. You couldn't bring people in there to paint. I'd be worried about you even spending time there without wearing a mask," Melody said. "Excuse me for being paranoid, but I got a serious wake-up call this week." "But think of it this way," I said. "We need to get fabric and get the bleaching done in the next month so we can send it to manufacturing. By mid-September, it would be empty and with a little de-fumigation, it would be ready for art until you're ready to start next season's fabric." We were off and running with our plans. The business was really beginning to gel, though we decided that it would be better to start smaller than we originally intended. If we only sold on-line and at racquetball tournaments instead of trying to distribute through the retail channels Lissa had contacted, we could get started with a smaller inventory and an initial investment of less than a hundred grand. That still was a lot of money to come up with, but it beat the hell out of a quarter mill. Funding was still a major problem, though, and if we were going to have merchandise by October, we needed to get fabric in the next two weeks. The race was on. ------- "Hello?" "Hi Tony. This is Eric Barnes. How you doing today?" "Uh..." Who the hell is Eric Barnes? And why is he calling me on a Sunday night? "Oh. Damn fine to meet you, Eric?" he said. Oh, yeah. The guy from Tent City. "Oh! Hi, Eric. Sorry. I didn't recognize your name at first. Hey, what's up?" "Well, now that we know each other ... anyway ... I was calling to invite you to a party Friday night. A bunch of us are getting together and I thought it would be a great way for you to get to know some other guys from SCU and help us plan the volunteer effort for Tent City this fall." "Oh. Well, uh ... when was that?" Holy shit. Was this guy asking me out? I try not to make snap judgments about people, but everything about him told me he was gay. "Friday night. It's going to be at the apartment of one of my buddies. You'll like him." "Thanks, Eric. Really. But I'm not sure ... well, I mean I'm not..." "Oh, crap! Hey, I know you're not gay. I'm not asking you out for me. Bring your girlfriend. I didn't think you'd get freaked out by being asked to a party by somebody like me. You just seemed like a nice guy." "It's not that I'm freaked out, Eric. I just didn't want you to think that I was interested that way. Please, tell me more about what's going on." "All right. Here's the skinny. We've got a pretty good group that's all about social justice. Man, there isn't much we can do to just go out and change the world, but there's a few things we can do to change what's around campus. Yeah, a lot of our members are gay because we know about social justice issues first hand. But we're not just about gay rights. Lots of people don't fit in the shoes society has chosen for them. Some of those people are homeless and we're going to do what we can to help them. "So, we managed to get approval to host Tent City 3 on campus for three months. That's the maximum time state law allows them to stay in one place. They arrive September 30 and have to be in their new campground on the first of January. But they can't just show up and pitch tents. There's tons of administrative stuff that needs to be done, as well as security," Eric said. "Is there something for a racquetball player with no special skills to do?" I asked. "It's up to us students to provide everything that's needed," Eric said. "We have to coordinate meals, shower facilities, restrooms, security both for the camp and for the campus, and even medical volunteers. But that doesn't mean all we do is work. That's why we thought that having a bit of a party to celebrate getting approval would be a good way to start." "Wow!" It was cool and I had said that I was going to be more aware and take a more active part. Beth and I always joked about the fact that we might not be popular, but we were the ones who would change the world. I believed Beth would, but I didn't see how my drawings were going to change anything. But here was an opportunity that pretty much came knocking on my door. "It sounds like fun, Eric. Where and when?" He gave me the details and I said that I'd have to check with my wives, but I thought I could make it. He laughed. "Wives, huh? Why don't you just bring your girlfriend? I'm serious. We're going to have a good time and get to know each other. There's going to be plenty of work coming in September," he said. "Okay. I'll let you know how many of me to expect." I disconnected and Lissa and Melody looked at me quizzically. "There's this gay guy I met at SCU," I started, "who just invited me to a party Friday night." "Go! Go!" Melody squealed. "It was just a party invitation, not a date," I scowled. "He told me I could bring my girlfriend and totally didn't believe me when I said I'd ask my wives. Want to toss a coin or shall we all go and shock the hell out of them?" "What kind of a party?" Lissa asked. So I told them all about SCU hosting the Tent City and that I had decided to volunteer if I could find something I could do. "You should ask Kate," Lissa said. Melody and I both opened our mouths, but nothing came out. "She does a lot of volunteer work," Lissa continued. "She works at the food shelf twice a month, helping hungry people get groceries for the week. She would really be into this." "Great idea," Melody said. "Then it'll be my turn." Going to a party where I didn't know anyone wasn't my idea of a great date, but I finally agreed, since we'd all be going out to the ballgame the next day and Kate could spend the night. Of course, we hadn't asked her yet. I got her on the phone. "Hi Kitten," I said when she answered. "Oooo. Hi Tony. I miss you." "Hey, I miss you too. Did you have fun with Lissa yesterday?" "You know I did. Did she give you the ... uh ... kiss ... I gave her for you?" "Yeah. It was dreamy. Oh..." I looked over at my wives and they were caught up in an intense lip-lock. "Did you give her one for Melody?" "Of course!" "Well, I think she's delivering it now. We should be able to talk for a while if it's anything like the one you sent me." "Not a second under half an hour!" "You mean that whole thing was from you?" "I got a little carried away. Do you mind?" "Not a bit. I can hardly wait to be the transfer agent. Which brings me to why I called." "You want a kiss?" "No. Er ... Yes. But that's not the main reason. I'd like to ask you out a couple of times?" "A couple of times? How's that work?" "Well, while you were romancing Lissa, I had the boys and Jack out at the Mariners' game Saturday." "Fun!" "I thought you'd say that. So we'd all like to go to the ballgame with you next Saturday afternoon. It won't be the Mariners, but from what I've heard, it can be even more fun. We'll go up to see the Aquasox in Everett. Would you like to go?" "I've never been to a baseball game. I'd love to go." "That's great. So how about spending the night with us Friday night?" "Tony..." "I've been invited to what could be a cool party Friday night and was told to bring a date," I cut her off. "I understand you've been involved at the local food shelf. Are you familiar with Tent City?" "Yes... ," She seemed cautious. "Well, it's going to be located at SCU from October through December and I've been recruited to help with the infrastructure. The party is for volunteers to get to know each other. Would you like to go?" "Oh! Yes! That sounds great. Yeah." "Wonderful! That's why I was suggesting that you could just crash here Friday night and then we'd have a head start on Saturday. We're planning a lazy, fun weekend." "I think so, but ... Tony ... no pressure, okay?" "No pressure, Kitten. We're all agreed." "Thank you. You don't know how much that means," she breathed. "I've got an idea. When's the game?" "Two o'clock, I think." "Can I draw you in the morning? I mean all y'all? You know, the drawing we were talking about a couple of weeks ago." "That sounds great." "Well, I'll let you get back to your girls," Kate said. "Oh, there's no hurry. If I got it right, they have at least sixteen more minutes before I can interrupt." Kate and I used the time to joke and catch up on what else was going on. I told her we were going to be looking for studio space and she'd be invited to use it once it was set up. Occasionally, I updated her on what was happening with Lissa and Melody. "Are they still kissing?" Kate asked. "Mmmm. Yeah. Lissa just slid her hand up under Melody's t-shirt and..." "I didn't do that!" "I wondered. Seems like Lissa's improvising." "Tell her to stick to the script or we'll have to rehearse more." We laughed and a few minutes later I was beckoned over to join my two lovers. ------- My Monday was jammed. I met Cary Randolph at the registrar's office at SCU and he got me through in record time. Man! Having an official escort when you register for classes is great. One of the courses we'd agreed on was already full and Cary had a signed permission slip from the instructor to allow me to register. We finished and went to the financial aid office to sign all the papers there. I realized right away that SCU was cheaper than PCAD. It was interesting that they were willing to pay my way over there, even though it was so much more expensive. After registration, Sam Jacobson met us and we went to lunch. Imagine my surprise when two of my new professors for fall joined us. Sam introduced me to Dr. Delfin who would be my Human Anatomy professor and Professor Strait who would teach Critical Reading in the Humanities. Cary must have really been pulling strings to bring in two professors during summer break, but they both asked me some good questions and I discovered that admission to the Critical Reading class was supposed to be by interview only. Professor Strait had pre-approved my admission even though the class was full. Sam got right to the point of having the profs there, though. He wanted to know if there would be any problems with me missing some classes to go to tournaments. He had the dates for Opens in October, and the two national tournaments in March and May. Of course, I might not even have these professors by spring, but I hadn't thought about what a big deal it might be to miss a week of classes in October. By addressing the issue up-front, Coach was helping me get the permissions of the professors for my two most critical classes before the term even started. "Racquetball must take a lot of hand strength," Dr. Delfin said. He reached over to shake my hand and I gripped it firmly. "Grip is certainly important," I said, "but that's true of many sports." "How many bones are in your hand?" he asked. Weird. "Twenty-seven, counting the wrist," I answered. I'd had to draw every single one of them in high school art class. "Which are called..." "The bones in the wrist? You mean the carpals?" "Right. And to what do they connect?" "The metacarpals." "Other direction." "The radius and the ulna." "Class dismissed. You're free to attend Opens," Dr. Delfin smiled. "I don't think we're going to have any problems with you missing material in Human Anatomy that early on." "There will be a paper due that week," Prof. Strait said. "I'll make sure you have the assignment the first week of class so you can finish it in advance.' "Thank you." Dr. Delfin and Prof. Strait had both been briefed in advance about the new Dual Degree program and apparently I wasn't the only student from PCAD they were meeting with, though I was the only one that had both of them. I could see already that this fall was going to be very different and if I complained of boredom from doing busy-work, something would be very wrong. In the end, they agreed that they would provide assignments and coursework in advance so that I would be able to attend Opens without falling behind in classes. I left lunch actually looking forward to classes this fall. My other class at SCU was a PE class and Coach assured me that I would have no difficulty getting the right time off for competition. That meant that I only had to deal with my one studio class at PCAD with none other than Doc Henredden as my professor in 2D Studio Arts. I knew Ms. Brock was going to be ticked that I wasn't doing 3-D, but there was always next year when I assumed I'd be spending most of my time at PCAD again. I felt pretty good and thanked Cary for all the work he'd done. He excused himself and headed out to meet another student. He was scheduling each of us for half a day of registration. "Let's head up to the club," Sam said. "We've got court time scheduled for you and Lissa this fall, but we really haven't worked out a team practice time. You and Lissa will have to work with the other team members and we need to schedule tournaments. This isn't like a varsity team, so we don't have the ability to put pressure on the athletes that we have with NCAA sanctioned sports. It's going to be largely up to you and your team manager to set the schedule and determine what events you'll play in. I'm guessing that there won't be much in the way of interclub tournaments until at least December since you'll need that much time for people to learn how to play effectively." "Well, fortunately, we can rank each player and put them in the division that's appropriate for their skill level," I said. "We don't all have to play against elite players." I hesitated a moment. "Uh ... is Bree still our team manager? I haven't seen her since I got back to town." "Yes. Sorry to saddle you with her, but she seems to be taking this seriously. She'll meet us at the club to go over what she's got for a schedule." Coach stopped on the sidewalk before we entered the club and I turned to face him. "She's my daughter, Tony, but I'm going to depend on you to be honest with me if she isn't working out. I never know for sure what her agenda is anymore." "We get along," I said. "I'm sure it will be fine." ------- I'd find out soon enough. She was waiting for us just inside the lobby of the club with John Gilbert. "Tony!" Bree exclaimed as she came up to give me a hug and a modest—for Bree—kiss on the cheek. "John says you've been working out for the past three weeks and I didn't even know you were back in town. You should have called me." "Well, a lot has been happening. We didn't even really start practicing until more than a week after we got back." "We?" "Yeah. Lissa and Melody and I all live together now," I said. There was no sense in trying to keep this knowledge from her. That was the kind of thing that would come back to bite me in the ass. I saw her face harden a little. "Well, John and I have agreed to Tuesday/Thursday evening practice for the team. It's a little odd having a sport that practices at 7:00 at night, but we're working at a club, not at a school facility. We have to be thankful for what we can get." She gave John's arm a little squeeze. Oh no! I thought. She's putting the make on him now. Poor John. I guess I needn't have worried because John seemed to accept the gesture as if it was no more than a handshake. Either he was completely oblivious or he was simply ignoring her. I wondered how that would work. Man. I was going to have to add Tuesday and Thursday night workouts with the team to my schedule. "Have you talked the practice time over with Lissa?" I asked. "I covered it with her when she came in to set up your practice time. You guys are going to have more hours in the club than I do before long," John said. "It seems like a lot of time to me," I said. "Especially if we don't have any players." "I have recruited six now," Bree said. "Posters are going up all over campus in time for orientation. I had a flyer included in the freshman welcome kits. Two of the people who want to play actually have experience and the other four at least know what the sport is. I think we'll have ten players by the time we have our first competition." "Hey! Speaking of competition, did you manage to find out anything about doing a doubles competition, John?" I asked. "We've scheduled it for the weekend after Labor Day," John said. "None of the clubs wanted to commit before then. It's being advertised as a doubles warm-up tournament and we've held the price way down saying there would be club privileges but little in the way of other awards and hospitality to encourage players. It seems to be working. We've got four teams signed up already. We may play a round robin with no regard to whether it is men, women, or mixed. It depends on how many entries we get." "Coach, I haven't had a chance to talk to you about this, but John suggested that as long as I was going to Opens to coach Lissa, we should enter mixed doubles, too. I know that doesn't qualify as an intercollegiate event. Do you have a problem with our playing together?" I asked. "I'll check the rules again, but as long as you don't play in the pro division, I believe there is acceptance of college team members playing in the Opens. Could be good for the sport at SCU if you can be successful," Sam said. "But who will go as your coach/trouble-shooter?" Bree asked. "If you and Lissa are both on the court, you should have a coach representative with you." "I guess we'll have to work that one out," I said. "Well, if worse comes to worst, I'll do it," Bree said firmly. "At least that way you'll have clean uniforms." I chose to laugh that one off. ------- "Hey, Tony," Bree called to me as I was walking out the door. "Got a minute?" "Sure." "Look, I know we got off to a rocky start last spring, but let's put it all behind us and start fresh, okay?" she asked. "Bree, I think we're on the way to having a good friendship. Whatever we did wrong last year, let's forget it." "Okay. Um ... with that in mind ... I'd like to invite you to a party on Friday night. I have a bunch of friends around campus and this would just be another opportunity to get to know people. No obligations or being on a date or anything. Just an opportunity to get to know people. Want to go?" she asked. "Aw, Bree. Honestly, I would but I've already got a commitment Friday night. Really. I'm not brushing you off on this and if I hadn't already agreed to something else, I'd at least call home and consult with the wives. But I can't do anything this weekend." "The wives?? Shit, Tony, you are really pussy-whipped. Okay, I believe you. We'll try again some other time. So call before the warm-up tournament and we'll put together a team party to send you guys off to Opens." "Say, Bree. I know it's probably none of my business, but why did you decide to take on managing a team that isn't even varsity? How is that going to work out with cheerleading and everything else you've got going on?" Bree suddenly found the pavement very interesting. She scuffed at some chalk marks where kids had been drawing on the sidewalk. "I quit cheerleading, Tony," she said at last. "It's fun, but it's not a career. I've got to get serious about my life. I'm a year ahead of you in school and the thought of being completely out on my own in two years scares the shit out of me. I'm picking up more courses in exercise science and am thinking about moving into the pre-physical therapy program. I've seen my fill of football players. I thought I'd try your sport for a while. I plan to learn to play, too." "That's a huge move, Bree. It's probably really egotistical of me, but you aren't doing this just because I'm in racquetball, are you?" I asked. "Yeah. That's really egotistical. You aren't exactly the center of my world, Tony. I'm not a stalker and I'd like you to keep that in mind. If you are too stupid to see what you could have here, I'm not going to be chasing you around. This is strictly a career move." She was a little huffy, but I supposed I deserved it. She said a curt "goodbye" and I walked up to PCAD to change my registration there. Cary figured I could handle that by myself. Lissa picked me up at five and we went home. What a day! ------- At the Tuesday board meeting, we all had things to talk about. We'd been busy all day. Melody had been to talk to Professor DeWitt about the mass dying project that we needed to do. There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that it was a bigger project than she could allow us to do at the school where there were limited facilities. The good news, however, was that Melody could get class credit for the project and Professor DeWitt would "advise" her on-site during the set-up and initial stages. All we needed was a place to do the work. That's where my report came in. Jack set up an appointment for me to meet with the manager of Elliott Bay Work Lofts down on Elliott Avenue. Wow! What a find. The management company was having a hard time getting tenants at the moment and was willing to cut a deal that would give us six months' rent free over the course of a three year lease. So we'd only pay ten months' rent each year. I learned more about rent, leasehold improvements, triple net, and options in an afternoon than I ever wanted to know. I still didn't know everything and couldn't remember half of what I hadn't written down. There was no question that we needed the lawyer to go over any lease we signed and I'd be asking Jack to help negotiate. I was just plain over my head. But ... The space was incredible. It wasn't huge, but 600 square feet that is completely empty with tall ceilings seems like a cavern. The manager said they'd put in a ventilation fan since we really wouldn't need much of any other improvements. It had an industrial sink, garage type door, and cement floor with a drain. Almost a glorified garage. We could have the space if we could commit to a business that would continue for three years. That was sobering. There's a big difference between pledging your love for the rest of your life and being excited to live together and fall into bed together, and actually signing a lease that says you'll pay for this for three years. We all looked at each other as that sank in and I could tell Lissa and Melody were thinking the same thing. Being "married" was really theoretical. Even our partnership agreement could be dissolved, though none of us had ever considered the possibility. Still, signing a lease... Then Lissa upped the ante. "I know how to finance the business," she began. "I spent the day at the Credit Union. They'll loan us $190,000." Melody and I both let our mouths gap open. Holy shit! Not only would we have a lease, we'd have a loan for about five times what I thought I'd owe for my entire college education. "Lissa? They'd just loan us that much money? We're all unemployed!" "No. They won't just loan us the money. But it actually helps us along if we are really committed. This is kind of the last easy opportunity to ... to back out ... of our ... family." "I'm not backing out no matter what," Melody said. "You'd better listen to the deal." "Okay." "This house is still in my name. But our partnership agreement says that we all put our assets together," Lissa explained. "The house is worth about $950,000." Oh my god! I had no idea. I was beginning to get overwhelmed. Lissa can't just sign over two-thirds—well technically, the way we wrote it up it was two-fifths—of her home to us. This was just too much. "Lissa, I didn't know what you were doing when you signed the partnership papers. You can't put your whole house in the partnership. It's not fair," I said. "It is fair and that part is already done. I signed it and even if we dissolved the partnership, I'd owe you each $190,000 for your share. Less the amount of the mortgage." "How much is the mortgage?" Melody asked. She looked as shell-shocked as I felt. "Nothing ... yet." "I really don't get it, Lissa," I complained. "The Credit Union is willing to loan us up to twenty percent of the value of the home or $190,000. In the process, title would officially be transferred to the partnership. According to the partnership agreement, we would share the liability in thirds, but your share of the asset is only twenty percent each because the boys share none of the liability and a fifth of the assets," Lissa explained. "If we go through with it, we'd each be liable for about $63,000 on the mortgage." "I think this has to be a unanimous decision," I said. "I vote yes," Melody said immediately. I looked at Lissa and she held my gaze in silence. We were each waiting for the other to vote. I didn't want to do it because I still felt it was unfair to Lissa. But saying no would sound like I wasn't committed to our relationship and I was. I envied Melody's simple enthusiasm. I was being torn up inside. "Come on, you guys. Do we need a secret ballot?" Melody said into the silence. "What's the problem, Tony?" Lissa asked. "Remember what you said about how I was trying to divide up the sale of the Rhapsody Suite?" I asked. "You told me that my friends would all feel terrible if they thought I was giving them all money to be charitable to them. I'm feeling terrible that you are just giving up your biggest asset so that Melody and I can be full partners. I want to be your full partner in absolutely every way, but it feels like we should have a pre-nup that excludes all your work before we got together. I'd be okay with you maintaining ownership of the house and taking out a mortgage, then the partnership borrowing that money from you, but I'm not comfortable taking your house from you." Lissa looked at me sadly moisture began to gather in her eyes. "Darling, I love you," she said. "Some things aren't about business, they are about love. Washington is a community property state and if we got married, you'd automatically own half the house unless it was explicitly covered under a pre-nuptial agreement. I would never sign one. I would never ask for one. When Jack and I divorced, he pulled out a pre-nuptial agreement that he'd had me sign. I didn't even know what it covered, but Jack was my manager and he said to sign it. He'd been investing my earnings as a model in accounts that were exclusively in my name while we were living off his income. It's not like he was destitute when we divorced, but it was so unfair. And there is nothing I can do to give him any of that money. Most of it went into this house. That's why there's no mortgage on it currently. The remainder went into a trust fund for the boys. That's why I worked for a living. I won't sign a pre-nup again. My partners are my partners and we will jointly own everything or we won't be partners. I vote yes." "Lissa..." I couldn't say anything. I held out my arms and she came into them and Melody joined us. "I vote yes," I said at last. ------- It was going to take some time to get everything legally set up. As our lawyer, John MacDonald, said to us, "Nothing about your relationship is covered under Washington State Law. You aren't married. Therefore we have to have documents that spell out everything. Your partnership is a business partnership. You have a stated business purpose of owning and investing in businesses and property. For everything else, we need separate papers—power of attorney, medical power of attorney, wills, trusts, child guardianship, and anything else we can think of—all have to be covered and documented." We were afloat in a sea of paperwork. One of the documents that had to be modified was my contract with Clarice. I took her the amendment on Thursday and she looked it over. "So you want all income from your painting paid to the partnership?" she asked. "That's right." "Tony, do you realize that you could be giving up a sizeable income here? It makes no difference to me because I'm still only representing your works and where the money gets deposited is a moot point. But you stand to have an income of over $50,000 within the next 12 months while going to school full time. Who knows what that could become when you start truly painting as a career? You don't want to split that income up, do you?" "Yes, actually I do. In addition to my painting, both Melody and Lissa are on the brink of some phenomenal business income. The only way we can all work on everything and feel good about it is to share it all equally." Clarice signed the addendum and handed my copy back to me. "Now, let me see what you are working on." I showed her photos of the canvas and progress that I'd made on Sharon's portrait. Each photo was date and time-stamped so there was a continuous record the way she wanted it kept. Even though it currently was only a stretched canvas with a pencil drawing on it, it showed steady progress on the client's project. She was pleased, both with the project and with the records I kept. Of course, when there was no client involved, I didn't need the record, but while we were on our date to the zoo concert, Melody had been snapping photos and captured my initial drawing while I was doing it. She also shot some reference photos of the setting that I didn't know about until after the fact. I handed Clarice the watercolor pencil drawing/painting that I did and she looked at it critically. "This has some promising qualities, Tony," she said. "I like the direction it's taking. You'll do a full-size painting of the piece, won't you? It should be about the same size as the Rhapsody Suite painting. This particular subject could be done in watercolor, but you know I prefer oil or acrylic for a better price. You need more pieces like this. Open up and let them flow. But only one or two of any given subject. If you start painting 250 Water Lilies paintings like Monet, I'll never be able to sell any of them. Pictures like this, but not the same subject. And don't paint this instead of figures. Paint it in addition. I want anyone to look at your collection and see at least one painting they could imagine in their home—or museum." "It was a unique setting," I said. "I don't know that I'll find any others that have the same feel. I don't want to be out painting ferries or the Space Needle." "I agree. Every Seattle artist has painted the Space Needle or the ferries. What makes this unique is that every Seattle artist has not painted this scene. And that you've captured something here that is beyond the setting. You caught the vibe. That's what you need more of. Up to this time all I've seen of your work has been people that you connect to. This is a scene—an urbanscape—that you connected with. Keep connecting." "That's hard," I said. "It isn't just that it's hard to find scenes like that, but that I get so caught up in it that I exhaust myself before I think to even breathe." "Well, I'd like to say that will improve, but I doubt that it will. If you want to be a great artist, you are going to have to keep pouring yourself into the connections that bring your work to life." ------- Before I Ieft Carmine's, I stopped to talk to Wendy. She was still looking kind of worn out and I was worried about her. "Oh, things are getting better," she said. "I'm just in a rough spot. I thought I had something and it really hit me hard when it all went up in smoke." "Hey, I've got an idea. Do you work Sunday?" "Of course. But shift's over at 3:00 after we clean up from lunch. Carma closes the restaurant at 2:00 on Sundays." "Why don't you come over for an afternoon barbecue?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "I promise; no nude posing." "Drat! Here I was hoping," she grinned. She sobered almost immediately. "I don't need a hand-out, Tony." "I wasn't offering one. I see you almost every week now, but Lissa and Melody only saw you on Lissa's birthday. You know," I said in a hushed tone, "we share everything. That means you, too. They're beginning to think I'm stepping out on them." This time it was my turn to grin. I hadn't seen Wendy that flustered since the first night we met. "Well, okay," she said. "If I come straight from work, would it be okay for me to grab a shower at your place?" "Sure, but shower at your own risk. You can never tell how many people will be in there with you at our house." She gave me a gentle punch in the arm and said she'd see us Sunday. I rushed home to tell the family. ------- "I wouldn't even go to this thing tonight if it weren't for Kate," I complained to Lissa as we drove home from the club. Our Friday afternoon workouts tended to be the toughest of the week. Today was even tougher because John had located another mixed doubles team to play us. Individually, Sally and Tomas were no competition for either Lissa or me individually. But together, they had a lot of doubles experience that Lissa and I couldn't match. We were tripping over each other and constantly forgetting our rotation. Twice I returned one of Lissa's serves. We played five games over two hours as Sally and Tomas carefully schooled us in the art of playing as a team. It made me think about teachers and students in general. Especially in the arts. It was a reminder that a person doesn't have to be as good, skilled, or talented as you are to be able to teach you. I learned a lot from those two and Lissa and I walked out not having won a single game. But I'd rushed through my shower and soak so I could get home and get ready for my date with Kate. "If it weren't for the date with Kate, we'd all just go home and collapse in bed," Lissa agreed. "But then, there's the date with Kate." "Yeah," I chuckled. "I just wish I was taking her someplace fun instead of to a party where I don't know anyone." "Well, you'll have to work together," Lissa said. "Come on. You'll have fun. After all..." " ... I'm going to be with Kate," I finished for her. We both laughed. "So what are you and our wife going to do?" "Melody said she was planning the evening. Molly left the boys at Jack's tonight, so we might just leave the bedroom door open and fill the house with ecstatic screams all night." "Not all night!" I said. "Don't forget I'm bringing Kate home after the party. We don't want to scare the poor girl." "Oooo. I wonder if that means we all get goodnight kisses tonight," Lissa speculated. "Uh-uh. I think it's only fair that since it's my date, I get to collect the goodnight kisses and distribute them later." "Aww!" Lissa pouted. "I suppose. It is kind of fun to act as the ... What did you call it? Transfer agent?" "Yeah. Makes it sound like one of Melody's fabric dyes, doesn't it?" "Well, you'll have fun. And so will we." ------- I should have known that I wouldn't just dress and leave, though. Melody had clothes laid out for me on the big bed and insisted that I take another shower so she could inspect me. She did a very thorough inspection, most of it with her lips and tongue. "Melody," I said as I pulled on the short sleeved sport shirt she laid out for me. "Don't you think that I'm sending mixed messages? I mean wearing a bright green shirt? I don't want Eric to think he should be hitting on me." "You'll understand later. Just wear the damn shirt." "Yes ma'am!" I snapped. She'd been feeling pretty mellow after we'd both come in the shower. "What's up?" "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just jealous. I wish I was going to the party." "You should have said something, darling. I offered to take you and Lissa." "I don't mean with you," she said. Oh. "I bet you'll have your one-on-one date with Kate in the next few days. You know we're not limited to weekend dating—especially this week with the boys at Jack's," I soothed. "Oh, it's okay. The suspense is killing me, though. I get to hold her hand at the ballgame." "I'm sure she'll be okay with that. What are you and Lissa doing tonight?" "I'm taking her dancing." "What?" "There's an over-18 club in the U-District and I'm taking her dancing. I'm told there's lots of same-sex couples who go there." "So cool! If the party is a bust can we come and join you?" "If the party is a bust, find a quiet place and make out with our girlfriend," Melody answered. "That's what I'd do." ------- I parked and went up to Kate's room at the dorm to knock on her door. It wasn't a formal occasion or a fancy party, so I didn't really have anything to give her—like flowers or candy. But I felt like it was important to call for her at her door and not phone from the car. When she opened the door and smiled at me, I was breathless. She was such a knock-out! She already had flowers that she'd woven into her hair. And she was wearing a "Melody Special" sundress that was deep green with leaf patterns bleached out of the fabric. Instead of having her hair in a ponytail, it was braided around the flowers. She was wearing make-up and looked so sophisticated I could hardly believe it was Kate. Even her nails were repainted and instead of her customary purple polish were a soft pearl. "Wow! You look incredible!" I said. "Thanks to Melody. She came over and helped me get ready this afternoon. I took the afternoon off work." "And she brought you a new dress? I'm going to have to talk to her about how she spends the family's money." "Don't be harsh, Tony. It was so sweet of her," Kate said. She almost looked frightened that I'd really come down hard on Melody. "Hey," I said seriously. "If she's going to spend money like this, I want to encourage her!" "Oh!" Kate laughed and then leaned in to give me a lovely soft kiss. "Did she help you get ready, too?" "Yeah. She had this shirt and ... Oh." Kate was giggling. "You talk about everything, don't you?" "Don't you?" I kissed her again and then took her hand to go to the party. Who really cared where we were going? ------- The party was actually pretty much fun. There was plenty of beer, but Kate and I chose to stick with Cokes. We met up with Eric and he introduced us to several other people. It would take me a few repeated introductions before I remembered everyone's name. But Kate was really into learning about what was happening with Tent City and in less than an hour at the party she'd committed to organizing a team from PCAD to make up backpacks of supplies to have available when the residents moved in. I was going to work the security detail one evening a week. It wasn't really security, but was more like the SCU/Tent City help desk. I'd be there and available for either students or residents to ask questions and get help. I'd also have 911 on speed dial on my cell phone if there was an emergency of any kind. Kate and I were having a great time. When the snacks on the table ran low, we volunteered to run to the kitchen and replenish. We needed more liquid, too, and decided that plain water would be better than downing a dozen Cokes in the evening. I was filling a chip bowl from one of the several bags on the counter while Kate poured us water. I turned to take my glass and met her lips. I melted. That kiss was so warm and loving and inviting, if I hadn't had a bag of chips in my hand I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself. She broke the kiss and smiled at me. "Uh ... maybe I should collect Melody's and Lissa's now, too," I suggested. "Oh, you can share that one if you want to," Kate said. "But it was just for you. I'm so happy you are volunteering." That really pleased me and I leaned in for another of her kisses when I heard a voice behind me. "You fucking shit." ------- Chapter 8 At first it didn't register that the words were directed at me. I was surprised to recognize Bree's voice and thought she was in trouble, so I turned to help. She was standing in the kitchen doorway looking at Kate and me. "You fucking shit," she repeated. "You couldn't come to the party with me, but you can with her? What am I? A leper? No. A leper you'd feel some compassion for and try to help. I'm less than that. You fucking asshole." "Bree," I said, "take it easy." "Easy! Hell! You talk about your holy trinity and how you are all tied up with Lissa and Melody. But you slept with Allison in Chicago and now you're out with this skank. So much for your threesome. So why not me? I can't be much beneath your standards. You don't have any. You won't fucking give me the time of day. You've known from the first time we met I'd do anything for you. Why do you treat me like such shit?" All right. I'd had enough. Bree was way off the deep end again and I was sick and tired of it. What did she know about Chicago or Kate? Skank? God damn her! "Fine, Bree," I said as I unzipped my pants. "Here. Get it out; get it up; and get it off. Then you can put another notch in your pussy and say you fucked every athlete at the school. Isn't that what you want? That's all it is to you. Just do it and then get the hell out of my life." She sank to her knees in front of me. For a minute I actually thought she was going to reach for me, but she kept sinking down until she was curled up on the floor crying. What a way to ruin a great evening. I grabbed Kate's hand and left Bree there. I was practically dragging Kate out the door. "Tony." I just kept going. I didn't even speak or wave to Eric on our way out. I just shut the door behind us. "Tony!" I turned toward Kate. "I'm sorry, Kitten. I didn't know she'd be here. I was having a lot of fun with you and then she ruined it all. I didn't mean to embarrass you." "Tony!" It finally sunk in that she had something to say to me and I looked into her eyes. Kate was crying. "Oh my god!" I said. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled Kate to me. She sobbed against my chest for just a moment before she pushed me away. "Tony, please ... I don't know ... I can't..." "Oh Kate, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm so sorry." "No." She caught her breath and pushed away. "I don't know how to say this. I don't have any right to say it. And I don't want you to hate me. I understand what happened and how you reacted. But Tony, please go apologize to Bree and make up." "What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. If anything Bree owed Kate an apology. "There's something else going on, Tony. I don't know what it is, but I could see it. I know she rubbed you the wrong way and I understand how you reacted, but please. Something terrible will happen if you don't go make up with her. Something is really wrong. If something bad happens, it will tear us apart. Maybe all of us. Please, Tony. I love you. Please go back." I was processing everything she said a couple of phrases after she said it. I was mostly concerned that Kate was upset. It didn't make any sense that something bad would happen. But ... I love you? Oh my god! "Kate, I love you too. I won't let anything bad happen." "Then please go back, Tony. Please find out what's wrong with her. I'll wait. I'll wait as long as it takes. Please, Tony?" I let out my breath in a sigh. Shit. When you really rip someone a new one, the last thing you want to do is go apologize for it. Besides, she really deserved it and I didn't feel sorry about it. But I also realized that I'd do anything for Kate right now. I'd never seen her cry and it broke my heart. "Okay." ------- Bree was still lying on the kitchen floor when I went back in to the party. Kate followed behind, but she stayed in the living room. Eric was in the kitchen trying to get Bree to talk to him, but she was curled in a ball and just kept crying. I grabbed one of the glasses of water that Kate had poured and left on the counter and knelt beside Bree. Eric backed away. "Should I call an ambulance?" he asked. "Not yet. Let me see if I can talk to her," I said quietly. Damn it! I didn't mean to totally destroy her. I didn't even think it was possible. Bree was always so brassy and bold. But she looked so much like Melody in a way that I couldn't stand to see her lying there crying. She looked so broken hearted. I scooped her up in my arms and held the water to her lips. She slurped down a swallow before she realized she was being helped and moved. When she looked up at me she broke out in a fresh round of crying. She was too weak to fight me, though, and I held her against me. "I'm sorry, Bree. I had no right to yell at you like that. I'm sorry." I just rocked her back and forth. Our host came into the kitchen with Eric behind him and asked if everything was okay. "Could she lie down for a few minutes?" I asked. "On a bed?" "Sure," he said. "You need help carrying her?" "No. She's a little peanut. I can carry her." There was a sputter against my chest as Bree choked something between another sob and a snort. I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. They shut the door behind us. "I'm so ... sor ... sorry," she gasped. "I'm so terrible. No wonder he doesn't like me. He hates me." "I don't hate you," I said. Apparently she hadn't realized it was me she was talking to. "I'm just a little overwhelmed by you." "Not you." Huh? "Who hates you, Bree?" "M ... my ... my father." Holy shit. She grabbed onto me and hugged herself into my chest in a new wave of tears and sobs shook her. I petted her hair and tried to calm her down. Somewhere in the back of my head I was telling myself that Kate was right. "Your father doesn't hate you," I said. "I don't know what all's happening, but I know he cares for you." "He likes you better than he likes me," she sobbed. "I thought if I was with you, then he'd like me again. But he'll never like me again. He hates me." "Bree, why do you think your father hates you?" "I tried to be good and I was terrible. When Mommy died. I lived. And I was terrible." "How did your mother die?" I asked. "Childbirth." Fuck. "Bree, that doesn't make it your fault. It's not your fault." "But I was terrible. I tried to take care of the house and my father and help him with recruiting, but I miss my mommy. I thought that if he liked the players so much he'd like me better if I was with them. But he didn't. He was disgusted. I tried to do better, but then you came along and I saw him look at you with the enthusiasm that he used to have. He was bringing a new sport to SCU and I thought this time if I was with you, we'd be able to make him proud of us together. And you were so ... you wouldn't ... I hated you, too. But I had to make the team successful. He'll never like me if I don't keep the team happy and we win." "You've got things so messed up, Bree," I whispered. "Your father isn't your responsibility; you're his. I know you are all grown up now, but he's still the one who should be taking care of you. You don't have to make him successful. Is that why you quit cheerleading to manage the racquetball club?" She nodded her head against me. "Bree, you need to talk to somebody. I mean a professional. I'm not the answer to the problem. I seem to just be something that aggravates it. You need to talk to him and tell him how you feel. He cares for you, Bree. I could hear it when we were talking the other day. He wants to be proud of you—in fact, I think he is. But I bet he's just as upset as you are." We sat there on the bed and she held onto me like I was a lifeline. I was pretty sure I would have bruises in the morning. It took a long time. I was worried about leaving Kate alone, but she said she'd wait for me. This was important to her, too. Bree began to quiet down and for a while I thought she'd fallen asleep. Then she looked up at me and spoke softly. "Will you take me home? I don't want to drive." "We'll take you." ------- I was supporting Bree with my arm around her when we came out of the bedroom and Kate left a conversation with two guys who seemed to be really into her to come and help me. When she approached, Bree looked at her mournfully and Kate just hugged her. "I'm sorry, Kate," Bree said. "I have such a foul-mouth. I didn't mean it. Please forgive me." Kate, of course, did more than that. She helped Bree into the back seat and sat with her as I drove her home. We went in with her and made sure she was safe and all right. She seemed better and said that she would go straight to bed. Kate wasn't satisfied and went up to her room with her, made sure she was in bed, turned out the lights, and came back down to say she thought it was okay to go now. We got back to a dark house at 11:30. ------- "Hello?" I called into the house. I turned on the light and went back to the bedroom, but it was empty. "Where are they?" Kate asked. "Melody took Lissa dancing. They must not be back yet," I said. I wasn't sure about this. Did Kate look nervous? "We could, uh ... go join them ... if you want," I suggested. Kate looked at me and I saw the ghost of a smile play at her lips. She moved closer to me and, as her lips touched mine, her hand found the hall light switch and flipped it off. "I've got a better idea," she whispered into my mouth. "Let's go in the living room and make out in the dark." That sounded like a great idea to me. I took her hand and led her to my favorite make-out spot, the big recliner next to the fireplace. I sat down and pulled Kate into my lap. She flowed against me and our lips were soon busy being interrupted by our tongues. Kate's kissing had changed over the past few weeks. I remembered some of those early tentative kisses that were so incredibly sexy. This kiss was no less sexy, but had more assurance and enthusiasm. It was almost impossible for me to control my hands, but as they strayed closer to her breasts, she pulled away from me and snuggled in to my arms, content to sit in my lap and firmly hold my hands against her stomach. She wiggled a little and my erection poked at her. "Melody and Lissa don't poke me when we kiss," she giggled. "I'm sorry, Kitten. It just kind of happens," I said. I made to shift so that it wouldn't be against her, but she wiggled again and held me tightly. "It's okay. They have other ways of letting me know they're turned on. I like your way, too." We sat there in the dark and, believe it or not, I was really content and happy. Her hair still smelled of the flowers she'd braided into it. It was really comfortable and while my hard-on continued to remind us of my aroused state, I was beginning to notice subtle changes in Kate as well. Little clues, I guess, like I got from Melody and Lissa. Stretching her head back to my shoulder to expose her neck and shoulders to my lips. A little whimper when I kissed that hollow between the clavicle and scapula. A deep breath as she gripped my fingers tightly. We sat there for a long time, just feeling the sensations of being together. Of course, that also gave us time to cool down a little and talk. "Thank you for going back to Bree tonight, Tony," she said. Well, I hadn't actually wanted to discuss Bree, but I did have some questions. "How did you know, Kitten?" I asked. "How did you know what was going on with her?" "I'm not sure. When I first saw her, she looked ... hurt. Much more than she would be by just seeing us together. She just looked sad ... like she was deep down sad." "I feel badly that I could have missed something that significant," I said. "Probably because she was directing all her focus at you and you felt under attack. It's hard to sympathize with someone when they're trying to hurt you. But aside from the toss-off comment, she hardly even noticed I was there. That let me see her better. You know, if she'd been jealous of me, she'd have attacked me. But it was all about why she wasn't good enough. I just started crying for her." "You are the most sensitive and compassionate person I've ever met," I said. "You were so into helping with Tent City tonight and getting things organized at PCAD, I could hardly believe it. It takes me so long to process when others need something. I have to remind myself to be aware of other people and not zone out into my own world." "But you do it automatically with Lissa and Melody and the boys," Kate said. "And with me. You connected with me that first weekend when we were at the posing party last spring." "Maybe," I said. "But you were all alone the whole first semester and a half before we made that connection. I was so wrapped up in my own misery that I thought you were just stuck-up. I couldn't see what you were going through." "Well, I was alone, but I don't think there's anything any of you could have done about it until I was ready. I had my own issues to deal with." We were quiet again, but in a few seconds Kate's lips found mine again. She shifted her weight to turn toward me, but pulled my hands around her waist to her back and I got the message that she didn't want to deal with them on her front. Then the kiss heated up and I felt her right hand slide down from around my neck to my shoulder and then to my biceps as she stroked up and down my arm. Oh man, had she learned to kiss. I was close to coming in my pants just from having her sitting on my lap kissing. I'd moved my hands up and down her back and her bare shoulders, but respected her wish not to go farther. This was a marathon kissing session, though. We were both panting for breath the next time we pulled our lips away from each other and Kate mashed herself against me as we hugged. Her frame was so light and delicate, but there was no fear of being hurt. We hugged fiercely. "Do you know the legend of King Arthur?" she asked, when our breathing had returned to some semblance of normal. Well, maybe half-way between supercharged and excited, anyway. "Um ... just the basics. I never read the whole thing, but portions came up in literature classes. It's a story about Britain, but I understand the story was written in French." "Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory was actually written in English, even though the title is French. It was published by William Caxton in 1485." "Wow! How'd you know that?" "My grandfather was a new age hippie. End of the baby boomers. He started telling me the stories before I could walk and read me the whole book about the time other kids my age were discovering Harry Potter. I wasn't more than five." "And what made you think of King Arthur just now?" "Us. All of us." "I don't think Malory could have imagined the kind of us that all of us are," I laughed. "Don't be too sure. Remember, the biggest stories in the canon are of impossible love. Think Lancelot and Guinevere or Tristan and Isolde. Honor, threesomes, and love." "Still, they..." "Shh ... Do you remember the story of Gawain and the Green Knight?" "Isn't that the one where he cuts off the Green Knight's head and then has to go let the Green Knight cut off his?" "Yes. It's a story that illustrates fairness in the face of impossible situations. But it isn't just about the head chopping. When Gawain goes out on his quest at Christmas to yield to the Green Knight, he comes upon a castle where he is welcomed and given hospitality. Bertilak, the owner of the castle leaves Gawain in the castle with his wife and goes hunting. The agreement is that anything he gets from Bertilak's wife that day, Gawain has to trade for what Bertilak gets while hunting." "Is this where he has to kiss the guy?" I asked. "Gawain apparently doesn't have any problem with that. The wife tries to seduce him, but the first day gives him one kiss." Kate paused the story long enough to give me a soft sensual kiss. "The second day two kisses." Kate kissed me a soft sensual kiss, pulled back and then gave me a more sensual open mouthed kiss with her tongue dancing with mine. "The third day, three kisses." She gave me another soft, sensual kiss. It was quickly followed by a more sensual kiss full of tongue. But the third kiss Kate gave me knocked my socks off. She pulled me to her and scorched me with her lips and tongue as she lifted and dropped in my lap caressing my cock with her butt. Her right hand had floated down from my shoulder and caressed my chest, flicking her thumb across my nipple. I gasped. "At the end of each day," Kate whispered against me, "Gawain kisses Bertilak the same number of times and with the same enthusiasm. There's a clear implication that if he'd made love to Bertilak's wife during the day, he'd have made love to Bertilak that night." "Wow. I guess that is pretty liberal." "It's just like what we do," Kate said. "If I give you a kiss, you have to give it to Melody and Lissa. If you give me one, I give it to them." I glanced down to where Kate's hand was still resting against my chest with her thumb rubbing across my nipple. "Um ... you know I'm going to have to do this with them, too, don't you?" I asked. Kate looked into my eyes for a long moment. Her hand left my chest and I thought perhaps she was having second thoughts about what she was doing. Instead, she pulled my left hand around from her back and placed it on on the front of her bare shoulder. "Maybe you should practice once so I'm sure you get the message right when you give it to them." She pulled my hand down with hers, across the bare shoulder and upper part of her breast and let it come to rest over her nipple, covered only by the top of her sundress. Oh god in heaven! I've seen her breasts when we were painting. I've felt them when we were squashed together in a hug. But nothing prepared me for experience of touching them for the first time. How can a person ever be prepared for that? She was soft and firm and hard and gentle—all at once! Her hand returned to my chest and her mouth to my mouth as she caressed me and I mimicked her by loving her breast with my fingers. When we tweaked each other's nipples we both gasped and a little squeal issued from her lips as her eyebrows shot up and her eyes squeezed closed. Then her hand covered mine again and pulled it back around her waist as she lay tightly against me, panting. "Tony?" Her voice was so soft I bent my head so my ear would be closer to her mouth. "Yes, Kitten?" "No one ... has ever ... touched me there before. Ever. Do you understand why I want to go slow?" "I think I do, Kitten. I really do." We drifted off to sleep in each other's arms as we lay in the big recliner. ------- "He's not in bed!" "Shhhh..." "Do you think they're sleeping together?" "Wait. Look." "Aren't they cute?" I came awake when the kitchen light went on, so I heard all their whispers, but I wasn't about to disturb the sleeping beauty in my lap to call to them. I didn't have to wait long before they discovered where we were and quietly came up beside us. "Hello, Darlings," I whispered. "Isn't she adorable?" "So sweet," Lissa said. "Are you going to spend the night here?" "It seems like a shame to wake her," Melody said. "M'wake," a sleepy voice said from somewhere in the vicinity of my shoulder. "Jus' waiting for the children to get home." Lissa and Melody giggled. "We did stay out kind of late," Melody said. "So much fun." Kate lifted her head and looked at the three of us. "You're home," she said. She gave us that heart-melting smile. "I can go to bed now. If I can stand up." "Not necessary," I said as I put the footrest of the recliner down. I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the guest room where Lissa was holding the door open and Melody was turning down the bed. "Do you need us to ... uh ... help you... ?" I asked as I set her down on the bed. "Naughty boy," Kate said as she kissed me. "I can manage from here, thank you." "Goodnight kisses?" Melody asked hopefully. "Oh, sweety. Too tired. You'll have to get them from Tony. He's got a good supply," Kate giggled and made a little shooing motion with her hands to get us to leave. "Nighty-night." We barely got out of her room before my wives were all over me, dragging me into the bedroom. ------- It was two o'clock in the morning and I'd made them both put on their own versions of the sundress Kate had worn on our date. We sat in bed—well, on the bed. I sat in the middle facing the headboard with my feet out in front and Lissa and Melody sat facing me on either side. I began by just giving them each a gentle kiss. "Now," I began, "do you know the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?" I was going to have fun tantalizing them all the way through the whole story and the only way I could think to do it without comic scenes of changing places was to have one on either side of me. It really didn't make any difference what they said about knowing the story. To the best of my ability I was going to tell it like Kate did and build it all the way up. This way, I also had a hand free for each of them and that was going to be important. As expected, when I got to the third kiss with Melody, she practically jumped out of her skin. But I kept her quiet by sealing her lips with my own. The position was such that Lissa couldn't see me gently caressing Melody's left breast with my right hand, but she could hear the high pitched whine that escaped when I tweaked her nipple. "Did... ?" I touched Melody's lips with my finger. "Shh. Don't spoil it for Lissa," I cautioned. Melody groaned and flopped back on the bed. I turned to Lissa. One long, slow, sweet, and gentle kiss. One loving and passionate kiss. One toe-curling, deep, and urgent kiss as I stroked her breast and lightly pinched her right nipple with my left hand. Lissa's response way outdid Melody's as she pushed me back on the bed while her moan was escaping from our sealed lips. I almost didn't get a word out before Lissa was straddling me with the sundress hiked up above her waist and our sex pounding together. "Did she really ... let you ... touch her?" "Well, during the story it was her touching me the way I was to touch you when I shared it," I said. "Ohhh," Melody groaned, disappointed. "But then she made me practice to be sure I had the right technique." "OHHH!" Lissa gasped. "OH, I could feel it. Oh my angel!" "We didn't do that, though," I said as Lissa fell off me. I hadn't come, but she was floating about a foot off the bed, she was so high. Before I could go on, Melody had stripped off her sundress and taken her place on my cock. She rocked back and forth and Lissa revived enough to slide her hands around Melody and cup her breasts. "Did you, just go to sleep then?" Melody gasped. "Not quite," I said. After Lissa and now with Melody, my pent up orgasm was ready to crash in on me. "There was one other thing she said that you need to know. She told me ... told me ... that I was the ... first person ... to ever touch her there." I finally got the words out as I began unleashing my load inside Melody and her scream was suddenly cut off by Lissa's mouth covering hers. We all collapsed with Melody still connected on top of me and Lissa half on Melody and half on me. I think we'd have stayed like that all night long if we hadn't been lying with our heads toward the foot of the bed. We managed to get ourselves sorted out, toss the clothes out of the bed and pull a sheet up over us as we settled in to sleep. "You understand, don't you?" I persisted as my lovers pressed in on me. "This is why she's taking it so slow. She's never done this. Not just never done it with a threesome, but never at all. She wants to stretch it out and enjoy every sensation one step at a time and share each step with each of us. And probably each step with all of us. It's even more exciting than if she was here in bed with us." "I may die by the time we get there," Lissa said. "But I will die so happy." ------- We'd fallen asleep a hot, sweaty tangle. We woke up the same way. I've discovered that while we enjoy sex in any way at any time, we each have favorites. For example, Melody likes to make love at night when we've showered and get into bed, then in an hour need to shower again in order to rinse off the sweat. Sometimes we don't make it back to the shower and wake up stuck to each other like we were this morning. Lissa likes to make slow, luxurious love when she first wakes up and is in that stage of half-dreaming. I prefer any time and any way. But that explains why seconds after waking up, Lissa had begun to rub her butt against my morning wood, and why, by the time Melody cuddled up behind me and draped an arm over me to reach Lissa's breast, I was already up to my balls in Lissa. Have I mentioned just how much I love being sandwiched between my lovers? I suppose I have. We were talking, laughing, kissing, and just lazily moving together. Occasionally, Melody's hand would leave Lissa's breast—only to be replaced by mine when Lissa complained—to push between my legs and squeeze my balls or tickle Lissa's clit. "Good morning! I heard voices, so I made coffee and thought I'd bring it to you in bed," Kate said as she came through the door. We all froze. I was right at that point where I could feel my heartbeat in my cock because I was so close, and Melody's finger was pressed firmly against Lissa's clit. I don't think Kate had the least idea what was going on beneath the thin sheet that separated us from her view. "I think I got them right. Lissa's is with cream, Tony is black espresso with a little water, and Melody's is with cream and sugar. You guys look so cute cuddled up together." She leaned over and kissed Lissa on the cheek, then me, and then Melody. Melody had one hand on Lissa's clit, but the other was buried in her own pussy. When Kate reached across to kiss Melody, Lissa and I rolled toward her a little. Both Melody's hands twitched and she and Lissa practically rose off the bed as they came, trying desperately to stifle their screams. The feeling of Lissa clamping down on my cock as she came sent me over the edge and I'm sure I must have looked like I was spastic as the jolts went through my body. "Are you guys, okay?" Kate asked. She looked at us and her mouth fell open as she realized what she'd just witnessed. "Oh! Oh my ... You were ... I'm so ... Oh my!" She turned to leave, but I found my voice before she got to the door. "Kitten, you don't need to leave. Nothing more is going to happen." Lissa squeezed down on me again. "I think. You might as well come and join us for morning coffee. You brought yourself a cup, too, didn't you?" "Mmm ... yes? Is it okay? I didn't mean..." "Kate that was very sweet of you," Lissa said. "You can interrupt us anytime. We really don't mind." "Really? I've never seen anyone ... I mean people..." "You didn't really see much this time," I said, gasping in a deep breath as my cock shriveled out of Lissa. "You know, I think that's the first time we ever ... um ... had anyone else in the room ... um ... when ... Well, that was interesting ... and a little exciting." I rolled to my back and pushed myself up to a seated position as Kate handed me my coffee and I gave her a kiss. I took a sip. I swear; the next best thing to an orgasm in my lover is my first sip of coffee in the morning. Having it right after such an intense experience just sent me into a daydream. Before I knew it, Melody was propped up beside me and had her legs over mine. She took her candy drink, kissed Kate, and seemed to go into her own fantasy land. Lissa pushed herself up against the two of us and pulled her legs up next to me. She took her time kissing Kate before she took her cup of coffee. The sheet had fallen away, but none of us cared as we savored that first sip of coffee. "Oh, Kitten," I sighed. "This is wonderful." "It is wonderful," she said. "You guys have to stay right there. Just wait." Kate ran out of the room and we threw each other a puzzled look. It was only enough time for Kate to reach her room and return. She threw open the door and ran back to the bed. She crawled up on the edge of the bed with a sketchpad and pencilbox, shifted her position once, and started drawing. I realized we were in the position I'd described to Kate and asked her to sketch. There was no posing. We were just there. She worked for about twenty minutes and our coffee cups were empty when I realized it was morning and I needed a potty break. "Kitten," I said. "We're going to have to take a break. I have to use the bathroom." "Just a minute!" She reached in her art box and pulled out a small camera and quickly clicked off half a dozen photos, moving in close to turn the camera toward each of us. "Okay. Five minute break, models. Then we need to get back to work." "Coffee was nice," Melody grumbled as she beat me to the toilet, "but I sure better get breakfast out of this!" I politely let Lissa go in next. None of us had bothered to put any clothes on, but Kate had seen us all naked before. She's an artist. "Don't touch your hair!" she shouted at Melody as she came out of the bathroom. "But I've got bedhead," Melody complained. "It's perfect," Kate said. "Really. It's just perfect." We all got back in bed and arranged ourselves in the positions we had been in before nature called. Kate looked at the reference shots on the camera, made a couple of adjustments, and then handed us back our coffee cups. Then she surprised us. "I need to get closer, so please try not to move much while I get in position. Be good and I'll make more coffee at the next break and cook for you all when we're finished." We agreed and Kate crawled up beside us. Kate has a really interesting style. When Melody, Sandra, Amy, and Kate were sketching the scene I posed with Bree, Wendy, Sonia, and Allison back in May, the other three girls drew the entire scene. Kate drew only my face. It was that charcoal sketch that connected the Rhapsody Suite and showed the connection among the pieces. She's really into detail and left to her own devices will only draw small items, but very big. Once she was settled in, she focused on Lissa and began to draw. Lissa was happy to be the center of Kate's focus, even though I knew Kate was seeing highlights, shadows, curves, and lines, and not the loving gaze that Lissa cast on her. When that sketch was done, she adjusted her position just a little, and then turned to Melody. Melody was just as excited about being Kate's focus as Lissa had been, and I had to admit that I was looking forward to being the one she was looking at. When she was finished, she turned to me. I realized then what had caught Lissa and Melody in such a fantasy. Kate smiled at me. I wanted to throw myself at her right there and then. That smile. I knew that I had to be smiling back when she bent to the fresh sheet of drawing paper in front of her. I've never been tested, but I've long suspected that I have some kind of photographic memory. It's not like I can remember everything I've read. That's different and has to do with comprehension. But if I study a scene for a while, I remember everything about it. Kate, on the other hand, I suspect could do the same thing instantly. She had never said anything about it, but I noticed that after that brief moment of eye contact and brilliant smile, she bent to her paper and scarcely looked up as she drew. It had been half an hour and our cold, empty coffee cups were beginning to shake in our hands when Kate closed her sketchbook and said, "That's all." Kate threw the sketchbook behind her and wiggled in just a little closer to us. In this position, she could lean against me while touching both Melody and Lissa. "This is such a nice position," Kate sighed. "I feel so at home." "You know," Melody said, "you're the only one with a stitch of clothing on. You could join us." "Oh. Yeah, I suppose so. Maybe when Tony is ready to draw us. I need to go make coffee and breakfast for my ... hmm... what am I going to call you?" She slipped off the bed and picked up our dishes to go to the kitchen. We all showered, dressed, and met her there fifteen minutes later. ------- We had a great time at the ballgame. It was cloudy and cooler than August had been lately. There was a bit of a breeze, but more than 3,000 of us cheered for a team we hardly knew and couldn't name a single member of. And it worked. We won against the Tri-City Dust Devils six to four. In spite of the clouds, we had a good time making sure that we'd completely covered all exposed skin on each other with sunblock. You can't trust a cloudy day in the Pacific Northwest. We ran and got peanuts and cokes, joked about being sports fans, and cheered ourselves hoarse. We ate at the Crocodile Café after the game and then convinced Kate that she should stay over Saturday night. We just sat on the deck, laughing and reliving the day. About midnight, we all went to bed after Kate had kissed us each soundly and promised to knock before she came in on Sunday morning with the newspaper and coffee. And Sunday morning was great! We were on our best behavior and we each even had t-shirts and underwear on when Kate knocked on the door and brought coffee in. We were a little surprised when she came in wearing just a t-shirt and panties, but she brought the coffee tray to the bed and wiggled in to her position with the three of us. "Mmmm. I could get used to starting my day like this," Melody said after Kate had kissed each of us good morning. "I love having you cuddle with us in the morning," Lissa said. "Where are the comics?" I asked. I was tickled in response. "Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you all something," Kate said as we tried to brush the toast crumbs out of the bed with little success. Lissa finally growled something about it being time to wash the sheets and we all demolished the bed. But we finally landed in the living room—still in what passed for pajamas—and got around to Kate's question. "What did you want to ask us?" Lissa said. "Well, two things really. I wanted to know if Melody would go out with me next Saturday. I'd like to go explore Bainbridge Island. I hear there's a really neat café in Winslow and a big park to explore. Would you go out with me next Saturday, Mel?" "Of course I will. I just wish it was tomorrow!" Melody said. "Except that if the lease is approved, I need to order fabric and get it shipped and start setting things up in the studio this week." "Maybe I can help one evening," Kate said. "But there's one other thing, and it's a little more significant than just a day trip to Bainbridge." We all looked at her expectantly, but she wouldn't meet any of our eyes. "I was wondering if ... well ... if I could borrow Tony for a weekend." "What?" I exclaimed. "It's just ... wait ... I didn't get it out right. I need to visit my family before classes start and ... I kind of told them ... I sort of had a ... boyfriend. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about my girlfriends. I'm not trying to hide anything ... and I wouldn't even ... if it weren't for..." Things were falling apart. "Family meeting," I said. I flopped in the recliner and motioned Kate to the other easy chair. Melody and Lissa sat on the sofa. "Now, take a deep breath and tell us exactly what you want. Take your time. We aren't going anywhere." "Well, it started before I really got to know you, last winter. When I went home, some of the moms and dads didn't want me to come back. I'm sorry. You don't understand that. My parents are part of a commune. They live out in the boondocks and share everything in common. It gets complicated. But I told them that I didn't want to leave school and that I had a boyfriend and if they tried to make me stay I'd just hitchhike back. I didn't have to because my mom is really independent and just loaded me in the car the day after Christmas and took me to Portland to take the train back here to Seattle." "Geez, Kate. You mean you were here all alone over New Years?" Melody asked. "I'm so sorry." "It was better than being home, I guess. It was a little creepy being the only one in the dorm. I kind of had to sneak in." "Oh man! That's terrible." "Never mind. That was before I knew you all. If anything like that happened to me now, I'd know enough to call my ... I've got to make a name for you ... anyway, believe me I wouldn't hesitate to ask if I could stay with you. You guys know I love you, don't you?" That was too much. The nice orderly family meeting just went to hell and we dragged Kate out of the chair and all cuddled up on the sofa. "Tell us what you need, Kitten," I said. "I really want to see my family again, but I'm afraid that if I go alone they won't let me come back. So, I thought if Tony just went with me as my boyfriend, it would be easy because if things got crazy, we could just leave." I could see that both Lissa and Melody had a crease in their brows. Kate noticed it, too. "Please don't think that I want Tony to be my boyfriend. Not without you. But I don't think it would work that well for all four of us to show up. I just want to see my mom and then come back to Seattle. I wouldn't do anything with Tony that I wouldn't do with both Melody and Lissa. I love all three of you. I love you so much my heart is bursting. Damn it! I wasn't ever going to say that until ... I mean it, but please don't ... Oh god, I'm making such a mess of things." If a conductor with a baton had been guiding us, we couldn't have all taken one deep breath and let it out at the same time more on cue. "I trust you, Kitten," Melody said. "And I love you. Just letting our feelings out doesn't mean we're going to put any kind of pressure on you, though. We're all enjoying this courting thing as much as you are. The journey is as much fun as the destination, sweetheart." "Kate, look at me," Lissa said. The two came face to face. Lissa kissed her softly. "I love you, Kitten. I have for weeks. I'm really having fun dating and you are just a joy to me." "Kitten," I said. I held out my arms and she leaned into me so I could hug her. We'd all slid off the sofa onto the floor and a hug from one person only involved leaning toward that person a little more. "I love you. I'll go with you. And just like always, we will only do what we are sharing with all of us. Is that okay with you?" "Yes." Tears were trickling down Kate's cheeks. "Except that ... It's a holiday." "What?" "Mom asked me to come for Labor Day before school starts. It's kind of to celebrate my birthday." "When's your birthday?" Melody asked. I couldn't believe she hadn't found out this tidbit before me. "Same as mine," I said. "We're birthday twins. The eighteenth." "We are going to have such a party!" Lissa said. "It's okay?" "Yes, it's okay, you silly goose. I feel like we should all go and just tell them they can't have you," Lissa said. "If you wanted," Melody added. "Oh, I do want, but ... I really love my family. They're a little scary sometimes, but they've all taken care of me since I was born. And you'd really like my mom. She's ... unusual. But I can't just take a raiding party in and challenge them. If Tony's with me, there won't be any problem and then I can come back and go on with school." "It's a deal, then," I said. "You can borrow me for Labor Day Weekend." ------- Chapter 9 After we finally got around to having breakfast, we spent a lazy Sunday morning and early afternoon. None of us really wanted to do anything but sit around and make out. Unfortunately, we had company coming and felt that we really needed to get dressed. I had to run to the store to get ribs for our barbecue with Wendy and then we all invaded the kitchen to cook. Being "the man," I got control over the ribs and grill. Don't ask how that ever got started. It had nothing to do with being a great hunter, but the girls all thought that it was natural for a man to want to play with fire. I had news for them. With the three of them running around all morning in their pajama shirts and panties, I had all the heat I could handle. Lissa, Melody and I had been on our best behavior in the morning, not wanting to risk another embarrassment when Kate came in with our coffee, so we were all a little on the horny side. There was a lot of kissing, rubbing, and brushing against each other in the kitchen among all four of us, even after we got dressed. About three in the afternoon, Wendy arrived and, as promised, went straight to the shower to clean up after work. We all noticed that she took long enough to take care of more than getting clean, but Kate reprimanded us and told us to be nice. By the time Wendy was out of the bathroom and dressed in a pair of shorts and tube top, I was out on the deck getting smoke in my eyes and all over my clothes every time I opened the cover on the grill. I could see the girls through the patio doors as they poured glasses of iced tea and nibbled on Kate's deviled eggs. That was all the inspiration I needed. I went inside. "Hey! Doesn't the caveman get a deviled egg and a drink?" I asked plaintively. Melody pushed an egg in my mouth and shut me up. I'm not much into iced tea, so I poured one of my ginger ale and cranberry juice cocktails. When I could finally speak again, I raved about the egg—one of my favorite dishes of all time—and kissed Kate. I finally got around to greeting Wendy. "It's good to see you, Wendy," I said as I approached and gave her a hug. I swear, I did not intend to kiss her, but I only realized it was happening when I heard three other people clear their throats behind me. "Um ... wow ... that's some greeting," I mumbled. "Yeah. Well, I haven't seen you in a long time either, remember?" "But at Carmine's..." The play on words suddenly dawned on me. When we met at the restaurant and I'd told Wendy I hadn't seen her in a long time, she immediately exposed her boobs to me. Well, maybe sometime she'd get to see me again... I was interrupted. Lissa turned me to face her with a playful scowl on her face. "You got something and have to share," she said. I grinned and kissed her. Then Melody. I turned to Kate, but she turned away and looked at Wendy. "Mmmm ... I think I'll get mine from the source," she said. Wendy's eyes shot wide open when Kate kissed her. She didn't pull away, though. "I see things are just as crazy here now as the last time I visited," Wendy said. "I'm so glad I accepted your invitation." "Tell us about your summer," Lissa said. I suddenly realized I'd left the ribs on the grill and ran out the door, so I didn't hear what else was said. ------- We ate until we were all groaning. Ribs, deviled eggs, potato salad, and my newly-popular grilled zucchini and asparagus. I started shuffling around putting away leftover food and clearing the dishes. Melody and Lissa came in from the deck and Mel helped me while Lissa started getting ice cream out for dessert. "Do you really think anybody is going to be able to eat more?" I asked. "I'm so stuffed I can hardly breathe." "I'd like ice cream!" Melody said. "And I'm definitely having some," Lissa responded, "with chocolate syrup. I'll ask Kate and Wendy what they'd like." She turned toward the deck doors but I caught her arm before she could move forward. "Mel," I whispered. She looked up from the dishwasher and came to join us. From where we stood in the kitchen, we could see out onto the deck through the French doors. Kate and Wendy were leaning against the far railing and seemed to be in a very intense discussion about something. Wendy was shaking her head violently, but Kate put her arm around our friend and leaned in to her face. Wendy seemed frozen in place for a moment; then nodded her head. Kate turned Wendy toward her and hugged her. Wendy seemed to collapse against Kate for a moment and then straighten up. They turned toward the kitchen and we were all instantly in action doing "other things." I don't think they suspected we'd been watching them. "Who's for ice cream?" Lissa asked as they came into the kitchen. "Mmm. Yum," Kate said. "Sure, I guess so. Thank you," Wendy added. Lissa turned to start dipping. "Say guys," Kate said, "would you mind if I did a load of laundry before I go back tonight? I'd really appreciate it." "Of course, Kitten," Lissa said. "You know you are always welcome to use the laundry. You shouldn't even bother to use a Laundromat any more. Bring your clothes over every weekend. "Thanks, sweetie!" Kate said. She surprised Lissa with a hug from behind. "Hey, Wendy, do you have any laundry you need to do? I probably don't have a full load." "Um ... yeah ... I kinda do. I was going to hit Kwik-Kleen on the way ... uh ... home tonight." "Bring it in; we'll see if we can get our undies mixed up," Kate said. She headed down the hall to the guest room to get her laundry. Wendy hesitated a moment. "Do you mind if I toss some of my clothes in with Kate's?" she asked. "Of course not," Lissa smiled. "By the time you get the wash started, Tony will have coffee made, won't you dear?" Oh, guess what! I'm making coffee. I left Melody to finish loading the dishwasher and started filling the kettle. Wendy left to get laundry from her car. As soon as she was out of the house, Lissa and Melody turned to me. "What was that all about?" I whispered. "I've got no idea," Melody said. "Neither do I, but Kate was really intense when she was talking to Wendy outside," Lissa said. "What do you think?" "Do you think Kate was asking her out? What was that bit about getting their undies mixed up?" Melody asked. "No," I said firmly. "Kate is ultra-sensitive to other people's needs. I told you what happened with Bree. I think it's something with Wendy and Kate is trying to help. Let's just let it ride." We could hear the girls laughing downstairs. ------- About eight, Wendy said she really had to leave, but that she'd had a great day. "Thank you so much for inviting me over. I know I'm kind of an odd duck when it comes to your friends, but it's so nice to see you guys. And I bet I'll see you on Thursday for your weekly meeting," Wendy said to me. "You know my schedule so well?" "Oh, I get to know who Clarice is meeting with on a regular basis. It's almost like being her secretary. 'Wendy! More coffee!' You know." "Does she meet all her clients there?" I asked. "I don't even think she has an office," Wendy said. "Anyway, I just love seeing you guys and someday I'll have you over. Maybe I can get Carma to comp us all a dinner one night. That would be fun." "Carma?" "Oops. Carmine is really Carma. She knew no Italians would come to an Italian restaurant with a woman's name. She's back in the kitchen nearly every night. Next time you all come in, I'll introduce you," Wendy said. "Okay, now I really have to get going." "Can I get a ride?" Kate asked. "I need to get back to my dorm so I can go to work tomorrow." "Um ... sure ... um ... if you're sure," Wendy said. I was about to jump in and offer to take Kate home, but Lissa squeezed my hand and I just smiled as they each kissed us goodnight and then left. Maybe Kate's kiss felt a little more reserved than usual. I wasn't sure. But you can bet we didn't talk about much of anything else the whole time the three of us were in the hot-tub and getting into bed. ------- The week absolutely flew by. Mortgage approved. Lease approved. Fabric ordered. Ventilation installed. And practice, practice, practice. Lissa and I were getting pretty good at not falling over each other when we were playing together instead of against each other. John kept a steady stream of doubles opponents coming in and we weren't losing all the time. I stopped by Coach Jacobson's office on Wednesday to talk about what we needed to do for the club and when things would get started. Classes don't start at SCU until the 19th of September, unlike PCAD that start the day after Labor Day. Of course, I was only taking one class at PCAD and it only met twice a week. I didn't know what I was going to do once Melody started back to school. Maybe Lissa and I would find a way to entertain ourselves. Hmm. "So, we're training to play mixed doubles," I said. "Is it okay if I compete at Opens?" "I don't think there's anything against the rules. Other Intercollegiate players play in Opens as long as they aren't playing in the Pro Division. We've already discussed your absence during Opens with your professors. Of course, you'll need to do the same thing at PCAD. I think it's a good idea." "We've got a mini-tournament scheduled the 27th. I haven't heard how registrations are coming yet. I expect to talk to John this afternoon," I said. "I want to invite a couple of the new team members over. It will give them a chance to see you in action." ------- "Tony, Lissa. I'd like you to meet George and Nicole. George and Nicole, welcome to Seattle Racquet Club. This is Tony and Lissa," John introduced us. "Lissa, you're my idol," Nicole said. "It's so nice to meet you in person." "Thank you, Nicole. I have a feeling you and George are going to show us what mixed doubles is all about. We're still trying to keep from falling over each other." "It takes a little time," George said. "When we were first training, Nicole and I spent more time lying on the floor than we did hitting the ball." "You'll find out just how big his feet are, let me tell you," Nicole laughed. Like Lissa and me, George and Nicole were pretty evenly matched for size. They might have been an inch or two shorter than us, but they looked like a matched set. It was going to be interesting finding out how to play against a really experienced team. John had told us they were in for our mini-tournament and were the favorites out of the teams that had registered so far. We got set and the first game was a blow-out. We only scored four points. We did a little better in the second game, but were still way back. We talked about the match afterward and George and Nicole were kind enough to take us through some of the moves they made and how they decided who was going for the ball. "It takes a lot of practice to work as a doubles team," George said. "I've watched videos of both of you and if you can pull that kind of playing together as a team, you'll be unstoppable." "Are you going to opens?" I asked. "No," George said. "It's expensive to pay for your airfare, hotel, registration, and meals. Then there's time off work. We'll live vicariously through you. So we'd like to you to represent us well. Okay?" "Sounds good to me," I said. "I'm glad you're willing to help." "Now that we've got that out of the way," George said, "let's talk about the game." It was a two-hour intensive lesson that went way beyond our scheduled court time. Fortunately, there was no one waiting for a court. They drilled us first on rotations and then on position and strategy. They were good—not necessarily Open or Pro level, but as good as we'd seen in Seattle so far. Lissa and I learned a ton. Amazingly, by the time we were done, we were feeling more like a team. "This is a hard thing," Nicole said, "but if you are going to play as a team, you should probably quit playing against each other." "That would be pretty hard to do since we coach each other on our singles games," I said. "Yes, but you get used to competing against each other instead of cooperating. That's the biggest thing that's going against you right now. You can't help but try to prevent the other from succeeding, just because that's the nature of the game. You have to get past that if you want to be competitive as a doubles team," Nicole concluded. "You sound like you've had experience in that," Lissa said. "Oh yeah," George said. "It used to be that everything Nicole and I did was competing against each other. We even sold software for competing companies." "Wow! How'd you get past that?" I asked. "Well," George said quietly. "Sex helped." He grinned at me and we headed toward the locker room. Just before we got there, John caught up with us. "Hey there! I just talked to the director and we've decided to cut off registrations and go with what we have," John said. "We just got our sixth registration and that will give us a good number for a round robin tournament. Five rounds and every team plays each other team. That should be fun and entertaining. We can do the tournament in about seven hours with a quarter-hour break between rounds and a half-hour lunch." "Man! That's going to be a brutal day," I complained. "Win fast in every round and you get a longer break," was all he said. ------- Clarice was at our house. So were Melody and Lissa. Lissa had begun to accept Clarice as a non-threatening professional, but was still just a little cool. Melody had no such reservations. After she heard what had happened at Sharon's sitting, she was all too happy to have Clarice around to chaperone when I painted. But today was important. We weren't meeting at Carmine's. It would be difficult to take full-size canvases into the restaurant, especially while the paint was still not completely set. I reminded myself why I prefer acrylics and watercolor to oils. I had three pieces to show her—all large canvasses. The first was Sharon's portrait. It was a picture of utter elegance. I put as much work in on the surroundings and backdrop as I did on her figure. The big picture window behind her showed the Seattle skyline across the lake. Her robe dropped elegantly off her shoulder and the draping effects were some of the best I'd painted. Doing flesh with oil paints, though, is what I dislike most about them. The skin always turns out looking a little plastic. I'm hoping Doc will help me get better control over that next year. But the expression and innocence of Sharon's pose made up for anything the texture might have lost. "You captured a much more beautiful woman than I saw pose for you," Clarice said, looking critically at the painting. "She'll be thrilled, at least until Bob Bowers publishes a review of it. With luck, however, there will be other things at your exhibition to capture his attention. What's next?" I unveiled the zoo concert painting. I did a thirty-inch painting in acrylic and the colors just snapped. I loved this piece. It was a new me. Apparently Clarice thought so as well. "Nice!" Clarice said immediately. "This is new territory for you based on what I've seen before. It shows growth as a serious artist. And it still shows some of the things you love to paint in the banners snapping in the breeze. And you added something that wasn't in your initial sketches." Lissa and Melody hadn't seen the painting since I finished it and were hugging each other as they looked at it. The original sketch had been of the general setting with all the colorful picnics, costumes, and stage. But when I reworked the sketch, something just wasn't right. The viewer just didn't get into the picture. So, I'd carefully placed three figures in the foreground. Lissa, Melody, and Kate were leaning against each other, each in her different color outfit with their hair sharply contrasting with the bright colors of the picnic. It's amazing that adding foreground figures hadn't seriously reduced the amount of scenery, but rather gave it a sense of perspective and of being there. You could only see the backs of their heads and shoulders, but by moving the viewpoint back a little, I was able to bring the viewer closer into the action. I got kisses from either side as Melody and Lissa grabbed me. "I want to buy it!" Lissa shouted. "Darling," I said. "It needs to be part of our household income, not part of our expenses. We can't keep everything I paint. And you haven't seen what comes next." "You really need some other models," Clarice said, shaking her head. "You also need more pieces like this. Do you have anything in mind?" "Well, I was thinking that I could hit a craft fair or another music event, but I haven't really developed things yet." "Just don't do Seattle clichés. We've got enough paintings of Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. There might be subject matter at the waterfront, but no ferries. Be specific in choosing the subject and if there is another painting out there, don't do it unless you truly have a unique perspective," she said. "And get new models." "You'll like this, then," I said. I'd argued back and forth with myself for days before deciding to show this piece to Clarice. Finally, Melody and Lissa agreed that it deserved a place in the exhibition, though they would hate to lose it. I uncovered the picture of Ally in Chicago. "Oh!" Clarice only uttered the single syllable. She stood there in silence as she let the painting wash over her. Finally, she turned away from the painting. "Sharon is going to be so jealous." ------- Friday was our first day in the new studio. We had quite a job to do. After Melody's disaster with bleach in the house, she'd told Noelle that her dresses wouldn't be ready until Labor Day. They consulted and altered the designs slightly for a fall look instead of a summer look, but Noelle was still happy that she'd be getting the dresses. Melody adamantly refused to do any more extraction without proper ventilation. Not only did the new vent fans in the studio do a remarkable job of removing the fumes, but Melody also insisted that we all wear masks and latex gloves while we were working. The scare of her first industrial accident had left her with a new respect for her medium. But she also saw some potential in the remains. Ignoring the firemen's admonition to call for a hazardous waste disposal to get rid of the bagged and bleached fabric, as soon as Melody had protective gear, she'd washed all the fabric a couple of times to clear the residue. She didn't know what she was going to do with the ruined material, but she couldn't see throwing it away. Professor DeWitt was our first official visitor to the new studio. We'd just stretched the first yardage on our dying frame. The frame consisted of two 2x4s anchored to the floor and staples tacking the ends of the fabric to them. It wasn't the most elegant solution and part of our task for today was to figure out how we were going to handle hundred yard bolts of fabric instead of three yard dress cuts. Professor DeWitt had volunteered to come over and give us some pointers. "Please," she said after we'd all been introduced, "call me Carolyn. We're on your turf now, not the school, so no 'Professors.'" "We're testing the whole process on fabric that I'm making dresses out of today," Melody said after we'd all been introduced. "We've stretched the first yardage and have put the stencils in place. I had summer stencils and fabric when I had my little accident a few weeks ago. But we agreed to fall and winter themes." Lissa had spread leaves out on the dark orange fabric. I could see the difference in what Melody was trying to accomplish today and what she was aiming for the first time. It was partially color and partially the type of leaves she was planning to use. The first batch was on deep green fabric and the leaves were smaller, compound leaves like ferns. The effect was—or would have been—lush. With larger maple and oak leaves on the very fall-toned orange, we'd see autumn patterns. The leaves were more like what we'd see on trees just before the leaves fell. Melody had carefully planned this time. She wasn't taking any chances with her chemicals or with the process. I was glad we chose a ground floor loft. Is that an oxymoron? Anyway, we've got a garage door in the back and a concrete floor with a drain. The loft has a sink so Mel can mix her bleach in a fairly safe area and it will make paint cleanup pretty easy, too. Carolyn had some good suggestions as well. She helped Melody adjust the proportions of the bleach mix and the spray from the nozzle. All the fabric Melody saved from the accident came in handy as they were able to test the settings before actually spraying the fabric. By the time Lissa and I left for practice a little after two, Carolyn and Melody had the general system down to a science. It was beginning to look like we'd be able to go into production on the two huge bolts of fabric for Ice Queen on Monday. ------- Saturday morning, Melody took the Escape to pick up Kate for their date on Bainbridge Island. We all kind of sighed as we talked about the day and what we thought would happen. But Melody was calmer this time than on previous dates. In fact, if anything she was subdued. Just before she left, I followed her down to the bedroom and she turned to me. "What is it, Little One?" I asked. "Something is bothering you." She threw herself into my arms, hugging me fiercely. "I love you!" she said into my chest. "I love you so much, Tony." "Do you doubt that I love you, sweet?" "Not for an instant. And I know we both love Lissa and it works out and we are happy." "So what's the problem?" "Darling, how many times can we divide our love and still get more back than we can give?" she asked. "Can we really have Kate in our lives and not hurt what we've got? And Allison? And Beth? My heart aches when I think about any of them. I'm not jealous when you and Lissa are together. Not anymore. Will I be jealous when you are making love to Kate? And will it be of you or of her? And are you jealous of me when I go spend the day with her?" "I never thought I'd be in this kind of situation," I said. "I had some twinges when you and Lissa were first together, and even when the two of you were with Beth and I found myself really wanting to make love to her. But I keep thinking of how much I want each of you to be happy. When I'm thinking that, there just isn't room for jealousy." "Oh god, I love you!" she said. "You don't fit any mold of guys that I've known or known about. I never want to be without you. Don't ever let me go away." "You sound like Lissa, darling," I comforted. "Neither of us is ever going to let you go. You know that." "I do. Thank you." She straightened up and looked at me with an almost evil grin on her face. "Now I'm going on a date with a little vixen that makes my panties so wet it's running down my legs. You want to take a little of the edge off?" She pulled my hand to her waistband and I slid easily between the soft skin of her tummy and her shorts. I dipped my fingers into her wet slit and immediately found the hard button of her clit. She sucked in her breath and leaned against me. I let my other hand slip around her to fondle her breast. "Mmmm. Someone's hoping to get touched today," I whispered. "No bra to get between you and pleasure. You want her to tweak your little nipples, don't you?" "Ohhh, Tony. You make me feel so good." "Yes," I said pulling my hand out of her pants just as she was tensing up. "But I wouldn't want you to be sated before you even see her. You might want to change panties before you leave, though. Or just take them off." "Tony! Are you going to leave me like this?" "Mmmhmm. I want you to enjoy every touch, and I expect you to come home completely on edge tonight." "Ohhhh!" she moaned. "You're so cruel." ------- After we got Melody off for her date, Lissa and I turned to the boys. "Who wants a hike?" I asked. "Let's go to the mountains!" "Will we see a bear?" Damon asked. "It's always possible," I said. "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" Lissa laughed. We had a great day. We'd only hiked on Cougar Mountain in Issaquah for an hour when we came to the waterfall. The boys were already pretty exhausted because it had been uphill most of the way. The falls were barely a trickle coming down over the rocks into a little rivulet. After examining the area pretty carefully for sharp things, we took the boys' shoes off and Lissa joined them looking for interesting stones in the creek bed. I sat on an ancient stump and pulled out my sketchpad as I watched them. I could tell before I'd finished the sketch that this was another one that we'd want to keep for ourselves rather than putting up for sale, but I couldn't help myself. I love to draw and paint the ones I love. We had a little picnic by the stream and then continued the hike uphill and around on a trail that led us through a beautiful meadow. When we got back to the car, we'd been out for three hours and the boys were exhausted. Okay, so was I. But it was really beautiful and we had a great time. We had two boys asleep in their car seats when we got back to the house. ------- Melody floated in on a cloud about eight that evening. The boys were just in bed and she went in to kiss them goodnight, and then drifted into our bedroom while Lissa and I finished cleaning up the dinner dishes. I looked at her and grinned, then closed the distance and kissed her deeply. "Just so you know, this one's from me, 'cuz I think we're about to get a kiss or two from our lover and our girlfriend," I said. Lissa kissed me back soundly. "You know, sometimes I just like the lips that are next to me and forget all about the ones I dream of," she said. "I love you, Tony." "I love you, Lissa." We kissed again. "Let's go see what our lover has brought home to us." ------- "Oh lovers," Melody moaned after about an hour of kissing and caressing us. "Do you know what I discovered today?" "What, Little One?" Lissa asked. "I discovered that we don't hold hands enough. We parked in Winslow about noon and walked all over. I mean miles. And do you know that the whole time we held hands?" "How sweet!" Lissa grabbed my hand with one of hers and we each took Melody by a hand. We kissed each other's fingers. "We went to a little restaurant and walked in holding hands," Melody continued. "We walked along the waterfront and just held hands. And we had to help each other hold the books we wanted to look at in the bookstore because we wouldn't let go of hands. I'm not saying we didn't do anything else. There was a lot of kissing and some petting, but I just loved holding her hand." "How can someone who seems so innocent be so damn sexy?" Lissa asked. "Oh, I think that's easy," I said. "When Mel and I got together that first weekend, we had all kinds of hopes and desires, but no experience. I remember our first kiss in the kitchen that Friday. I opened my eyes and saw complete surrender to whatever the day and night would bring. Mel was so sweet and innocent." "Me?" Melody laughed. "Poor Tony got undressed and didn't even realize he had a hard-on. I almost felt like I was stealing his innocence." "Mmm. Innocence is sexy," Lissa said. "So is experience," I said kissing her again. Soon Melody was in our kiss as well. "You left me in a terrible predicament this morning," Melody said. "But it was fun feeling on the edge all day. You could tip me over now if you wanted, though." "Do you know that you have two lovers in this bed who would be delighted to satisfy your lustful cravings, darling?" "I know. Here I am," she said, flinging her arms out above her head as Lissa and I each latched onto a nipple. I soon found myself between Melody's legs and Lissa was perched over her mouth facing me. Then all three of us slowed down. Melody had the multiple stimulation of my cock in her pussy, Lissa's hand on her clit, my hand on her breast, and Lissa's pussy in her mouth. You sort out the antecedents. We were all over Melody. But while we pleasured and stimulated our lover, Lissa and I looked into each other's eyes and gradually moved forward until our lips and then our tongues met to dance as we were pleasured by Melody. I had one hand on Melody's breast and one hand on Lissa's and I was in heaven. If we add anyone else, I'll need more hands, I thought as I felt us build to a climax. ------- Our week went by in a blur. We dyed two hundred yards of fabric, played two hours of racquetball a day, sewed three dresses, cared for two boys, and ate out almost every night. When Friday finally came around, the boys left for the day with Molly and the three of us went back to bed. For once, it was just to sleep. We never would have gotten up if it weren't for the incessant ringing of the doorbell followed by the door opening and a voice calling. "Hello! I've got a surprise for you! Better get up and dressed!" "We can't really take her key away, can we?" Lissa asked. "I vote we stay right here in bed and make her come to us," Melody said. "We should get in a more compromising position first," I laughed. "Last time she walked in on us it was ... exciting." "Can you bring the surprise in with coffee? We just woke up," Lissa called. There was a moment of silence and we heard some shuffling around. "Okay! Just stay put!" Kate called back. I really wasn't ready to wake up yet. Melody and I had gone back to the studio after Lissa and I played racquetball yesterday afternoon. Lissa came home to take care of the boys and Melody and I worked until midnight getting the fabric dry enough to ship. The patterns and designs from the bleaching were magnificent and Melody had taken a test cut to make Lissa an outfit that she played in on Thursday. It looked great. We were shipping enough fabric for our first order of 200 outfits. We were exhausted. Apparently, neither Melody nor Lissa were curious enough about Kate's surprise to get out of bed. They both snuggled up with me and the next thing we knew the bedroom door was being flung open and a girl on roller skates was bringing us coffee on a tray. "Amy?" Melody said as she sat up in bed. "Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to skate on carpet?" our laughing friend asked. Behind her Kate brought a pot of coffee and we discovered that the cups on Amy's tray were empty. "We decided not to risk spilling anything in case a skate got caught on the rug," Kate said. They were both laughing like crazy and we were soon caught up in seeing Amy in her Swiss Miss outfit and roller skates. ------- Eventually we all got sorted out, drank our coffee, and got out of bed. I have to say, though, that it was fun having Amy and Kate curled up on the bed with us as we all drank our coffee. It was a beautiful late-August day and I fired up the grill for burgers and we sat around the deck drinking sodas and telling about our summers. "So, are you back for school now?" I asked. Classes at PCAD started the day after Labor Day—just a week away. That came to me with a jolt. I'd promised to take Kate to Oregon over Labor Day weekend. "Well, sort of," Amy said. "I'm just here for the weekend. I'm uh ... going to LA on Sunday." "Little end-of-year vacation?" Melody asked. "Ye-ah. Sort of." "Amy? What are you holding out on us?" I asked. "Well, remember the gala?" We nodded our heads. "Well, remember Sonia inviting us to visit this summer?" "You're going to go visit Sonia?" Lissa asked. "But I thought you guys told me she had a boyfriend." "Yeah," Amy made a face. "He's there, too. I'm just going to visit and see what develops." "Amy," I said firmly. "Are you trying to break up Sonia and Thor?" "NO!" she shouted. "I wouldn't do that. I kind of tried that with you and Melody and I regretted it from the moment it failed. And I know I would have regretted it if it hadn't failed. But she's kind of said he'd be willing to share." "You talked about this?" Melody said. "All summer long. We've been on the phone and texting each other." I spared a glance at Lissa to see what she thought about all this and caught her in a sweet lip lock with Kate. They saw me looking at them and both blushed. Well, they were going to be no help in this conversation. "So you figure you can go down there and sleep with Sonia based on some phone conversations and texting." "Not exactly just texting. We've sort of been sexting." "You and Sonia?" I exclaimed. There was no question this was way beyond anything I'd ever known and with both Melody and Lissa in my bed I'd known quite a lot. "No. All three of us. Thor's pretty cool." "It just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen," I said. "Please be careful and don't get hurt, Amy." "Oh, we have a good model here in this bed," Amy giggled. "But it's different," I continued. "Don't give me crap about it being different," Amy said. She was a little agitated. "We know it can work. We just have to figure out how." "So are you going to take your skates and your Swiss Miss costume? That's been my fantasy," Melody laughed to lighten the mood. "Skates, yes," Amy said, "but I have the world's hottest bikini to wear with them on the Boardwalk. Think about that for a while." Part of me actually did think about that. But I was really worried that Amy would get hurt. Sonia and Thor had been together for a long time and I couldn't believe that Thor was going to just share Sonia without expecting something in return from Amy. And Amy, by her own admission, was a gold-star lesbian. My tongue in her mouth for one hot kiss was the only male body part that had ever been in her. ------- Lissa and I had a light workout Friday afternoon. We'd be playing for five or six hours on Saturday, so we weren't pushing it. We all went to Carmine's for dinner. Amy had her laptop out and was showing us the designs for our new website. It was a knockout. She'd used some of the motifs that Melody was using on the fabric in the background with some really sensual shots of racquetball players dressed in our sportswear. "How did you do that?" I asked. "The only outfit we have is the one Melody made for Lissa this week. "I Photoshopped it into a stock photo using a picture of the fabric Melody sent me," Amy said. "It will be better, though, if we get an action shot of Lissa at the tournament tomorrow wearing the prototype." "Better take it early in the day or it will be a soggy rag," Lissa said. "I've got a feeling that we'll be working up a real sweat tomorrow." "Mmm," Amy said. "Just give me a minute with that image, would you? Oh yeah." "You nasty, nasty girl," Melody laughed. "But now that you've got me thinking about it..." "OH!" Kate interjected. I think the imagery had gone past her at first, but once she thought about Lissa working up a sweat, she got lost in the same daydream as Melody and Amy. I leaned over and kissed Lissa soundly. "Personally," I whispered to her, "I'll take you when you're fresh. I know what you're like when you come off the court." "Ditto," she said. "Um ... did I miss something?" Wendy asked as she came up with fresh drinks for all of us. "Oh no," I said. "You didn't miss it. You came in right in the middle of it. You're welcome to join." I slid over on the bench and Wendy sat next to me. "You all looked like you were sort of far-away," she said. "Those three," I said pointing across the table at Amy, Melody, and Kate, "were lost in a daydream. We two decided not to dream about it." "Mmm. Is there room for another in that party?" "You know there's always room for you, Wendy," I said. Then I surprised her by kissing her right on the lips. She blushed. "I better get back to work before Carma starts expecting me to give that kind of service to all the customers," Wendy laughed. She headed off to wait on others. It was pretty busy, so I knew we couldn't waylay her for too long. ------- At ten o'clock Saturday morning, Lissa and I faced our first competitors of the day. As it happened, we'd drawn Sally and Tomas for our first match. They were pretty confident when they stepped onto the court. They'd played us and beaten us handily a few weeks ago when we first started playing doubles. They got a big surprise. Lissa and I were still stumbling over each other a bit, but we were nailing our shots and they couldn't last against it. They won the first game, but we took the next two for our first win as a doubles team in competition. At 11:15, we faced a couple from the UW. Funny, but in spite of the fact that the University has nice courts and a great facility, they have a squash club but no racquetball club. That may be why the team didn't play all that well together and we were able to take them. But they were good sports and had lots of questions about the club we were putting together at SCU. It was the 12:45 match that just about killed us. Pro Sports Club in Bellevue has a strong racquetball club and sent two teams over. Lissa and I were fighting for our lives from the first serve. It was likely that we'd meet this pair in the Opens if we decided to play there. We won two out of three games by one point after they blew us out of the water by five in the first game. At our two o'clock match, we met George and Nicole, the other pair from Pro who we'd practiced with a couple weeks ago. We were so tired we made silly mistakes and they took us in two games straight by a good margin. Our last game was at 3:15 against a new team at our own club. John put them together to try to get more couples playing. We tried not to slaughter them, but the score was pretty lopsided and we won in two games. That gave us time to watch the last game of the two teams from the Pro division playing against each other. Just watching them was amazing. Watching singles racquetball is raw athleticism. Watching doubles is like ballet. I realized that what we were doing was powering our way through competitions and we needed to become even more coordinated. I didn't think we were going to get that far by October. It was a sobering thought. In the end, George and Nicole lost the match which left three teams tied for first in the round robin, each with one loss. We weren't playing eliminations, though. Total point margin was tallied and George and Nicole still came out on top. We squeaked by in second by a single point. All told, we were all exhausted after a hard day of racquetball. ------- Amy had some great pictures and couldn't wait to show us. By the time we got home, she'd already put the action shot of Lissa into the website design and had it ready to upload to our new domain. Of course, all but the front page of our website would be hidden until we were ready to launch, but it didn't hurt to get a presence on the Internet and protect our name. Kate left the tournament early and went back to the house to fix dinner for everyone. Lissa and I showered at the club just so we wouldn't stink up the car. We didn't take a soak, promising that we would get one in this evening at home. I can't tell you how much I look forward to soaking in hot water, especially with one or more naked beauties in the tub with me. Melody and Amy rode back with us and an incredibly delicious smell greeted us when we opened the door. "Oooh! I'm in heaven! What's cooking, Kitten?" Lissa called as we came toward the kitchen. "You just smell the fresh bread," Kate laughed. "Dinner is a simple salad." "How did you ever manage to bake bread in the time you had to cook?" "I just bought these loaves that are ready to bake at the grocery store. They call them par-baked. All you do is toss them in the oven and impress your friends." "Genius," Amy said. "Will you marry me, Kate? You can cook for me every night." "Boy, that's a proposal that deserves no consideration," Kate laughed. "All work and no play. At least here, I get taken out on dates." "I could make you very happy," Amy suggested with a leer. "Amy," Lissa said. "I thought you were going to visit Sonia. That's in about five minutes isn't it?" We all laughed and Amy quit teasing. Lissa kindly granted her permission to stay until Sunday. Kate's salad for dinner was anything but simple. I swear that every vegetable in existence was in that salad, along with strips of ham, cubes of chicken, and shredded cheese. She'd made her own dressing as well and it was a savory blend of flavors that I could only identify a couple of. I was sure it had olive oil and soy sauce in it, but beyond that it was a mystery. I didn't care. I was so famished that I had a second huge bowl of the salad and I think I ate a loaf of bread by myself. After dinner, Amy showed us concepts for Kate's and my art websites and several renditions of the Ice Queen Logo. "How are we going to pay you for all your work?" I asked. "This is really top of the line graphics." "I'm getting course credit, so officially, I'm interning for you as of the start of classes on Tuesday next week. Until then, it's just prep work. I'm pretty pleased, so I hope you guys are." "It's really beautiful," Kate said. "I didn't even consider needing a website." "Well, you and Tony might not really need them until your exhibition, but it's good to get things set up in advance. That way we'll be ready to roll everything out at once," Amy said. "Of course the first priority is Ice Queen Sportswear. I haven't shown you the storefront yet." Amy continued to show us how the site would work with its shopping cart. She explained what we'd have to do for credit card purchases, too. I was getting pretty tired, and sore. We'd played five matches today and my muscles were letting me know all about it. "I have to hit the Jacuzzi before bed," I said. "Anyone who wants to join me is welcome." I figured Lissa would jump up and be ready, but she surprised me. "I think I'll have a glass of wine before I come in, sweetheart. You go ahead." Well, that made sense, but that tub feels really big and empty when you are in it by yourself. I was lounging deep in the hot water when I heard a noise in the bedroom. I opened my eyes in time to see a fantasy walk through the door. Kate was dressed in a smile and walked straight to the tub. I hadn't seen her naked since our posing party and my response was pretty instantaneous. She stood for a moment by the edge of the tub as my eyes took in the lovely sight. They traveled down across her full breasts, her flat tummy, and Delta of Venus. She was no longer shaved smooth with a landing strip like she'd been a few weeks ago. As she stepped into the tub, I got an even better look. "I hope you don't mind that I let my hair grow back," she said softly. "No. I don't mind at all. It's really beautiful." "I only shaved that one time, just because everyone said that's what models did and Lissa and Melody are both shaved. But I really hated it. I itched for three weeks until it was long enough not to irritate me anymore." "Kitten, you know there isn't anything you could do that wouldn't make you beautiful in my eyes," I said. "Thank you." She leaned toward me and kissed me softly, but settled into the opposite end of the tub. I just couldn't stop staring at her, though. Even with her pussy underwater and the jet bubbles frothing around her breasts, I was captivated by her. As I looked at her, I thought that I'd like to spend a few hours just kissing her neck. "Still want to memorize me?" she asked. "Each time I look at you, I memorize another bit," I said. "I was sketching when we were in Chicago—supposedly doing athletes on the court—when I realized I'd drawn a picture of you. I was just caught up..." I was interrupted by a movement in the bathroom doorway. Amy stood there. Also completely naked. The girl is pretty outstanding. She has about no butt at all, but her tits stand out in front so proudly that you don't notice much of anything else. She'd grown back part of her bush as well, but it was trimmed and smooth from the start of her slit down. She came straight to the tub, climbed in, and sat on the other side of me from Kate. "It's okay to look, but don't touch!" she said. Kate giggled. "That doesn't include you, Kate," Amy added. "It's really nice to see you, Amy," I said. "Oh, shut up," she snorted. "Your girlfriends put me up to it. It's the only way they'd let me see them come in." With that, I looked up and saw Melody and Lissa in the doorway. My heart melted. They do that to me. They are just so damn beautiful together. They stopped before they approached the tub and kissed each other deeply. Three groans rose from the tub. The two giggled a little then settled into the tub on either side of me. It was getting pretty crowded in here now and our legs were all tangled together. "Oh, I've needed this for the past three hours," Lissa sighed. "Yeah," I agreed. "And this is much better than the club." "Speak for yourself, male," Lissa laughed. "When I left the club, Nicole and Sally were headed to the spa and that cute little Tori from the U was already settling in. They thought I was joining them, but instead I rushed home to be with you." "Tell me you'd trade what's in this tub for those three and I'll drive you right back to the club," Melody pouted. "Not on your life, Little One," Lissa said as she reached across me to kiss Melody. "I'm happy right here." "If we invite any more friends over, we'll need a bigger tub," I said. Someone's foot had definitely made contact with my balls. It was not painful, but a gentle exploration of my very aroused core. Melody and Lissa were both curled in positions that would make it possible for them to do this, but somehow I suspected the foot belonged to one of the two girls who were visiting. I couldn't imagine that it would be Amy. It left my groin and a few moments later both Lissa and Melody gasped and clutched at me. Well there was no way my foot could have been touching them. But what the hell? ------- All told, the bath was innocent and if a little playful, at least respectful. When the water started to cool, we all got out and handed towels around. "I'm suddenly really tired," Kate said. "That hot soak always just makes me sleepy. I think I'll go to bed now." "You can both stay with us in here," Melody said. "I promise we'll all be good." I looked at the big bed. Five? I thought that was pushing the capacity a little bit. "If I were you, Amy," Kate said, "I wouldn't trust them. They get a little crazy in the mornings." "Best behavior, I promise!" I said raising my hand. "I think Kate's right," Amy said. "If it's okay with you, Kate, I'll join you in the guest room." "Sure. Just remember, I've been trained in self-defense and I don't fight fair. You stay on your own side of the bed." "I'm sure glad I'm headed for LA tomorrow," Amy sighed. "It's been a long dry summer." ------- Chapter 10 If we thought that getting the fabric shipped to the manufacturer in Singapore and getting the racquetball tournament out of our way meant we could slack off, we were sadly mistaken. We were all looking at the last week of summer and trying to get everything done that we hadn't done all summer long. We got confirmation that the fabric had been received and we'd receive the first prototype outfits within a week. Friends were coming back to Seattle for the start of the school year. Sandra had volunteered to help with freshman orientation, so she came in on Tuesday. She was going to be a dorm monitor this year, foregoing the opportunity to move out on her own. "The way I figure it," she said as we all sat down to dinner on Tuesday night, "I've spent the whole summer taking care of kids. And I got free room and board for it. I might as well do the same this fall and winter. And guess what! I get free room and board for it." "How can you stand going back to the dormitory?" Melody asked. "Hey! I'm going back to the dormitory," Kate said. "I kind of like it there." "I would have gone back if other things hadn't claimed my attention," I said, smiling at Lissa and Melody. "Which reminds me—I've got funding for room and board in my scholarship that I have to go in on the first day of classes and get it moved to my account. Then it should go straight to the mortgage, I suppose." "Yeah," Melody agreed. "I'd like to put everything we make on that debt if we can." "Hmm. I see your point," Lissa said, "but let's consider it another way. We took the loan to invest in the business. It should be the business that pays it back, starting as soon as there is an income. Until then we're writing checks on that account. I don't think we should strap ourselves for living expenses in order to fund the business. We should put it in our household account and make sure that we don't fall behind on things like maintenance, childcare, and food." "I've never seen anyone eat as much as you and Tony do," Sandra said. "How do you pack so much away?" "We put in two hours a day of intense physical training," I said. "Lissa and I have very similar metabolism." "Put the money in the food budget," Kate said. "It's so much fun to pretend to have a vote!" "Well, since you don't officially," Melody said, "I'll vote my share on your behalf. Not that it makes any difference. Anytime a solid argument is put forward that makes sense, we all agree." "Paradise?" Sandra asked. "You don't have any insurmountable disagreements?" "If we can't agree, we adjourn the meeting to the hot tub and take up the matter there," Lissa laughed. "Speaking of which, anyone interested tonight?" "What? Get naked with the four of you? Sure!" Sandra said. "Except that I've got firsties coming in at seven o'clock tomorrow morning and I'd better go put up welcome posters and get my own room in order." "Need any help?" Kate asked. "Could always use a hand," Sandra said. "Want a lift?" "Sure." Well, it doesn't work all the time. ------- I put a few last details to Sharon's portrait and Clarice and I took it to her house on Thursday. "Oh! Look at it!" she exclaimed when we unveiled it. We'd chosen to take the portrait into the master suite where it would be installed before showing her so she would see it in the context of her space. She'd brought Rebecca along and I kept maneuvering so that Clarice was always between her and me. I had come to like Sharon and had painted a nice portrait. But Rebecca gave me the creeps. "I don't know, Sharon," Rebecca said. "That doesn't look like your face." "It does too! It's like looking in a mirror." "It's not actually meant to be a photograph," I said. "There are bound to be some interpretations that are seen differently by different people." "Don't be modest," Sharon said. "If I'd wanted a photograph I'd have hired a photographer. This is what I wanted." "Well, you'll know for sure if you come in here and find Ralph beating off in front of it. It's certainly your tits." Rebecca had nothing particularly good to say about the painting and even Sharon was getting a little impatient with her. Eventually we agreed on an installation date and once I'd seen the actual space I could see what kind of frame it needed. I asked her about a framing budget and she said to just do it and she'd pay for it. Man. I'd have to be careful about that. Frames for a piece like this could cost as much as she paid me to paint it. I put the piece in the back of the car while Clarice chatted with the two women at the doorstep, and was in the car waiting by the time she finished. "Well," Clarice said as we drove away. "She wants you to do her portrait." "Who?" "Rebecca Sanders, Sharon's friend. She's willing to pay a premium for a full nude." "No." "I beg your pardon?" "I won't paint her. She didn't have a single good word to say about the painting of Sharon. She's suggested that she wants more than paint on a canvas. I won't do it." "Not for a fifty percent premium? You'd make $3,000 from one painting." "No." Clarice looked at me at a traffic light before we got onto the highway. "Good," she said. "What?" "I already told her no. You're exercising good judgment, Tony." I looked at her in disbelief and couldn't help but think how much she sounded like my dad. I smiled and then snorted before we both broke out in laughter. "Thank you for being my agent, Clarice." ------- I'm not sure if I was giving Lissa a workout Friday afternoon or if she was working me extra hard. All I know for sure was that after two hours on the court I challenged her to sprints up and down the edge of the basketball courts for another fifteen minutes. We ran them forward. We ran them backward. And we ran them left and right. When we finished, we collapsed in a pile together next to the water fountain, too tired to make it to the showers until we'd rested. It was officially Labor Day weekend. "You want to just go to sleep until it's time to pick her up tomorrow, don't you," Lissa said. I grunted. A weekend away with Kate. Visiting her family. What was I getting into? "I'd go get her right now if I could," I said. "Is that terrible of me?" "I'd never have made it through practice if it was me going," Lissa said. "It was hard enough to concentrate as it was. But with you pounding the ball at me, I had to focus or die." "God, I love you, Lissa. I'll still cancel if either you or Melody say to." "Not on your life, lover. You know how we feel. Although, to be honest, I might not let Melody get dressed all weekend." "Kinky games?" "No. Just horny. We need to get showered so you can go home and remind your girls what we'll be missing all weekend. I'll bet Meddy is dripping, too." "We'd better hydrate," I said. ------- I gave up trying to wear out my lovers sometime after midnight and dropped off to sleep while they were still latched in a 69. When I woke up, they were still wrapped in each other's arms. I went to the bathroom and started the shower. God, the water felt good. I'd really pushed in practice yesterday and could feel the stiffness in some of my muscles. A gentle hand on my back let me know Melody had joined me. She steadied herself against me as she stepped into the shower and then dislodged me from my position directly under the spray. We slid past each other, embracing and stroking each other as we danced under the hot water. She kissed me and I held her in a long, leisurely embrace. She turned in my arms and pushed her ass back into my growing erection. "One more before coffee?" she asked, bending slightly and pushing against me again. Who am I to argue? I bent my knees and she guided me inside. I reminded myself again how lucky I am. We built toward a quick climax and both groaned out loudly when the crest washed over us. I pulled her back to me and she caught me between her legs, not letting me escape from her warmth entirely. I nuzzled my face into her neck. "I love you," I said softly. "Coffee?" she whispered. We kissed briefly and I turned to rinse and leave the shower. Rinsing wasn't necessary. Lissa caught me in her mouth just as I turned. She was kneeling at the edge of the shower and sucked our lover's essence off my cock. "Coffee?" she asked sweetly as she released me and proceeded to minister to Melody's needs while she stayed on her knees. I got out of the shower and toweled off, wrapping my towel around myself as I went to the kitchen to make the morning elixir. When I returned with three cups fixed just the way we like them, Melody and Lissa were sitting in bed with towels wrapped around their heads. We sat together and sipped as we talked about nothing in particular. It was so wonderful I could scarcely tear myself away. But Lissa and I had Pilates yet this morning and then I'd be going to pick up Kate for our drive south. ------- It was a beautiful sunny day, but we could already tell the days were getting shorter. Seattle is far enough north that there's a huge difference in the hours of daylight in summer and winter. We were two-thirds of the way from the longest day of the year to the fall equinox and it was no longer as light at five in the morning as it had been just a couple of weeks ago. I knew it would get dark around eight and I wanted to be sure we were at Kate's parents' house before then. I don't like traveling unfamiliar mountain roads after dark. Kate was fresh and beautiful, dressed in her usual bibs and t-shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face was scrubbed shiny without a trace of lipstick. I was caught by how young she looked. Well, we weren't yet 20, so I suppose we were young, but lately it seemed like I'd entered a world of adults that had me thinking much older than I am. Seeing Kate, I actually felt like the teenager that we'd still be for almost three weeks. "Thank you for coming with me this weekend," she said as we hit the freeway. "I couldn't have done it otherwise." She unclipped the straps from the bib on her overalls and let the front fall away from her breasts. "Uh ... Kate, we have a rule of no sex-play while the car is running," I said hesitantly. "What?" She was confused and looked down to see her nipples pointing out through the fabric of her t-shirt. "I didn't mean to be distracting," she said blushing. She pulled the bib back up. "It's okay," I said, reaching over to stop her from refastening it. "I just didn't want you to go any further." "I wasn't trying to tease," she said. "It's just more comfortable in the car. I'll cover up if you want me to." "Kitten, I never want to cover you up," I laughed. "Really, it's fine. I just was afraid you were thinking ... well ... it's my own dirty mind that was at work, not you." "I don't think you have a dirty mind," she laughed. "Naked women are a fact of life for you. I loved the portrait of that woman you did, by the way." "Clarice says she's got another commission for me, so I guess I'll be seeing someone else." "My mom would probably sit for you if you want." "Oh. I think that might be a little weird, don't you?" "You might see a lot of weird things when we get there." "Why?" "Well, I never actually said anything about this, but my family kind of lives on a commune. They're pretty liberal about partying sometimes." "Good grief, Kate! Were you exposed to that as a kid?" I asked. "Well, never intentionally. Momma's got a pretty strict view about what children should be exposed to. But sometimes we saw pretty interesting things anyway. It just happens." We talked a little more about what it was like growing up in such isolation. I mean this place isn't in Portland. In fact, we headed east out of Seattle towards Ellensberg and then south, leaving the freeway after a rest stop in Toppenish. Kate's family lives southeast of Mount Hood in an incredibly isolated area. I guess that's why they like it. It seems that the nearest town has a population of about fifty, but there are more people on the reservation. "Are you a member of a tribe?" I asked. Kate has an indefinable ethnicity about her. It would make sense if she was a Native American, I guess. "No. The commune is on a road that technically dead-ends at the reservation line. But the actual commune is on land leased from the reservation. It was very carefully chosen. They're out of the jurisdiction of the County Sheriff, but can't be reached directly by the Tribal Police. Grandpa figured it was as close as they could get to being their own country," Kate explained. I was glad I'd stopped in Grass Valley to fill the tank. ------- Kate hopped out of the car and fastened her bibs as she walked to the gate that marked the end of the road. It wasn't locked, but you wouldn't want to just drive through it if you had any respect for your car. I pulled through onto the two ruts that led to the commune. As soon as I was through, she closed the gate and climbed back into the car. I was thinking that all I'd find out here was a dirt-floor shack. This was really the boonies. It took about five minutes to navigate up the path, worn well enough that I didn't scrape bottom on anything. I was glad the Escape was built as high as it is, though. When we finally came through to a clearing, the sight was nothing like I expected. Apparently at some time or another, the track up here had been wide and clear enough to haul a mobile home out here—in fact three of them—and building materials for two small houses. There were also a variety of vehicles and two camper trailers. There was no one about, as far as I could tell. "Where is everyone?" I asked. "It's almost six. They're probably eating. Pull up in front of the house over there," she said. I stopped in front of the house nearest to the entrance and before I'd unfastened my seatbelt, Kate was out of the car. A woman came through the door of the house and the two embraced. I figured this must be Kate's mom. When they parted, I got a good look at her. Oh my god! I understood now where Kate got her beauty. If this was her mother, she was entitled to all the beauty she could have. By my calculations, she must have been at least 40 but she didn't look much older than Lissa. Her black hair was pulled back beneath a bandana that hugged her forehead and accented her huge eyes. They were so dark I thought they must be black. Her skin tone was a shade darker than Kate's. Her nose was straight and regal. Her breasts were... Shit! Why was I looking at her mother's tits? Except that, like Kate, she eschewed the use of a bra and the white peasant blouse she was wearing in the late afternoon sunlight made the nipples on her full round breasts as clear as if she was naked. I forced my eyes away and down to her small waist and the graceful swell of her hips beneath a layered skirt of yellow and blue stripes. Well, this was a commune, born of the hippie movement a generation or two ago. I should have expected some amount of peasant-style clothing. I wondered if all the girls here dressed that way. Mrs. Holsinger turned toward me as I approached and, just behind her, two equally beautiful kids came through the door. They were dressed in bib-overalls and t-shirts like Kate. One was obviously a girl, but the other looked so much like her that it took a minute for me to realize it was a boy. They both looked a lot like Kate. "And this?" Mrs. Holsinger reminded Kate to introduce me. "Mama, this is Tony. He's my ... boyfriend." The last word was almost whispered. I reached out for Kate's hand but her mom intercepted it. "Ah, at last. It's nice to meet you, Tony." "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Holsinger," I said. Damn! I'd never actually asked Kate if her mom had the same last name. "I'm Vadoma, but in this house, everyone calls me Momma. If that is too intimate, just call me Gypsy. Now, Lyubitshka, introduce the rest of the family." Her mother released my hand and Kate took it as she led me up the steps. "Tony, this is my baby sister, Sunday, and my baby brother, Willow. You might be able to tell they're twins." I shook hands with each of them, but they quickly turned to Kate and wrapped her in a big hug. "Katrina! You're really home," Sunday said. "We miss you so much," Willow joined. "Oh, I missed you, too. But you have me for a day," Kate said. "We have to go back Monday for school on Tuesday," I had an uncomfortable feeling and turned to see Gypsy staring at me. Her lips were pursed and I felt like I was being assessed, weighed, evaluated, and was in danger of being thrown away. Even then, my fingers itched and I wanted to draw her. Geez. Reaching back to grab my hand, Kate turned toward her mother. "Where's Papa?" "Probably with Mama Sara," Willow mumbled. "Stoned," giggled Sunday. "Children, no gossiping. He'll be home soon. He was checking his crops," Gypsy said. "Now, come inside and let's eat. You must be starving." ------- We sat around in the comfy living room having tea after dinner. Kate's dad, Oke, had stumbled in about seven and he did look stoned. He was genial and welcoming, though. "My baby has a boyfriend. My baby. Oh, Katarina, you have a boyfriend," he kept saying over and over. About half past eight, he started to snore in a big easy chair in the corner. It was getting dark and no one moved to turn any lights on. "And you are both going to exhibit your paintings at this grand show?" Gypsy asked. "Yes, Mama," Kate said. "It was really because of Tony, but the agent wants both of our work. We need a dozen pieces each. We'll be painting non-stop all winter." "Don't neglect your classes," Gypsy reminded us. "Tomorrow I want to see your new works. Both of you." "Can Tony draw you, Mama?" Kate blurted out. I was dumbfounded. "Clothed," I said quickly. "Dressed like you are tonight. I love the way fabric moves." "Oh? You like movement? Hmmm. Maybe you should draw us tomorrow night, eh, Lyubitshka?" "Excuse me," I said. "What's that mean? The name you call Kate?" "Oh. It's a Romani word. Lyubitshka. It simply means 'Love.' We use it as a little endearment," Gypsy said. "You really are a gypsy?" "Oh yes. Didn't Katarina tell you? I escaped from Romania when I was a little girl." "Sounds like an exciting story," I said. "Perhaps, but for another time. It is getting dark. You should find your way to bed while you can still see. Do you have a light, Katarina?" "Yes, Mama. Willow can show Tony to his room if it's okay." "Nonsense. You are a big girl, Katarina. You know I am not critical. You may take Tony to the caravan." "But ... uh ... Mama..." "It is all right, my little love," Gypsy said. "It will be better this way." Gypsy got a flashlight and joined us as we got our backpacks out of the car. I don't know why, but I automatically pushed the button to lock the car doors as we left. I didn't know where we were headed, but Gypsy led us out behind the house. I couldn't see it very well, but running my flashlight up the sides and across the wheels, I realized we were being led to a Gypsy wagon. It was all painted and everything. "Wow!" I said. "Papa gave this to Mama for her birthday a few years ago," Kate said. "He made it, but she painted it. We all helped." Inside, Gypsy lit a Coleman lantern. The inside was beautiful. "This is amazing," I said as I looked around. It was surprisingly spacious and there was a huge bed at the end of the room. In fact, the bed kind of dominated the whole place. "It was for a retreat. Sometimes the community gets too noisy and crowded for me," Gypsy said. Man, she must really like isolation. There were only like a dozen people within a few miles of here and it got too noisy and crowded? "Come into the house to use the bathroom," Gypsy said as she turned to leave. "We don't lock our doors." The look she gave me was meaningful. How could I explain force of habit? When she was gone, Kate glanced at me and then stood with her head down looking at the floor. "If this is uncomfortable, Tony, I'll go sleep with my sister. It's okay," she said. I reached for her and pulled her into my arms. "Kitten, do you think I'd pass up the opportunity to sleep with you?" I asked. I was trying to be light about it. "But no..." "We both made a promise, remember?" I said. We'd promised Lissa and Melody that we wouldn't do anything drastic without them. It would sure be tempting, sleeping alone with Kate in the middle of nowhere. But I was pretty sure we could handle it. No matter how much I like—love—Kate, I wouldn't do anything that risked my relationship with Melody and Lissa. ------- We'd managed to get into the bathroom and back to the caravan, then turned our backs to each other while we changed into bedclothes. Me in my standard cut-off sweats and a t-shirt. Kate in... oh my god! She was wearing the same cute little button-up pajama top and shorty pants she was wearing the first time I sketched her at the party last spring. I reached for her and for the first time on this trip we kissed. Seeing her in that pajama set reminded me of the soft tentative kiss she'd given me in the contest. This kiss was like that. Oh, we'd shared some pretty steamy kisses over the past few weeks, but this kiss was all sweetness and uncertainty, exploring how the other would respond, waiting, advancing. We might have kissed for five minutes or more. The last time I'd had a cell phone signal was an hour before we got here, so I'd left my phone in the car and had no other way to tell time. I had a feeling that out here in the backwoods of Oregon, though, time didn't really make a difference. When we finally pulled away from our kiss, Kate reached over and turned out the lantern. We felt our way into the bed and cuddled up with each other. It was heavenly. Kate was in my arms, spooned against me. I nuzzled her neck and she turned her head far enough that we could renew our kiss. It was beautiful. My right hand slid up from her hip to cup her breast and I realized I'd slipped up under her pajama top. Kate gasped into my mouth as my hand wrapped around her breast and her nipple pressed into my palm. She didn't pull away. Instead she moaned a little and pressed back against me—into my very hard prick, lodged between her nether cheeks. Kate jumped away from me like I was on fire. "Oh!" "I'm sorry, Kate. I ... it ... just..." "I know. It just surprised me," she said. "I'm flattered. Really. I just..." We couldn't really see each other. It's not like there were streetlights outside the window. In fact, I couldn't remember if there was a window. It was pitch black. I took the opportunity to rearrange myself so I was pressed against my belly instead of tenting straight out. "Um ... I know about this stuff," Kate said. "If ... um ... you need ... you need to ... I could..." "Kate?" I said. What was she getting at? "I could wait outside a while," she gasped. I broke up laughing. In the darkness, I could hear her tittering, too. "You'd step outside so I could masturbate?" I asked. "Yeah. I know boys..." "That's it, Kate. You know boys. I'm not like that, at least anymore. I don't need to relieve it." "But..." "I can't do anything about having an erection," I said. I knew by the heat in my face that I was blushing and I was willing to bet Kate was, too, but the complete darkness made me bold. "I'll try not to point it at you, but Kate, you turn me on big time. I don't need to go out and relieve myself. In the first place, it wouldn't do any good. I'd just get hard again as soon as we cuddled up or started kissing. But there's something even more." "You like being hard, don't you, Tony?" Kate said. "Uh ... yeah. How did you know? I'm mean, that's what I was going to say. There's something about being aroused that tells me, man, I really like this girl. She makes me feel way good. She turns me on. All my nerves come alive and every touch is better—not just a touch of my cock, but my fingers, my lips, my back. When I touched your breast, I felt so alive." "You understand," Kate said. She closed the space between us and we hugged. I knew she could still feel my hardness between us, but at least it wasn't poking straight out at her. "I love being turned on. I love the feeling of being near you or Melody or Lissa. And I don't want it to end. I don't want to get to the point where I say, 'there, it's done.' I want this to last." "It will last, Kitten. Even when we get to the point where we can't hold back any longer, it will just start building again," I said. "But we don't have to rush it." "We should get some sleep," Kate said. "How about if you face that way and I curl up behind you? Would that be okay?" "Of course it would, Kitten," I said. I rolled toward the other side and Kate spooned behind me. I felt her hand as it slid under my t-shirt and lightly brushed my nipples. Well, turnabout's fair play. I willed myself not to come from her touch and eventually was able to just lie there and enjoy her soft caress. Just before sleep claimed me I heard her whisper. "I love you." ------- "Katarina, your brother and sister haven't seen you since Christmas. Go walk with them. All they've talked about for the past week is you coming home. I'll play cards with Tony," Gypsy said. "Mother..." Kate began. "Katarina. Lyubitshka. Go." Kate slipped up beside me and kissed me on the cheek. We'd been sitting at the breakfast table after we cleared and washed the dishes, just chatting and having another cup of tea. Apparently they didn't drink much in the way of coffee out here. But the tea was good. "I'm sorry, Tony. I have to go for a walk. Momma ... be kind, please?" "Don't worry, child." Kate and her siblings left. "Now Tony, do you play cards?" She pulled a deck of cards from her pocket and began shuffling them. Then she handed them to me. "You shuffle." The cards were so worn it was almost like shuffling tissue—an old blue Rider Back deck of Bicycle playing cards. I worked at shuffling them. "I know a few games. We played back in Nebraska. I don't play Bridge, though. I know Pinochle and Euchre, Michigan Rummy and Canasta. What game would you like to play?" I asked. I was beginning to get the knack of shuffling the flimsy cards and even managed to bridge them once. "I should say though, that I don't gamble. At all." "All life is a gamble, Tony. But usually our skill helps stack the deck in our favor. The better we are at living, the better our chances of winning." "I never really considered life a game," I said. "It seems like serious business." "You don't have fun? You don't enjoy yourself?" She placed her hand on mine and guided it to put the cards down on the table, but she held my hand over them. "Now let's see who you are, Tony Ames. One card." I figured out what was happening. Slow on the uptake, I know. She had me shuffle the deck, so she couldn't stack it, but she was going to do some kind of card reading. Well, this could be interesting. I turned over the Joker. Great. No romantic King of Hearts or anything. Just a stupid king riding a bicycle past a rock that says, "808." I snorted. Gypsy let out a belly laugh. "You see? You do have a sense of humor!" she roared. I had to laugh, too. "I thought readings were done with a special deck. What do they call it? Tarot?" I asked. She sighed. "Yes. A deck of cards for cripples. You see, it isn't about what the card is or what it means. It is about what I see in you when you play the cards. For example, the Joker is not an idiot. Look. It is a king who is grounded in the real world, riding a bicycle. And what do you see in the corner?" "A dollar sign. No. Wait. A dollar sign with a U in it." "It is simply the initials of the playing card company, United States Playing Card Company. But to you, it looked like a dollar sign. You are concerned about money, but it does not consume you. You know there are other things that are just as important. Laughter is one of them," she said. "Now who are you deep inside?" I turned the Jack of Spades. Well, at least it was a male. I could have turned a queen. A bunch of guys back in high school would play poker for pennies. I sometimes watched. Not close enough for them to get mad at me, but from above them in the bleachers at lunch. They'd play wild card games and one of them was "One-eyed Jacks and the Man-With-The-Axe." The Jack of Spades is a one-eyed Jack with a curly mustache and blond hair. He's holding a ... What the hell is that thing? A rug-beater? "Well, we should have known that," Gypsy said. "An artist. Perhaps even a magician. Your back is turned on menial pursuits as you gaze off in the distance at an ideal that only you can see. What is that ideal, Tony? No. Don't turn a card. You see a perfect world. You wave your wand over and over, trying to make it appear." "You really know how to make up stories out of the cards," I said. I wasn't being unkind. In fact, I was pretty much in awe of her, but I wasn't going to contribute suggestions. I'd heard that one of the things fortune-tellers do is make a vague suggestion and let the subject fill it in. You tell her the story and suddenly think she's told it to you. I was determined not to fall into that trap. "Stories are all around us. You make them with images. I tell them with cards. Are we so different, Tony?" she asked. "But now, you must tell me who my daughter sees when she looks at you." Hmmm. I wondered. I turned a card and stared at it. I swallowed hard. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. How did this woman do this? "Who are the other two?" Gypsy asked as I stared at the three of hearts. She reached across the table and grasped my hand, rotating my bracelet toward her. A Celtic heart, wrapped in a trefoil. She'd seen it before, I was sure. I wasn't expecting how much she found it amusing. "A threesome," she chuckled. "How the circle comes round." She had to be making assumptions based on the observations she'd made all through breakfast. But there was the three of hearts staring up at me and there was no doubt in my mind that Kate saw all three of us when she looked at any one of us. Instead of answering her question, I slid two cards off the deck face down. Gypsy smiled at me. I was beginning to understand the game. She reached across and turned over the first card. "The Queen of Hearts," she whispered. She sat and stared at the card without lifting her eyes to look at me, as if the card itself would answer her question. "A great beauty. Deeply in love. The flower she holds is fresh, not wilted like the other queens. She holds it low on the stem, letting it stretch upward toward the sun. Her beauty is doubled by her ... motherly ... kindness. Hidden beneath her outward beauty is a great strength and great, untapped potential. And look at how she looks ... toward your eyes. She worships you, Tony." I sighed. The description she used could only be of Lissa. I thought all those things about her. She's incredibly beautiful. She's incredibly strong. She has two unbelievable children. And she is able to pull me out of any depths by turning to me and snapping, "Focus!" at me. I wondered now, what card would represent Melody. Gypsy's hand flipped over the second card. The Queen of Spades. "The sceptered queen," she said. "Have no doubt about it; this woman guides your ship. She introduces you to things you'd never know. Her wisdom may not have matured yet, but in what looks like impetuous leaps, she sends you in the right direction. And look at her left hand clutching six lotus blossoms. Her spirit can hold a universe together." Oh shit! Every time anything was amiss, Melody fixed it. She'd introduced me to love and sex, and, in a way, to Lissa. And that left hand in the picture looked like she was holding a panel of her robe with the lotus blossoms printed on it. I wasn't going to offer this up, but it was too spooky. "Who is my daughter to you three who act as one?" Gypsy asked. "How can she possibly fit within your structure? Are you playing with her?" There was no answer that I could make that would be adequate. But so far Gypsy had made a believer in me, so I silently pulled the next card off the deck and turned it over. The Queen of Clubs. There is no way she could have stacked this deck. I shuffled it myself. But three queens in a row? "The virgin bride," Gypsy said. She took a deep breath and then went on. I saw a tear escaping from her left eye. "Her bridal gown, in case you hadn't noticed, accents her breasts. Her hair is long and flows out beneath her veil. She holds her flower wistfully ... hopefully. All five fingers are wrapped around the stem of her virtue which she holds aloft for all to see." Gypsy reached for the cards. "Perhaps I am reading what I want into the cards instead of what is really there," she said. I stopped her hand before she picked up the deck. She looked at me curiously, but withdrew her hand. "Mamma Gypsy," I said. That brought a smile to her lips. "It's a good thing we only drew the three of hearts. We're running out of queens." "What? No kings to add to your household?" she laughed. "Hmm. If I did, they'd probably also be queens." She really got a chuckle out of that. Part of me wanted her to just put the cards away, but I'd been so impressed that I just wanted to sneak a peek at the next card. What does my future hold? Out of all the love and art and sports and work that were in my life, what should I expect next? I was so frightened of it that I was compelled to look at the next card. I didn't flip it over for her to see. I just lifted the corner and stared at it. Then I cut the deck, burying the card in the middle and gathered up the remaining cards and handed them to her. She took them from me and smiled. "Did you get the answer you wanted?" she asked. I shook my head, but it wasn't a negation—more in bemusement. What were the odds that all four queens would be stacked in a row? ------- Chapter 11 Gypsy, having gotten what she wanted out of our card game, consented to sit while I sketched her at the table with the deck of cards in her hand. She even signed a model release for me. Kate didn't get back from her walk with Willow and Sunday until Gypsy rang a big bell for lunch. By that time, I'd been outside and just sketched the entire enclave. Then went behind the house and sketched the caravan. I had a whole village at my fingertips—and pretty much no one had ever seen it. At lunch, Kate's grandfather joined us. I thought Ken Holsinger was the first normal sounding name I'd heard since I got there, but when I met him, I realized there was nothing normal about it. He was six-two and half Japanese. His real name was Kenichi. It turned out his mother was a World War II war bride and his father was an Austrian-American sent to Okinawa for the occupation. Kate's exotic good looks with her Romani mother were a blend of cultures and races. Grandpa Ken wanted to talk about books and music. What did I read? What did I listen to? He seemed particularly fascinated when I told him about listening to music when I paint and Kate had to relate the story of me painting the mural and how she'd watched me for hours. I had no idea how long she had watched me. She carefully told the story, though, without mentioning the actual subject of the mural. I don't think she fooled her mother. By mid-afternoon, we were visiting neighbors and I'd been introduced to pretty much everyone who lived in the commune and to most of the farm animals. Kate's normal wear of bib overalls and a t-shirt pretty much summed up the standard dress, though the older ladies tended towards brightly colored skirts and blouses. I wondered if they were more influenced by Gypsy's style or The Grateful Dead. There was just one downer. We were visiting with Grandma Bliss and Grandpa Leo. Frankly, they didn't seem much older than Oke and Vadoma, but apparently Papa Jim was their son and that automatically made them grands. While we were visiting, their other son, Dusty, came in. He didn't seem to be any older than Kate and me, but he had a real hard look about him. "So you brought the proof," he said to Kate. "Now you can't use that as an excuse anymore. It's about time. I'll see you tonight, Katie." Somehow it seemed threatening and Kate pulled herself tighter to me, her fingers digging into my biceps. "Dusty, behave yourself," Grandpa Leo snapped. "We have guests." "Yeah. Right," he said and turned on his heel to leave. ------- "What was that all about?" I asked Kate when we left. "He's acting like a jerk," Kate said. I don't think I'd ever heard her speak so vehemently. "That much was obvious," I said. We walked a ways beyond the cluster of houses into the woods and sat on a stump. Kate just sort of melted into my arms and kissed me. We hadn't had much alone time—scratch that. We hadn't had any alone time since we came into the house for breakfast this morning. It was nice to feel her lips on mine. "Okay," she said at last. "Dusty always considered himself to be my boyfriend. The first part of assume is ass. I swear; I never gave him any reason to think I agreed with that. We pretty much grew up together and he just figured that we'd be together here in the community. I confess; that's why I wanted you to come with me. I don't feel safe around him and you said..." "I said I'd protect you from anyone who made an unwelcome move on you," I finished. "Yeah," Kate said. "No matter how far we take it or don't take it," I said, "as far as anyone here is concerned you are my girlfriend. Not my sister." "Thank you, Tony. There's something else you should know." Oh boy. What now? "You should tell me then, Kitten," I said gently. "There's going to be a bonfire tonight." "Sounds like fun. We had those on summer nights in Nebraska." "Did you get high and drum?" "Um ... no. I don't do drugs, Kate. That's pretty much a deal-breaker for me." I couldn't believe she seemed to be suggesting that I smoke something. I knew her dad was high last night, but everyone seemed to be pretty normal today. "I don't either, Tony. None of the kids do, but you'll smell it in the air tonight. How about drumming?" "Can't say I've ever done that, either." "Well, you will tonight. That's not an option. Everybody will get a drum. And there will be dancing." "Um ... clothed?" I was suddenly having visions of a bunch of stoned men and women gyrating in front of a fire. This was getting weirder and weirder. "Yes, silly," she said squeezing me. "Don't get too excited. But you might want your sketchbook handy. You never know what might happen." She grinned at me and I finally figured out I was being a bit of a jerk myself. I laughed. "You really had me going there, Kitten." "Well, it will probably be a little strange for a city kid like you, but out here it happens almost every weekend when the weather is decent. They held off last night because we were just getting in. Tonight, everybody plans to cut loose." "As long as I can keep a shred of my dignity and you, I'll play along," I said. "Things are pretty weird out here for a city slicker like me." We laughed and headed back to the community. ------- There was more food than I'd ever seen outside of a Nebraska potluck. They started the fire at about four and they actually roasted meat over it. Well, that was one thing about this hippie commune—they weren't vegetarians, even if they didn't drink coffee. After the cooking was done and the spits were removed, the fire was built up and we all sat around on logs. The fire pit was pretty much in the middle of the circle of houses and trailers that made up the community. I'd actually parked the Escape up against one of the logs, thinking it was the parking area. I was instructed to move it before they started the fire. No one seemed to care where I moved it to—they weren't going anyplace. Kate had left me with Papa Jim and Mamma Sara just after dinner and she and her sister went with her mother to the house. We laughed and talked, told improbable stories, and joked with each other. Jim had served one tour of duty in Afghanistan and considered himself no longer subject to Uncle Sam. He'd come back to the commune where Sara and his three-year-old son were waiting for him. Now he and Sara were expecting another. I asked Sara if she was going to dance tonight and she laughed at me. "Only once I get this horndog back to our trailer," she said. "I'd knock someone out with this belly if I danced." She and Jim let me sketch them together, though, and it was really a good sketch. It wasn't long before drums were being distributed around the circle. Grandpa Leo, Grandpa Ken, and Papa Dave rolled a huge drum made out of an oak barrel to one side of the circle and the three of them sat around it with big sticks. Most of the rest of us had smaller drums that we were supposed to beat on with our hands. I figured I should be able to at least keep a rhythm going. I could already smell the sweet aroma of weed burning as some of the guys were passing around a joint. I found a place among the kids to sit with Kate's brother and a girl named Rainbow. We avoided the pass. ------- The big drum started the festivities. These folks all drummed together on a pretty regular basis, so it wasn't hard to just follow along. Grandpa Ken struck the drum once with his mallet. Before the sound had totally died down, Grandpa Leo struck. Then Papa Dave. In a matter of a few heartbeats, the three men were hammering out a rhythm on the big drum and the rest of us joined in. The surrounding woods rang with the sound. I wondered how far away people heard this and ran for shelter. I was happily pounding away on the little drum I'd been given when I heard something new. I looked across the fire and Kate's dad, Oke, was holding a guitar. At least I thought it was a guitar. It was a little bigger than any I'd seen before and he was making sounds with it that I'd never heard from any other guitar. The big drum stopped and all the little drums fell silent behind it. The show was all Oke. Man, could that guy play! He got through his riff and there was a renewed roll of the big drum that culminated in three sharp whacks and fell to silence. I heard a bell. My head snapped around and three unbelievably beautiful women entered the circle of firelight, tapping their finger cymbals together as they strutted in a parade around the fire. Gypsy and her two daughters were starting the dance. I couldn't look at either Gypsy or Sunday. Kate stopped right in front of me. Oh my god, she was beautiful! I grabbed my sketchpad. Starting at the top ... oh so many places I could have started ... her hair was loose and flowing around her shoulders. Her eyes were made up with some dark liner and her crimson lips glistened in the firelight. The top she was wearing was cropped just below her breasts, which I couldn't help but notice moved freely beneath it. She had a long skirt on that matched her mother and sister and was slit up her left leg. That leg, she stuck out. Then the guitar and drum started again and the ladies danced. It wasn't belly-dancing, though I could see some elements of that in it. It was totally free and flowing. Fiery. Man! Sometimes I thought I saw some hula moves, too. But the dominant style, if you could call it that, was what you'd imagine a gypsy camp dancing to. They wove, pranced, spun, and undulated around the fire as the drums beat and the guitar wailed. I was too mesmerized to pay attention to rhythms, but somehow my hands were still able to sketch. When the dance ended, all three women were together with their heads thrown back toward each other and their arms out-stretched. Eight lines were all I could capture, but I knew it would be enough. I would paint this scene. Then the rhythms started again and I found myself facing my beautiful Kitten. She beckoned me with a flowing movement of her hands that drew me up off the log to face her, the drum and sketchbook forgotten at my feet. She took my hands and we began dancing around the fire together. I noticed that Kate's sister pulled her brother off the log and the guy Dusty was being marched around by the other older teen—I think her name was Lilith. On the next turn around the fire, Willow pulled Rainbow out of her seat and into the dance. Oke was dancing with Gypsy and even Sara and Dave were moving around in spite of what she said about her belly. It wasn't long before the big drum was providing all the music and they were pounding out messages that I couldn't begin to comprehend. "You aren't tricking me into some Gypsy marriage ceremony, are you?" I asked Kate as I leaned in toward her. "Wouldn't be legal even if I was," Kate said. "So don't worry. But, I am marking you as mine. No matter who you dance with tonight, you have to have the next dance with me." "You make it sound like we'll be dancing for a long time and that I'll be dancing with someone besides you." "Only a few hours. And if you don't dance with my mother and my sister, they'll kill you. I think even Sara has her eye on you." Oh dear. Hours. And hours. I grabbed a drink of water occasionally, but I was a hot sweaty mess before the night was over. I saw Kate dancing with Dusty as I danced with Grandma Bliss. I wasn't at all happy and I'm sure she realized it. We spun around and just as the drumming shifted tempo again, Bliss moved us smoothly between Dusty and Kate and took her son off on a dance around the fire. I'd had enough and didn't dance with anyone but Kate for the rest of the night. Normal bands take a break every few numbers, but most of them actually have music and don't beat a drum in a dope-induced trance. I swear Ken never took a break and others moved smoothly in and out of the rhythm either on the big drum or on the smaller ones. Oke did several more riffs on his guitar. It was the fire that decided we were finished. It had died down to embers and the tempo had slowed to the point that Kate and I were in a clutch, hardly moving around the fire at all with our lips pressed together. Damn. We should get them to play for a school dance sometime. I looked up from our kiss and saw that only Kate and I and Helen and Dave were still dancing. Gypsy leaned against her husband as he strummed soft chords on his guitar. Ken had moved to a drum I recognized as a tabla from India and the big drum stood silent. "I need to shower before bed," Kate said. "I want to cuddle with someone who is very important to me and I don't want him offended by my stink." "Here I thought I was the only one who worked up a sweat and got accused of smelling bad," I laughed. "Well, you could use a shower, too. Come on." Kate led me into the house and up to the bathroom. I thought she was going to take me right into the shower, but she just pointed it out. "I'm going to shower while you run out to the caravan and get me my pajamas and get your own so you can shower. Then we can walk back together." I kissed her and ran out to the wagon. ------- We were headed out of the house when both Oke and Vadoma stopped us. They each kissed Kate on her cheeks and then me. Neither had showered yet, so they wished us pleasant dreams and disappeared toward the bathroom. We walked out of the house under a perfectly clear sky with more stars than I'd seen since Nebraska. There was absolutely no ambient light and the perfect half-moon low in the sky shed an eerie half-light on the treetops surrounding us. "It's about fuckin' time," I heard a voice say nearby. "Come on, Katie, we've got unfinished business." "No. Nothing has changed," Kate said as her hand was pulled from mine. "Hey! Back off!" I yelled at the intruder. "This is a commune, cityfuck. We share and share alike." "I don't care where it is. No means no." "She got you believing that now? Fuck off." "Tony!" I couldn't see for shit, but Kate was being dragged away right in front of me. One second, I'm screwed. No light, only shadows and sounds; then it all made sense. Racquetball. When you play in the glass box, you have to really not see the walls. You have to act on where you know the ball will be. With just that last shout from Kate, I could see exactly where she was and where Dusty was. "Ow!" I heard him yell as I reached out and snatched his ear in my hand and twisted. I heard Kate fall as he let go of her. I ducked back and to my left and felt the wind of a wild punch. I heard Kate scrambling for the door of the house, but I didn't have time to catch up with her. A kick grazed my thigh and I reacted automatically. I heard a whir that wasn't coming from me kick in at the same time that I rained blows down on Dusty. I knew right where he'd be every time I swung. I didn't need eyes. I didn't need to see the walls. I just had to strike where I knew the ball would be. And my foot hit exactly on target. I heard the sudden gasp of breath and high-pitched whine of a guy who'd just had his gonads caved in. I clasped my hands together as if they were both on my racquet and backhanded across his face just as the yard was flooded with light. I could see it behind my eyelids and realized I'd had my eyes closed tightly. In less time than it took me to describe it, I heard Dusty hit the ground. I squinted my eyes open against the light and opened my arms in time for Kate to come rushing into them. ------- Justice in the commune was swift. By the time my eyes had adjusted to the light, all the adults and a couple of the kids were standing around us and Dusty was trying to pick himself up off the ground. "We've warned you before, Dusty," Ken was saying. "Now it's time for you to leave. You can't live here anymore." "No!" The protesting voice was from the girl, Lillith. "Don't send him away. I love him." "Ya what?" Dusty said, looking at her. Lillith was a nice girl, a little younger than us—Helen and Dave's oldest daughter if I got it right. She was pretty in the way that all teenaged girls are. She had a little bit of a belly, but not a lot. We'd have called it baby fat in Nebraska. Her face wasn't special and she'd had some problems with acne, but it was the passion in her voice that made you forget about any physical flaw she might have had. "You kept waiting for Katarina and I've been waiting for you. I'm sorry Kate, but I'm glad you left. You were always in the way of me having Dusty." "But you're a kid," Dusty said. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because he was probably still stoned, but shit, man, you gotta wake up sometime! "I'm not a kid. I know what I want and I want you. If you're really so stupid as to think you should leave, then take me with you. It doesn't make a difference. If you go, I go—one way or another." Dusty pulled himself upright and limped over to Lillith. "You really want me?" he asked. In answer, she kissed him. He winced. That jaw had to hurt, but he didn't pull away. "Is it okay?" he asked the assembly at large. "No," Ken said. "But it delays judgment. You're not to be alone with Lillith until you've been sober a week. By then the two of you should have talked this through and decided if it's really what you both want. Don't protest, Lillith. You're underage. We won't have you taken advantage of just because it's an easy out for Dusty. In a week, we'll either have a wedding or a shunning." Dusty hung his head and Leo and Bliss took him by the arm and led him away. The crowd left. I don't know how I suddenly considered fifteen people a crowd. Grandpa Ken came up to us on his way back to his trailer. "Tony, thank you for defending my granddaughter," he said. "I would never let anything happen to Kate if I could prevent it," I said. "Good. That is a good philosophy for the outside world. But in 45 years of this community—in which at one time there were nearly 50 souls—we have never condoned fighting under any circumstances. Consider this your first warning." The old man shambled on toward his trailer as I watched in amazement. He was warning me? "What the... ? That's pretty Shakespearean." "Tony, let's go to bed," Kate whispered. "I'll explain." Just before we reached the caravan steps, the lights went out and the world was plunged into darkness again. "I didn't know you had electricity out here," I said as Kate lit the lantern in the caravan. "Where did you think the hot water for our showers came from?" Kate asked. "Um ... I thought it was like the LP gas for the stove." "It's a switchable system. During warm months, we don't turn on the generator much. That's why it took a minute before the lights came on tonight. I still like to have my room pitch black when I sleep at night, even in the dorm. It feels more like home." We got into the caravan where a lantern cast a soft glow on us. I looked at Kate and saw the tracks of tears on her cheeks. Her pajama shirt was torn and dirty where she'd been tossed to the ground. "Are you all right?" I asked. "I've got a clean t-shirt you can put on if you want to get out of that dirty pajama top." "It isn't necessary," she said as she calmly unbuttoned the shirt and let it drop to the floor. She pulled my shirt off and led me to the bed. "Hold me, Tony," she whispered. We fell into the bed and I held her to me, her breasts pressed against my chest. My heart-rate sped up and I was rapidly getting hard—a situation she could scarcely miss. When our lips met, I was pressed against her tummy with just the fabric of my sweats separating us. My right hand stroked the entire length of her back from hairline to the waist of her pajama pants, and then I got brave and continued down to cup her pert little butt in my hand. Kate moaned into my mouth. Her own hands were busy, stroking my arms and shoulders, cupping my cheek and neck as we moved against each other. My hand slid up to cup her breast and tweak her nipple a little, which elicited an excited gasp. My left hand was wrapped around her and still touched her back as my right hand repeated its journey south, this time sliding beneath the elastic waistband of her shorts. Kate's breath was coming as fast as my heart-rate and I let my hand caress her butt, then gradually glide across her skin until it was between us playing in the tangles of her hair. Her hair was soft, like down, and wet. I could feel her slit and the moisture gathered there as I began to press. "Tony. Tony," she gasped into my mouth, not pulling away, but trying desperately to speak. "Please stop. I can't control myself. Please. Please stop." All through that, she was continuing to kiss me desperately. I knew I could plunge in further—bring her off. But I'd just decked a guy who couldn't take no for an answer. I wasn't about to become that guy. I pulled my hand out of her pants and pulled away from her. "I'm sorry, Kate. I know you're not ready and I got carried away. I pushed and I'm sorry." "No!" she said and attacked my mouth again. "Thank you, Tony. Thank you." "For stopping? Of course, Kitten. I will never force you to do anything." "I know. But thank you for trying." Huh? She buried her face against my chest now and I could feel the first hot splashes of tears. I petted her hair and cooed little comforting phrases as I kissed the top of her head. "You've been so nice," Kate whispered, her voice cracking as she cried. "All y'all. You've never done anything I didn't want—what I said I wanted. But ... but ... I started to think that you didn't really want me and I was just pushing myself on you. I was afraid ... you were ... just being nice to me." "Kitten, we want you. I want you. Lissa and Melody are crazy about you. We just don't want to scare you off, so we try not to ever do anything you're uncomfortable with." "But people do that, don't they?" she asked. "When they date, people try to get their dates to do things. Oh, I know we have to always respect each other's wishes, but it doesn't mean we can't ... push a little. You just did and it told me that ... that I'm desirable ... by someone ... other than Dusty. But that you respect me enough to stop." I was beginning to understand. Had we been so respectful of Kate's wishes that we never let her know we wanted her. Well, that was going to stop. I lifted her face to mine and kissed her—not with the desperate passion we'd shared a few minutes ago, but softly, barely touching her lips with mine. "Did I ever tell you about the kissing contest we had at the posing party?" I asked. "You didn't have to tell me, silly. I was there." "Oh yeah, you sure were. But you only know what you saw, and you don't know what happened afterward," I said. "I'd already guessed it was you when Allison kissed me. I thought that since you'd posed in Lissa's position for me to sketch that you'd also copied her when you kissed me. Turns out Allison is a quick study. And remember, I was still pretty new at the whole business of girls being interested in me at all. I'd really only been with Melody and Lissa for a few weeks and frankly had never kissed much before that. Then someone kissed me so softly and so tentatively that it took my breath away. There was so much promise in that kiss that all I could think was that I wanted to touch those lips again ... and again. I'd screwed up my guessing pretty badly already, but I only had three names left. I couldn't believe that Bree would be so tentative about kissing me. Amy wouldn't kiss me so tenderly. So I figured it must be Allison. "Then, when my blindfold was taken off and I saw I had switched the two of you, I couldn't believe it. But I went to bed with the image of you kissing me on my mind. In fact, I fell asleep and dreamt of you. It was pretty steamy," I said. "Here's the thing," I whispered. "Melody came in to wake me up in ... uh ... an intimate way. I came up out of my dream realizing that what I was dreaming about was really happening and I ... I thought it was you. I screamed and panicked and practically knocked Melody onto the floor. I was afraid I was cheating on Melody and Lissa with you. That's what I dreamt about after we kissed." "I'm sorry," she whispered. "You don't need to be sorry. Once they figured out what happened, both Melody and Lissa confessed that you'd kissed them, too, and they expected they'd dream about you all night, as well." "I didn't mean to create a problem." "It was no problem, believe me. We all three realized that we were falling for you in a big way, but we knew that for whatever reason, you just weren't ready yet. I finally figured out that you just weren't very experienced, but then you told me about not wanting to rush through anything. So we tried to honor your wish, not because we didn't want you, but because we didn't want to scare you away." "Am I really stupid to wait so long?" Kate asked. "Kitten, it's the most exciting thing that's ever happened to the three of us." "I can't imagine that," she giggled. "Okay, remember the gala?" She nodded against my shoulder. "Melody and I came in from loading the boys in Jack's car and Allison was describing what she'd heard the night before." "You heard that?" Kate gasped. "You guys were so intent on the story that you didn't see us come in. We also heard what you said." "Oh..." she groaned. "If I have the words right, it was 'I wish I could inspire that kind of passion.' Wasn't that it?" "Yes." The syllable was so soft that I barely heard it. "Well guess what. You were the inspiration for what Allison heard." "Oh my god!" "Kitten, we'll wait as long as you say, but never doubt that we want you. Melody wants you. Lissa wants you. I want you. We just hope you want all of us." Kate pushed herself up and pressed her lips against mine again, letting us just enjoy the simple contact. Then she buried her face in my neck with one leg thrown over mine, definitely in contact with my continuing erection. "I love you," she whispered in my ear. "All y'all. I can't wait to see Melody and Lissa." Eventually, sleep captured us. I don't know about Kate, but I know what I dreamt. ------- I woke up spooned behind Kate with my hand lying lightly against her bare breast and my throbbing hard-on wedged between her ass and my groin with just our thin pants between. Oh god! I was going to die. I started to move away from her but she caught my hand and held it against her breast. "Hold me just a little longer, Tony? Please?" she whispered. I wondered how long she'd been awake. "I'm a ... little ... uh ... I don't want to..." "It's okay. I don't want to do anything with it right now, but now that I know what it means, I don't mind it being there. And it feels so nice to have you touch me and have your lips against my skin. I didn't know there was anything like this in the world." I relaxed. I just breathed out and enjoyed the contact—the supple skin beneath my fingers, her hardened nipples, the grip of her butt against my erection. There is really something incredible about just being on edge. If she'd ground her butt against me for a minute, or if I'd taken a few thrusts, I'd have come in my shorts. But we just lay there with my chest against the bare skin of her back, feeling her breathe. I needed a really tough racquetball game right now. I'd smear anyone who came against me. I felt so keyed—so powerful. I was going to remember this feeling. I was going to remember it for a long time. ------- After breakfast, Kate took me into the little living room of her parents' home. In addition to the fireplace and the tall windows on either side of it, the rest of the room was lined with bookshelves. Over the fireplace, though, was a picture that was painted in near photographic detail. It had to be Kate's. I stared at it again, finally realizing what I was seeing. It was a close-up. I'd noticed something about Kate's paintings over the past year. She focuses in on tiny details and that is what she paints. The result looks abstract until you realize what you are looking at. It's a big painting—maybe two feet across, but all you see are the tips of some fingers and a chain or something beneath them. There's a design at the end of the chain that might be a circle. I felt the bracelet on my wrist. Before I could ask Kate about it, though she handed me a book. "Here. Read this." I flipped the book open. "Not now, dummy. When you have time to really read it. You only have two classes this week while the rest of us are slaving away. Read it then." The Road Less Traveled. It sounded interesting. "What's it about?" "Lots of things, but what I get out of it is the principle of delayed gratification. It fits in with so much. Grandpa Ken gave it to me to read when I was about 14. I've read it at least once a year since then." "Okay. I'll read it." It wasn't a particularly long book. I was pretty sure I could get through it in the next week. By the time I'd considered this, Kate was pushing another book into my hands. "This comes second. Only after you've finished the first book." I looked at the title of the second book and my eyebrows shot up in the air. Well this could be interesting. Ignoring her instructions, I flipped through some of the pages. There were pictures and my eyes popped open as I closed the book and looked at the title again. The Joy of Tantric Sex. What? "You'll understand," she said softly. Before we left the room, I looked at the picture over the fireplace again. "Kate? Did you paint that?" "Yeah. It was a while ago." "What is it? I see fingers and I think a chain." "It's my mother in her workshop." "What does she do in her workshop?" "Makes jewelry. Pretty much everyone here makes something or grows something. Papa and Grandpa make musical instruments like the guitar Papa played last night. Mamma sells her jewelry through boutique shops and a few jewelers. She used to sell at concerts. You never know when someone famous will buy and make her famous, too. I just liked the chain taking shape beneath her fingers." ------- By ten o'clock, we were on the road and headed back to civilization. I understood something now. Civilization is a relative term. Kate's family had carved out their place in the world and loved it there. They were creative, each in a different way. Papa Dave and Mamma Helen made candles, and they were pretty exquisite. I wanted to buy a couple to take home, but when I asked Kate about the protocol she said that nothing was ever sold within the community or on its property. If I wanted to buy something, I needed to stop at one of the shops that carried their work and buy it there. Grandpa Leo and Grandma Bliss and their family were in charge of the livestock, though I discovered that everyone helped with the care—especially the kids. Even if you couldn't pour candlewax, you could still feed the chickens. I also realized what a hardship it would be if Dusty actually left the commune. He was a vital part of the care of animals. His brother Jim had been gone in the army for a couple of years and Dusty had stepped into the role as rancher. I really hoped he got his act together and they figured out a way to maintain their lifestyle. Papa Oke pulled me aside to give me the fatherly chat just before we left while Kate ran back to the caravan to get something she'd forgotten. I'd thought he was a little cool toward me the whole time I was there. He hadn't said more than a dozen words in my presence. I discovered the reason, though, as he focused on me. He had a speech impediment I guess is what you call it. His words were clear, but it seemed like he had trouble forming them. He spoke haltingly and carefully. "I love my family," he said. "Every soul here is my family. I wish Katarina stayed here. I miss her. Take care of her. If you can't, then bring her home." "Papa Oke," I said. "I love Kate and I'll do my best for her. But she's an amazing girl and will always do whatever she wants. If I can't take care of her like you say, I'll help her do whatever she decides next. That's all I can promise." "It's good." With that, there was a little scuffle and I turned to see Kate running toward the car with her brother and sister chasing her, laughing. Kate had changed clothes. The bibs were gone, and instead she was wearing the white shorts, tank top, and light-weight hoodie she'd worn to the zoo. "It's so cool!" Sunday screamed. "You never showed us this." "I wasn't going to wear anything white here," Kate laughed. "I'm going back to the city now." "You're so pretty, Kate," Willow said. I finally noticed that he had a bit of the same impediment his father did. I'd simply written it off as being shy, just like I had Kate at school last year. Both kids hugged Kate and then turned to me. They hesitated for only a moment before both of them had their arms wrapped around me. "Thank you for protecting Kate," Willow said, just loud enough so that Sunday and I could hear him. The boy had a serious case of hero worship—not for me, but for his sister. "Can we come and visit you sometime?" Sunday asked. "Anytime you arrange it with Kate, you can come to visit. Maybe you'll want to come to the city for college eventually, too," I said. Grandpa Ken came up to me then and shook my hand. He towered over me. I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the man. "It was a pleasure to meet you," he said. "I've never seen Katarina look so happy. I know you have a life in the city, and it's apparent that my little granddaughter is enamored with it as well. But ... we could use some new talents out here if you ever get tired of the bustle. For now, think of the community here as a retreat if you need one." "Thank you, Grandpa Ken," I answered. "I'll try to control my violent streak." The guy actually laughed. "If I actually thought you had a violent streak, I wouldn't invite you back," he said. Gypsy called both of us together and pulled both Kate and me into a hug with her head between us. "Next time you come, bring the others," she whispered to us. Kate's head whipped around and her eyes got big. "Did you think you could hide such a thing from me, Lyubitshka?" Kate hugged her mom more fiercely and then we got in the car. Some of the other folks had gathered to wave and wish us well, but finally we made it down the drive and Kate opened the gate. It felt like I was leaving another world and I had to wonder if any of us would ever come back. As soon as Kate got back in the car, she shed her hoodie leaving her in only her shorts and thin tank top. "Um ... I know the rule, Tony, but is this too distracting?" The girl actually giggled. God her tits are beautiful. And beneath the thin fabric of the top, her nipples were clearly visible. Did I really want her to cover that up? "Let's see how it goes," I said. "I'll pull over if I need to stop and stare—or anything." ------- We'd stopped in Yakima for lunch and I filled the tank on general principles. I spent most of lunch staring at her breasts. "Paint a picture; it lasts longer," Kate said, blushing. "I think I'll do that," I said. It was obvious that we'd entered a new phase of our relationship. As we drove on the last leg from Ellensburg to Seattle the conversation turned serious and I could tell Kate had something on her mind. I decided to prod her. "Something's bothering you, Kitten," I said. "Are you sad to be leaving your family behind?" "Oh. Yeah." "What is it, sweetheart?" "Um ... I thought I had it all figured out and under control," she said after a while. "You know, dating my plus three. I was going to be one for all and you'd be all for one." Uh-oh. This sounded like it could get sticky. If Kate had decided that she'd fallen for me, I wasn't going to be able to continue. I loved Kate, but not at the expense of Melody and Lissa. "Go on," I prodded. "You love Melody and Lissa, right?" I nodded. "But you love Melody. I can tell. You look at her like she's the most important person in the world. When I see you with her, I think, 'this is the world's most perfect couple.' And you are." "Yes, but..." "Wait. The thing is, you love Lissa," she continued. That's what I was going to say, but it was important that Kate get this out. "You're perfect together. I watch you playing racquetball and it's like you're one person. I catch a glimpse of you kissing out on the deck and I think what a perfect couple you are." Now I was beginning to see where this was going and I breathed just a little easier. "I fell in love with the three of you together. I want to be with the three of you. But I've gradually become aware of something else. I love you, Tony. I think you are perfect for me. You make my heart beat in my throat. You turn my body to jelly when you touch me." "Kate..." "Please let me finish before you say anything or I'll never be able to get through it all," she said. I nodded again. "I love Melody. Just holding her hand gives me such a feeling of peace and calm that tears run down my cheeks. When she kisses me, I want to eat her up. I want to plunge into her body and live in her heart. God I love her." I spared a quick glance at Kate and tears were running down her cheeks. I had to just focus on the road and let her continue. She hadn't strung so many words together at one time without interruption with me since she told me the story of Gawain and the Green Knight. After she'd caught her breath, she went on. "I love Lissa. Just looking at her breaks my heart. She is so beautiful and strong. She's everything I want to be when I have children. She makes me want children. She touched me—touched my breasts—and I wanted to take off all my clothes and let her have me any way she wanted. I kissed her and she took me into herself like I was her soulmate. I love her so much I don't know what to do with the love." Kate was panting now with the tears flowing freely. I pulled off the highway at West Snoqualmie Pass and parked in the ski lift lot. In a few weeks there'd be snow up here and people would start migrating to the slopes every weekend. Now there were still a few scattered wildflowers on the otherwise bare slope. I turned off the car and unbuckled. Kate launched herself over the console to be in my arms. "Tony, I love you all. But I love each one of you. I didn't know that was possible. Oh, I love you!" That was it. The dam broke and Kate was sobbing in my arms as I stroked her hair and kissed her head. This was what was bothering her. She hadn't chosen one of us; she'd chosen each of us and all of us together. Now I understood. I'd done the same thing. "Kitten, I love Melody. I love Lissa. And I love you. And I love all of you." "Tony," she said after her tears subsided. "Could I stay the night with you tonight, like we did last night? Only with all y'all?" ------- Chapter 12 I think I set a land speed record from the top of Snoqualmie Pass to our home on Queen Anne. Kate and I were giddy. We'd glance at each other and start giggling. "Those two girls are going to be so surprised. You'll be lucky to get any sleep tonight," I said. "Let's not tell them until bedtime," Kate giggled. "I'm going to get them all worked up." "Just come in and join us when we go to bed," I laughed. "They'll want to hear about what Sir Gawain did over the weekend." "Tony, I'm so excited. You'll help ... help me ... not go too far, won't you?" "Even if I have to put a leash on them," I said. "In fact, maybe I should try that anyway!" We were laughing when we pulled into my driveway, but stopped as soon as I saw there were two other cars and a motorcycle in the drive. They were all pulled over to the left, so I could open the garage door and pull in. "Who's here?" I asked. "That one is Wendy's," Kate said pointing. "I think the other is Sandra's new car. I don't know about the motorcycle." "That's right. You've caught rides with both Wendy and Sandra before. See, that's the problem with having a car. Mine's the only one I see the inside of." ------- "Hi Loves! We're home!" I called as we entered from the garage. "Darling!" Melody screamed as she came running down the hall to meet us. "Lover!" Lissa yelled as she followed. As soon as Melody's lips were away from mine, they were on Kate's and Lissa was kissing me. "Tony!" Sandra called as she came pounding down the hall after Lissa, giggling like someone was tickling her with every step. She stood on tiptoe to give me a very polite but extremely nice kiss with her lips just barely parted and soft as the rest of her body. "See? I can learn," she said and then went on to hug Kate. "Artist-boy," Wendy said as she came up to me a little more sedately. There was nothing particularly sedate about her kiss though. I could hardly turn my head to see her progress to Kate with just as warm a kiss. "Breeder!" Amy said as she approached me. "You just get a cheek this time. I want a kiss from your other girlfriend there." Her lips grazed my cheek and she descended on Kate with enthusiasm. I almost lost it when I heard a voice singing, though. "Tonight! Tonight, Won't be just any night." "Ally!" The girl rushed down the hall and pretty much wrapped herself all around me. Anything Amy slighted me in her kiss, Ally made up for. I hadn't seen her since Chicago and it was like no time had passed at all. When she parted, she gently kissed Kate on each cheek. "Hi, Kate. It's nice to see you again." "Hi, Allison. Um ... welcome back to Seattle." "Pogo!" I snapped around in time to see Beth launch herself into my arms and land with her lips pressed to mine. I was breathless when she released me and turned to Kate. "Hi, Kate. I'm Beth. We only met by..." She was cut off by Kate smashing her lips against my best friend's. When they parted, it was Beth who was breathless. "Oh my," she sighed. ------- "Okay, so you all got together to surprise us. Is this supposed to be another posing party? I'm not sure I'm up to it tonight." "We can make sure you're 'up to it, ' Tony," Ally said. "That's never been a problem. "But the truth is, nobody planned it," Wendy said. "We just all showed up." "Well, we knew Beth was coming," Melody corrected. "She called Lissa and me last week and asked if it was okay for her to come out for a few days." "I called Lissa this morning and asked if it was all right if I stopped by for a while today. It's a holiday and the restaurant is closed," Wendy said. "Amy and I met up at the dorm and decided to just come over and surprise everyone. "Well, you sure surprised me," I said. "Kate and I just got back from visiting her family down in Oregon." I could see Kate blushing. "We know all about the plans," Beth said. "Lissa warned me you wouldn't be back until today, so I decided to fly in Saturday and see if I could fool around with your girlfriends!" "I'm the one who screwed everything up—or saved their honor," Allison said. "When I got out of camp, I went straight back to school. Started the 22nd of August. I never got a break, so I decided to just come to Seattle and surprise the people I love over the holiday weekend. I've got no classes on Tuesdays, so I fly back tomorrow." "You're still sleeping with me tonight," Beth grinned. "We'll see whose honor gets saved." "Who's on the motorcycle?" I asked. "Like my new wheels?" Amy asked. "Take a look at what I got to go with them." She shocked us all by pulling her shirt off one shoulder and down far enough that it exposed her breast, just to show us the flaming wheel tattoo over her heart. "I've always loved motorcycles and decided to go get mine before I came back to school. The tat I got in LA." "Oh yeah. How are Sonia and Thor?" I asked. "Uh ... good. They're just fine," Amy said. "Amy?" I asked. "All right. So I'm a silver star lesbian instead of gold. It was an accident." "How do you accidently lose your gold-star rating?" I laughed. "We just got enthused and I sort of helped Sonia a little." "Job too big for her?" Beth asked. "Girl, you have no idea," Amy said. "And no, I don't ever intend to do it again. Yuck! What an awful taste." I looked around and noticed that Kate and Lissa were missing. I looked a Melody and raised an eyebrow in question. She nodded toward the kitchen. I leaned forward in my chair a little to see around the corner and through the patio doors. The two girls were totally lost in an embrace that was sure to raise the high temperature in Seattle for the day. I looked back at Melody. "Me next," she mouthed. Both of us started giggling and Wendy asked what was up. "Nothing," I said quickly. "Private joke. Sorry. We shouldn't joke without including everyone. Won't happen again." "So tell us about your weekend, Tony," Sandra said. "What is Kate's family like?" "Her stories are hers to tell," I said. "I'm not going to talk about her family. But I'll show you the sketches without commentary. They're pretty cool." I got my sketchbook, taking one more look out the window at Lissa and Kate as I passed. Wow! I passed the sketches around using vague phrases like, "her village," and "neighbors." Everyone stopped at the picture of Gypsy with the cards. Then they went crazy over the picture of the mother and two daughters at the peak of their dance. "These are great, Tony," Beth said. "Thanks. They have two of my three favorite things to paint—drapery and firelight. I've never painted drapery in motion like their skirts are." "What's the third favorite thing?" Sandra asked. "Silly girl," I chided. "Nudes." ------- "So five of us have classes starting tomorrow," I said. "What's the schedule for the rest of you?" "The U doesn't start until the 26th," Wendy said. "I've got three more weeks of wiggling my ass for tips eight hours a day." "We started classes and stopped. There was a big strike and they decided to start again this Wednesday. Sadly, that means I have to fly back tomorrow," Beth said. "Too bad we're going different directions," Ally said. "It would be fun to have a traveling companion." "Want to be a member of the mile-high club?" Beth teased. "Who says I'm not?" Ally shot back. "So you're not at PCAD this year?" Amy asked. "SCU doesn't start until the 19th." "Except for one class," I said. "I'm in Doc's 2-D Studio Art on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. That means I start tomorrow, too." "Poor boy," Amy mocked. "Don't waste your sympathy until the 19th," I said. "From then on I've got a 7:30 a.m. Human Anatomy class—every day." "Ugh!" "Hey! Where'd Melody and Kate go?" Sandra asked. "Oh, Kate wants to borrow a couple of Melody's shirts," Lissa said. "They'll be back shortly." "She's going to wear something besides bib overalls and t-shirts this year?" Sandra asked. "You'd be surprised," Lissa said. "Her style is expanding." I snickered. I'd seen Kate and Melody walking hand-in-hand into the bedroom and had a feeling Melody was getting the full treatment, whatever Kate decided that was to be this time. At the very least they were making out. Lissa still had a glazed look on her face. We got food ready and I grilled burgers. Before very long, we were all sated and watching the sun slowly disappear behind the Olympic Mountains. Half the value of the house was in the view. People started to stir and Amy came out in her leathers. "I'm headed back," she said. "I haven't really had much rest this past week, and I really need to stay awake in that nine o'clock computer graphics class. "Me too," Sandra said. "I need to go back and make sure the little firsties are all tucked in their beds." "I'm on my way," Wendy said. "Want a lift, Kate?" "Sure. Thanks," she answered. I looked at her. "Kate?" What about all our plans for tonight? She shook her head sadly and shot a look over at Ally and Beth. Shit. I love them both dearly, but they were staying in the guest room and having Kate in our bed might be awkward. I nodded sadly. ------- "Jacuzzi, anyone?" Lissa asked. There were only five of us left, and we were still clothed. "Oh yeah," Ally said. "One last luxury before I go back to my little room in the middle of Kansas." "I wouldn't miss this opportunity," Beth said, gleefully. I smiled sadly. It wasn't what I'd been looking forward to tonight, but I certainly wasn't going to turn down an evening with four naked beauties. I started for the bedroom but Lissa held up a finger. "Melody and I will get things ready. Give us ten minutes to fill the tub and then come join us. You can spend the time getting comfortable," Lissa grinned. "Getting comfortable?" Beth asked me. "I think she meant getting undressed," I said. "That's supposed to make me comfortable?" Ally said. "Maybe if it was just me and you." "Aw, come on. No fair," Beth moaned. "I'll start." She stripped off her shirt and pushed her jeans down her legs and shook her feet to dislodge them. They didn't come off so I knelt down to pull them off for her. "Oh," Ally said. "If you're going to do that, then do mine, too, please." She unfastened her jeans and I pulled them down as she pulled her shirt over her head. Since I was right there, I just hooked my fingers in her panties and took them down with the jeans. "Oh!" she yelled when she realized she was wearing only her bra. I leaned in and planted a light kiss at the top of her slit, right where her landing strip ended. "Oh, Tony!" "Me, me, me," Beth said. She looked at Ally and very slowly and deliberately removed her bra as I pulled her panties down and put a soft kiss on her mons. I stood and watched Ally meet Beth's gaze as she unfastened her bra. Beth was bigger, but not by that much. Put the two together and you have a real wet dream taking shape. "Wait!" Ally said. "Why are we naked and he still has clothes on?" Both girls attacked my belt and were giggling as they pulled my pants off. All hesitancy seemed to have vanished with the first article of clothing. They looked at each other across my cock, which was standing up straight. "Did I tell you about the first time I came marching into Tony's hotel room, stripped, and demanded he draw me?" Ally asked Beth. "You didn't!" "Yeah. Then we got interrupted by the girl he already had in his bathroom." "How embarrassing." "It got better," I said. "The first time I saw the painting of you, I thought you were his girlfriend and he'd made you cry," Beth said. "Cry out, is more like it," Ally said. "But I love that painting." "Are you two going to stay down there on the floor?" I asked. "Hmm. Well..." Beth looked up at me. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?" She started to lean toward me. "Oh yeah. And you can't kiss the cock if you don't kiss the hen," Ally intoned. She leaned in and the two met at the tip of my cock. As their tongues snaked out and into each other's mouths, they rose off my cock and stood in front of me, still kissing. I couldn't help myself. I leaned in and joined the kiss. We were all breathing pretty heavy when we pulled away from each other. "Uh, Beth?" Ally said. "Is that your hand on my right tit?" "Oh yeah, and it's really nice." "And, just so I'm sure ... is that my hand on your tit?" "If it's not, I'm having the best fantasy ever." "Ally?" I asked looking down at the two girls fondling each other. "I did it!" she shouted. I thought she was going to hyperventilate. "I did it." "Maybe we should go into the hot tub now," I suggested. ------- When we entered the bathroom, Melody and Lissa were in a clinch on the other side of the tub and the room was alight with candles. Five glasses of champagne were set on the edge of the tub. "God, aren't they beautiful?" Beth breathed. "I love them," Ally said softly. "So do I," I said. "You are so lucky, Tony," Beth said. "Okay, we know you're there. Quit staring and get in the tub," Melody laughed. "Wait!" Lissa commanded. "Let us stare for a minute. Aren't they cute, Little One?" "So sweet. We have such wonderful friends. Okay, now you can get in the tub," Melody concluded. I held each girl's hand as she got into the tub and then looked at where I was going to fit. "You want me on the left or right?" I asked. "Across, lover," Lissa said. "Sit next to our friends." "Across from you?" "Yeah. We never get to see what our guests see. They always see you with us. We never see you with them. You two don't mind having Tony between you, do you?" Melody asked. "Oh, now we're the lucky ones," Ally said. I stepped into the tub and sat between Ally and Beth. They cuddled up next to me and I put an arm around each. "Yeah, I love looking at you," I said to Melody and Lissa. "And this position has some advantages." I stretched my legs a little until my toes crept up the inside of Melody's and Lissa's thighs until I could caress their pussies. Their eyes closed at the same time and I felt them move down into the tub further. I felt two feet stroke my cock lightly and then both Beth and Ally gasped slightly. I knew where Melody's and Lissa's other feet were. We drank our bubbly and talked about life. We kissed a little, and occasionally there was a little fondling, but mostly just a passing titillation. The big surprise came when I felt Ally's foot join mine at Melody's cleft. I saw Melody's eyes go wide and a big smile. I withdrew my foot and don't know how long Ally stayed there. When the water grew tepid, we climbed out, laughing and drying each other as an excuse to let our hands roam free. ------- We sat on the big bed together in a circle, still comfortably naked and visibly aroused. None of us knew exactly what to do. Lissa and Melody and I had talked often about sleeping with Beth and even more often about Ally, but we had no idea what to do with both of them. Allison was between Beth and Melody and I was between Beth and Lissa. "Allison and I had a long talk last night," Beth said. "We are both very fond of you guys." "I hope you know we are fond of both of you," Lissa said. I couldn't have said that. It's not that I'm not fond of both of them, but the word seems so pet-like. Like you'd say, "I'm fond of my parakeet." I can't control my emotions and tone them down to fond. I don't know what that is. I either hate, dislike, like, or love. God! I need to expand my emotional repertoire. "But we saw something else today," Ally said. "I want the time to be right to be with all three of you. Maybe with more. But I know it's not right, tonight. I'm going to the bed in the guestroom and I'll see you guys in Minneapolis for Opens next month. Maybe things will be different then. But I know it's not right now." "But..." I began. "We understand," Beth said. "We could see it as soon as you got back. Both of us saw you sneak off with Kate when she came back, Lissa." Busted. "And you too, Melody." "You guys have fallen in love," Ally said. "Man I wish it was me, and I know it was all my own fault. And I want to be with you so much ... Oh shit!" A tear escaped from Ally's eye. I don't think any of us were far from crying, but we were holding back the torrent. "The thing is," Beth said, "I could fall in love with that girl, too." Ally nodded. "I don't know what it is about her, but it's obvious that your mind is on her. I'm not satisfied with that if we're going to sleep together." "You promised, Tony. You promised that when we make love it will be without reservation. And that can't be now," Ally said. "It's going to be a lot harder to find a girlfriend at school this year now that I've been with you guys. Or a boyfriend. But I'll be thinking of you a lot." "I'm not even going to try to find someone. And if you're still willing to have me around, I'd still like to think about moving out this direction next year. And hell! We'll see each other at tournaments, right?" There was no question about the tears in Ally's eyes now, even though she was laughing. Beth wasn't holding it together any better and Melody, Lissa, and I lunged at the two at the same time. We all ended up in a pile, just hanging on to each other. "I sure hope you three treat her right," Beth said. "If you don't, I'm coming out here to take care of her myself." "We love you both," Melody said. "It's the way we're wired. We love you all." "Say, Ally," Beth said, finally, "I've got something I want to show you. Let's leave these three to their own devices." She surprised Ally by kissing her, but Ally recovered quickly and returned the kiss with enthusiasm. They got off the bed and walked toward the door hand-in-hand. "Um ... Beth? Do you have any earplugs? We might need 'em tonight," Ally said as they left. ------- "You two have no idea what you are missing tonight," I sighed. "We have some idea. We've been with both of them, too," Melody said. "I don't mean what's down the hall." "Oh my god! What did you two do this weekend?" Lissa asked. "The details of the weekend are Kate's to tell," I said. "But at the top of Snoqualmie Pass, where I had to pull over so we could talk, she asked me if she could sleep with us tonight, like she and I slept last night." "You didn't..." "No! Of course not. But we got our pajama tops dirty and ... we sort of ... just took them off," I said. "And spent the night that way ... with each other ... cuddled ... holding ... just lying there ... pressed ... ahh!" "Oh! I am so jealous. No I'm not. I'm happy for you. I just want. Oh, let me be there, too!" Melody said as she cuddled against me. "Why did we have to have company this weekend?" Lissa moaned. "It gets better," I said. "How can it if you didn't..." "Kate gave me two books that she said shaped her attitude about sex. I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but I glanced through them. She's working herself and us up to something incredible." "What books?" "One is The Road Less Traveled. Haven't read it, mind you, but from what she told me in the car, it extols the virtues of delayed gratification. I think the guy was talking about stuff like not going in debt to pay for things you want now, but to earn the money first and then it will be so much more gratifying to have what you get. But it applies to everything in life. It's the tension between satisfying a baser instinct and waiting until you can really enjoy it," I said. "So she's delaying sex so we can all enjoy it more? Is that it?" Melody asked. "I don't think she'd have done that without the second book," I said. "Which is?" "The Joy of Tantric Sex." "She's read a sex book? She's way ahead of me!" Lissa said. "Yeah, me too. But here's the thing that I discovered when I was with her this weekend. I was turned on all the time. We freakin' slept together with no shirts on and I tried ... oops." "Tony?" "My hand sort of slipped into her panties." "You touched her?" "Not really. I just felt her soft pubic hair and the moisture that was already there. Then she asked me to stop. Begged me to stop. She said she couldn't control herself and to please stop." "You stopped?" "It was so hard to do. The whole time she was begging me to stop, she was smothering me with kisses. I've never seen her so passionate." "And you stopped?" "I had to." "Oh darling." Lissa was smothering me with kisses now. Melody had begun to creep down toward my cock, trailing kisses along my chest and stomach. "Stop. Wait!" I gasped out. I pulled Melody back up to cradle in my left arm while I held Lissa with my right. "It's important. She thanked me." "For doing what she asked? Of course. You're Tony." "No. She appreciated the fact that I quit when she asked. She said that was why she trusted me. But she thanked me for making the attempt." "Wait! What?" "She was afraid that she was the only one who wanted anything to happen because none of us try anything without her initiating it. She doesn't want us to get all aggressive or force her to anything, but she desperately wanted to know that we wanted her," I said. "How can we show her how much we love her?" Lissa asked. "Oh god, I'd do anything for her." "I know darling. There wasn't anything she could have asked of me that I wouldn't do. We'll talk about some of the other things I did do another time. It's not a bedtime story and Kate might want to tell you about them," I said. "We should keep letting her know we respect her and that we want her," Melody said firmly. "Act like she's what she is—our date who we want to make love to." "But stop when she says to. God this is so hard." We cuddled together, kissing and stroking each other, knowing we were getting closer and closer to bringing each other off. "Speaking of hard," I said. Both my wives' hands circled my dick. "I was hard all weekend. I slept spooned against her with my cock pressed against her butt. There were times I felt I'd explode. But I also felt strong. I felt like I had power inside me that couldn't be defeated. Once—for a second—I thought about how no one could beat me at racquetball when I was like that." "They'd probably get scared if you showed up with this to play," Lissa giggled. I could feel Melody's leg creeping over mine and knew that before long I'd be soaking in her juices. "But that's what she's getting at with the Tantric sex. The longer you last, the more powerful you are. It's weird, but I kind of see the sense in abstinence before a game now." "You think that ... Wow! Opens are really going to be interesting," Lissa said. "Oh, are you going to make me play, too?" Melody croaked as she impaled herself on my cock. "That might be a good idea," I said. ------- I was up first in the morning. Coffee was the order. I was making the first cup when Ally stumbled into the kitchen completely naked. I held the cup out to her and she set it aside. She pressed as much of her naked flesh against my body as was physically possible while she kissed me and then took her coffee cup and retreated to the guest room again. Wow! I licked my lips and sniffed. What was... ? "Coffee?" Beth said as she approached the kitchen, just as naked as Ally had been. I poured the cup and before I could pick it up to hand to her, acres of Beth were all over me with her mouth sealed to mine as she probed me with her tongue. I licked my lips again. Then I licked her face. I hadn't had my coffee yet, but I could sure smell pussy on a girl's face. Beth giggled, picked up her coffee, and turned toward the guestroom. "You can thank me after Opens," she said. "A lot." I poured the remaining three cups of coffee, fixed Melody's and Lissa's, and took the tray back to our bedroom. I leaned over and kissed Lissa first. "Mmm. You smell like pussy," Lissa said. Then both girls shot up in bed, nearly upsetting the coffee tray. "Whose pussy?" Melody asked. "I think it might be a mixture of our two houseguests," I said. "I just got a good morning kiss from each of them." "Oh. My. God!" Melody said. "I think I need to go use the guestroom." "Opens." "Huh?" "We'll know at Opens," I repeated. "Tony?" Lissa moaned. "To hell with the coffee. Could you fuck me now?" ------- Melody had class at nine, so she took the Escape. I didn't have class until half past one, so Lissa dropped me off on her way to take Beth and Ally to the airport. We spend the morning trying to figure out what had happened, but neither Beth nor Ally was forthcoming. Something had gone down overnight. Or someones. In a way, I was really happy to be back in school. Just walking down the halls felt right this year. They no longer looked as sinister as they had last year. Plus, in the greetings I received from classmates, there was a genuine sense of being glad to see me. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and everything to go to hell, but even seeing Doc Henredden in my 2D Studio class didn't bring me down. Not with Kate at the easel next to mine. "One line," he said as we each stood in front of our sketch pads. This was the same studio in which I'd done figure drawing last year and a muscular guy about six-two stood on the raised platform. He had his shirt off, but wore tight jeans and bare feet. Doc had explained that this wasn't figure drawing, though we would use models at times. This class was about translating three dimensions into two. It was a technical class and none of us were expected to produce exhibition art from it. Sometimes we'd draw over drawings or put multiple sketches on a single sheet of the two foot by three foot pads of newsprint in front of us. We needed cheap paper for this class, not Bristol vellum. "Show me the dominant line of this figure from which you would develop a drawing. Is it the axis? The outline? His six-pack?" There were a few titters from the class, which, like my figure drawing class, was predominantly female. Over half the class came from my figure drawing class last year, but all except Kate and me were upper classmen. We studied the model a moment and I could see hands raised to draw. The model stood relaxed, feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips, head raised. From my seat he was about three-quarters front and what my eye kept coming back to was his belt. There was a relationship between his center-line, splitting his pecs and abs, and the connection to his beltline. I drew. "Now," Doc said, "new position." The model moved and the new pose was more action-oriented. He leaned forward, one arm extended, one foot a step ahead of the other. "Same line, same page" Doc commanded. "Follow the same curve you used in the first drawing in the new line. Where did your dominant line move to?" This class was going to be great—hard as hell, but great. At the end of the first class, I had nearly twenty sheets of newsprint filled with single lines and how they changed when the model moved. On one sheet, Doc had us draw nine panels as the model moved from one pose to another. I could actually see the movement taking place like cels in an animation. And not one time did Doc look at anything we had drawn. Amazing. I did notice a few strange looks when Kate and I walked out of class holding hands, but I was getting used to strange looks already. ------- Thursday at a few minutes before noon, I walked into Carmine's for my weekly meeting with Clarice and Wendy stopped me just inside the door. We were going to have to change our meeting time once classes at SCU started. "Special instructions today," Wendy said. I glanced over at the usual booth. Clarice sat on one side and a couple sat opposite her. "Clarice wants you to just sit next to her, pull out your pad and start sketching them. No greeting and no talking. I'll bring you lunch when you're done." "Could I take a Coke with me?" I asked. She poured a glass and handed it to me. I turned my music player on so I wouldn't be distracted by whatever they were talking about and did as instructed. These weren't my typical kind of models, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought they were typical people. He was pretty big. Even sitting down, I'd have to estimate he was well over six feet tall and carried about forty extra pounds. You could see it in his face, but he carried the weight pretty well-distributed. His complexion was dark and I'd have guessed that he was Indian, but that was based more on his wife than on him. She was definitely Indian and also carried a few extra pounds—and a baby. She calmly sat opposite Clarice with a portion of her sari pulled up to expose an ample breast with the child happily having lunch. The only move that they made from where they were when I sat down was that he put his arm protectively across her shoulders—perhaps a warning to me that this was his territory. It was beautiful. I drew. In fact, I loved what I was seeing. These were real people. I didn't know if they were potential clients or if Clarice had lined them up as models. She wanted me to paint people other than Melody, Lissa, and Kate. I got lost in the drawing. A family. I couldn't wait to transfer what I was drawing to a canvas. Cultures and races were lost in the simple and universal picture of a family. As I sketched, I memorized. The softened line of his jaw beneath a little extra weight and slightly puffy eyes that nonetheless looked with love on his wife and child. Her exposed breast and the baby's sucking cheeks. The pattern of her sari. The dot in the middle of her forehead and her dark, sparkling eyes. I wasn't really finished with the drawing, but Clarice tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. I pulled the headset away from my ears as the mother casually pulled the baby off her tit and uncovered the other one to shift the baby over. "Tony, this is Mr. and Mrs. Singh. Amar, Indira, this is Tony Ames." I reached for Amar's offered hand and nodded politely to Indira. "Pleased to meet you," I offered. "And this is Mirium," Indira said, stroking the baby's head held against her breast. "She's three months old." "She's very sweet," I offered. "Tony, we've been discussing a family portrait. I explained that you had done several compositions with multiple people, but the Singhs want to see how you would approach their family. Would you like to show them?" Clarice asked. "I loved doing this and could paint you from what I'm drawing right here," I said. "The drawing is not complete, but a couple more sessions and I could do a family portrait." I showed them the sketch. They looked at the sketch and studied it. Both were smiling, but somehow reserved. "Would you excuse us for a moment?" Amar asked. We nodded and the three left the table, headed for the door. "Did I offend them?" I asked Clarice. "I don't think so. We've gone over all the terms and what they want. They've seen your work and have a very specific scene they'd like painted, I think. Just relax and let's see where it takes us," she said. They returned to the table. "We like the sketching very much," Amar said. "It is not what we want, though." Indira was digging in the baby bag next to her and pulled out a piece of paper. "Can you paint this?" she asked, pushing the paper toward me. It was a photograph, printed on a low quality inkjet. If it had been on photo paper instead of copier paper, it might have been a good photo. It showed the three of them, naked on a bed draped in gaily colored fabric. The baby was cradled against Indira's left breast, but her right breast was fully exposed as was a fair portion of her dark bush. Her husband was curled up next to her and his equipment was barely concealed behind her right hip. There were a fair number of flesh-folds as their skin bunched up around the body-fat, but it came off looking lush rather than disgusting. All told, it was a nice pose, but if they thought I could work from this... "I'm sorry," I said. "I don't paint from photographs. I like the pose and the drapery as well, but I would need to actually sketch you in that pose rather than copy the photo. I often see things that need to be accented or detailed that I simply can't get from the photograph. If you really wanted the photo, you could have it discreetly enlarged and printed on art canvas." "You mean, you would have to see us? Like this?" Amar asked. Somehow I had the feeling he was more concerned about his body's exposure than about his wife's. "That would be the only way I could do the painting," I said. "Tony sketches the scene first," Clarice explained. "It takes anywhere from two to four hours, depending on how complex it is. He takes three to six reference photographs for color and tone reminders and then works on the canvas in his studio. If you do not wish to have him in your home, we can set up the scene in his studio. In either instance, Tony is always accompanied by one or two female assistants. They do not need to see you if modesty is an issue, but they must always be able to see Tony. This is a requirement." "But it took only five minutes to set up and take this photograph," Amar protested. "You would need us to lie there naked before you for hours?" "Essentially, yes," I explained, "but there are some things we can do to make things more comfortable for you. For example, we take a break every twenty minutes so you can move and relax your muscles. We know it is hard to maintain a pose for a long time. After the first one or two sessions, we can work partly covered as I fill in various details, uncovering only the parts I am working on during the session that I need them. You will stay warmer that way, too," I chuckled. "Amar, please?" Indira said. "Look at how he draws." Amar looked again at the sketch and sighed. "My wife's family has a similar portrait of her parents with her in their arms. It hangs in a prominent place in their home and Indira has always imagined that she would have her own portrait one day. My family is a little more modest, but for my sanam I will hide my embarrassment. Can we do this soon before I lose my courage and our baby grows up?" Amar asked. "I'd like to do it before the 19th, as well," I said. "School starts then and I will have a tighter schedule. I'll still be able to paint, but making appointments for sittings might be more difficult." "We have plans this weekend, but how about Saturday the 17th?" Amar asked. "I can't really take that much time off work during the week right now. We're about to ship and I really shouldn't have taken so much time even today." "I think I can arrange the 17th," I said. "I'll have to make sure I have a chaperone." Can we start around noon? I have an early Saturday commitment." "Noon would be good," Indira said. "I'll leave you to make the arrangements with Clarice, then," I said, excusing myself from the table. I went to the bar and Wendy set my salad and soup down in front of me with a fresh Coke. "Aren't they cute?" she asked. "What an adorable baby." "Yes, that was certainly the strangest meeting I've ever had." I started eating, but something was bugging me. "I didn't really have much chance to catch up with you Monday with everybody there," I said. "How are things going for you, Wendy? You still look awfully tired. You're not ill, are you?" "Oh, no. This has just been a particularly rough week. Things will improve once school starts, though. I've got new living arrangements starting in October, too. That will help matters." "Hey, if you need a place to crash and get some uninterrupted sleep, feel free to stop by. Not every gathering at our house is a naked party," I laughed. "Too bad," she smiled. "I like getting naked with you guys. But ... really? Would you mind if I just came over for a nap? It's really uncomfortable where I am now." "Why don't you come spend the night tonight when you get off?" I asked. "If your roommates are that obnoxious, a good night's sleep is the least we can offer. No one has the guest room booked tonight, I'm sure." Wendy looked aside for a minute and I thought maybe she was upset about something, but then I saw the Singhs approaching. We shook hands and they left the restaurant. I turned back to pick up my plate and join Clarice, but Wendy was right beside me. She wrapped me in a hug that nearly crushed my ribs, her face lying flat against my chest. "Thank you, Tony. You're the best." ------- Chapter 13 Kate grabbed my hand as soon as class was over and dragged me to the cafeteria to meet Melody. We'd spent the past two hours trying to draw without looking at the paper. It was one of Doc Henredden's favorite exercises. The goal was to free our hands to follow the mind's eye rather than what the physical eye saw. Mercifully, he used a still life setting as a model rather than a live model. We were all exhausted and in possession of another half dozen drawings that Doc never looked at and showed nothing about our artistry as far as I could tell. I had grown to have a lot of faith in Doc and knew he wouldn't let us down. This was the only art class I'd have this term and I wanted to make the best of it. We got to the cafeteria and had Cokes before Melody arrived. She rushed up to us and kissed us both. The college doesn't actually have a policy regarding public displays of affection as I've heard some do. I'm pretty sure that if those kisses had gotten any hotter, though, someone would have reported us for something. "I can't wait to have you come over this weekend," I said to Kate. "I feel like we were interrupted at a bad time." "Tony said a lot happened over the weekend, but he won't tell us everything because he says most of it is your story to tell," Melody added. "I'm dying to hear." "Oh. Well, about that," Kate said. "I ... um ... won't exactly be able to come over this weekend." "What? Why not?" I heard myself almost shout. Oh shit! That was totally inappropriate. What did I think was going on? Did I imagine I owned Kate's weekends now that we'd had an intimate—if not profoundly sexual—weekend? "I'm sorry," I stammered out. "That came out a lot different than I intended. It was just a surprise." "I want to be with you," Kate mourned. "I really do. I'm bummed, too. But Saturday morning this week is my volunteer time at the Food Bank. We get all kinds of things in that have to be sorted and shelved. And with the holiday this week, things are going to be crazy as people restock what they can. Saturday afternoon is the Tent City coordinating team meeting. You're going, aren't you, Tony? On top of that I've got a huge project for my studio practicum that I wasn't planning on. I expect all my paintings for the exhibition to come from that class and I can't afford to mess up the first one. I'm sorry." Kate was near tears and it was obvious she was as upset about not being with us this weekend as Melody and I were. We both scooted in on either side of Kate to hug her. "It's okay, Kitten," I said. "We're not mad about it. We're just as disappointed as you are." "We're all in school, after all," Melody said. "I've got assignments due next week that I have to work on, too. I'm pretty sure that if you were with us for the whole weekend, I wouldn't want to do any of my work." She kissed Kate and hugged her tightly. "I'd really rather be with you than anything else," Kate said. "You know that, don't you? You know I love you?" "And we love you," I said. "That's why we're disappointed when we can't spend time with you. But we understand." Melody was biting her lower lip and I knew exactly what she was feeling. I was hard as a rock and now our timing was all off. We weren't going to have Kate with us this weekend. Somebody was likely to explode. "Oh. About the following weekend," I said. "It's our birthday." "Not until Sunday," Kate said. "Well, I don't want to wait until Sunday to celebrate when we've got the whole weekend, right? But I've got a portrait sitting with a new client that Clarice just got me. I need chaperones. I thought that since Lissa and Clarice went last time, maybe you two would like to be my chaperones this time," I suggested. "That could be fun. Do you have a sexy woman to paint?" Melody asked. "No. I have a lovely Indian family. They might not let you see them, but you both have to be where at least one of you can see me at all times." "Okay," said Melody. "I'd be willing," Kate said. "You can't imagine how much I wanted to hear that," I grinned at her. She gave my arm a hug. "Well, I have to get going in order to get as much time on my project as possible," Kate said. We got up from the table. "Oh, I almost forgot," I said. "I offered our guest room to Wendy tonight. I saw her at lunch and she really looks exhausted. Says she doesn't have a good sleeping situation at the moment. I don't know where she's staying, but I told her to just come over after work and get a good night's sleep." "That's nice," Melody said. "Let's stay up and make sure she's eaten." "Oh, Tony!" Kate said. She wrapped her arms around my neck and planted a wild kiss on my lips. I was staggered. "You are so thoughtful. Thank you for taking care of her. Things have been really rough for her lately." "What's going on?" I asked. "That's really her story to tell and not mine," Kate said. "But I know this will mean a lot to her." "We'll do our best." "Oh, Melody, I've got something for Lissa. Would you give it to her?" Kate asked sweetly. "Sure, baby. What is it?" Without any warning, Kate laid a kiss on Melody that was every bit as toe-curling as the one she'd just given me. I edged between them and the line-of-sight from the doorway. She pulled away from Melody and grabbed her portfolio. "I have to give that away to Lissa?" Melody complained. "What about me?" "Don't be cross, honey," Kate said. "I'll have yours with me tomorrow. 'Bye!" ------- "She's what?" Lissa's voice was plaintive, not angry. "She said she had a big project and couldn't come over this weekend, but I'll see her at the Tent City meeting on Saturday." "I miss her!" "I know," I said. Not only did we both want to be cuddling with Kate, we'd spent the week teasing each other and holding back our orgasms to the point that we were all about to pop. Now Lissa and I were entering the racquetball court and we were both frustrated. "Just wait till Melody gives you your present." "Can we just go home now?" "Melody's not home yet, darling. Let's do our workout. It will take our minds off things." ------- Boy did it ever! It started out a little slow, but in about five minutes, Lissa and I had worked up a steady rhythm of batting the ball back and forth. Within ten minutes, the ball was flying at an incredible velocity as our rally went on and on. We were reading each other like lovers, watching for every twitch of every muscle that would clue us in on what to do next. I took my serve and the ball was in flight again. The walls of the court ceased to exist. There was only the ball and where it would be. There was the stretch and contraction of muscles that would place it exactly where we wanted it. There was the solid reverberation up the grip of the racquet when we made contact. There was spin and position—a dance that we took to a new level. It's not that we never missed a shot, but we found it harder and harder to put one past. A deadly shot into the crotch of the back wall was fired back off three walls and then picked up again. A lob serve was returned at a zillion miles an hour, barely clearing the floor at the front wall and never making it to the short line before it was returned again. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-da-dum. Ba-dum. The noise of racquet on ball on wall was a kind of music and it took me into my zone, fueled by the power I felt surging through my body. We were dancing. We were playing. We were making love. A pounding on the door of the court brought us out of our zone together and we collapsed against each other as we turned. John was standing outside the court with the next players who had it reserved. My god! An hour was already gone? It seemed like a few minutes. I wanted to keep going, but my legs were suddenly rubbery. Lissa and I supported each other as we left the court and the next players entered. "If you two play like that at Opens, no one is going to stand a chance, in either doubles or singles," John said. "That was amazing. Especially the rally where the ball never touched the floor." "When was that?" I asked. John looked at me curiously. I realized that I had no concrete play-by-play memory of the match. Usually when I finish a match I can go through it in my mind—remember specific plays and what I felt when I missed a shot or correctly read a play. This time, I remembered playing—feeling exhilarated soaking up the impact of each shot—but had no play-by-play memory. "You had a rally where the two of you just kept picking up each other's shots directly off the wall at an incredible speed. Don't you remember it?" John asked. "We did that?" Lissa asked. "Doesn't seem possible." It was apparent that she had no firmer memory of the match than I did. "I invited George and Nicole over to play with you tomorrow," John said. "I hope you can play like this when you are facing other people." We headed toward the showers, but just before we parted to our separate locker rooms I groaned as realization sank in. Lissa looked at me. "You know what that means?" I asked. Lissa's face showed the breaking dawn of enlightenment. "More sexual frustration," she whispered. "Is this worth it?" "We'd better go talk to Melody." ------- Melody's kiss left Lissa a panting puddle in the middle of the bathroom as the tub filled. "I don't think I can do this any longer," she said. "Do we have to stay in this state all the way to next weekend?" "No!" Melody and I both shouted. "However," I said, "we have to stay this way until tomorrow's match with George and Nicole. Today was amazing. I felt like we were one person on the court. We won't know if that's transferable to a competition, though, until we play against someone else while we're in this state." "No nooky tonight? What about Meddy?" Melody whined. We climbed into the tub with Lissa sandwiched between us. "I think it's good for you, too, Darling," I said. "Don't tell me you aren't filled with energy and passion when you go to class or when you start to draft a new pattern." "So much so, that when I see Kate I just want to jump her bones!" Melody said. "Amy and Sandra are looking pretty damn good right now, too. And there's this guy in Graphics Lab who keeps looking my way." "Hey!" I said. "Well, everyone is looking good right now," Melody said. "I need to wear a tampon to keep from dripping in the halls. And it's only been three days!" "We've gone longer without sex than that," Lissa said. "What is it?" "I think it's because we're being conscious about it and that we're intentionally trying to keep each other aroused," I said. I emphasized my point by letting my hand dip into her cleft beneath the water in the tub. Lissa moaned. Melody did, too, and I knew that Lissa had clutched her where I couldn't see. "I'm worried about something else, though," Melody said when she caught her breath. "I don't think we should do this next week before we see Kate." "I'm all for getting a little relief from my lovers," Lissa said, "but why?" "If we were in this state when she comes over, I don't know that I'd be able to control myself. We don't know that she wants to go all the way with us yet and I don't want to be so horny that I can't stop." "That's a good point," I said. "Oh. And speaking of other people coming over, let's not forget that Wendy will be here in a couple of hours. I really don't know what's going on with her, but the girl is looking thin and tired all the time. Kate knows something, but she says it's up to Wendy to tell her own story." "I think that's good advice for all of us to follow," Lissa said. "I want to tell both of you everything, but we should always let others tell their own stories as they want to share them, if we can. As long as we're not holding out from each other on important things, our friends should know that they can talk to us in confidence." "That's why I've been holding back," I said. "I shared the things that affect us as a family and our relationship with Kate, but she really should be the one who tells you about her family, not me." "As long as not knowing doesn't adversely affect us, I agree," Melody said. "But if I don't get out of this tub right now, my lover is going to get my cum all over her pretty painted nails." ------- "Thank you so much for letting me crash here tonight," Wendy said as we sat down to a late-night snack. She arrived a little after nine and we'd just set out some food. She seemed ravenous. "I'm sorry to hear that your living conditions are bad," Lissa said. "Any hope of improvement?" "I think so. I have a different place next month after classes start. Until I can get moved, though, I'm not getting much rest. You know, there's just so much to do," she answered. "I can understand that," I said. "It seemed like we'd never get Melody and me moved out here, and we both had plenty of time to pack. Anytime you need to get some sleep, just stop by and crash." "Speaking of which," Melody said, "one of us has already started classes and has to get up in the morning. You lazy bums can sleep in all you want." "Not me," Lissa said. "It's parent orientation day at Kindergarten for Drew. He's so excited to be in 'real school' like his brother. I'll be out of here by eight, so why don't I drop you off?" "Oh, you're such a sweet lover. Come to bed and I'll show you how much I appreciate you!" "I thought you had to go to sleep," I laughed. "Let's not keep our guest awake tonight." "I'm not sure you could do anything to keep me awake," Wendy laughed. "Have at it. Do you mind if I shower before I sleep? I feel so gross I'd just get the sheets dirty." "Everything you need should be in there," Lissa said. "Just holler if there's something missing." "And in spite of what they say," I said, "if these two are getting up in the morning, I'll be up. It seems I'm the only one who can make coffee in this house. So sleep as long as you want and let me know when you want a cup. I'll be in the studio downstairs." ------- I got Melody and Lissa fed and out of the house on time in the morning. Once they realized that we were still under a "no orgasm" code for the night, they focused on going to sleep as quickly as possible. There was an awful lot of moaning and squirming in the bed, though. Some of it from me. I'd been looking forward to this morning. I had four canvases on easels in the basement and was in a different stage for each one. Next week, I would officially move my studio to our new space, but today I just needed to paint. I needed to prepare a canvas for the family painting I'd be sketching next weekend, but that wasn't urgent. I also wanted to sketch out a smaller canvas with the image of the Singhs that I captured at the table yesterday. They were commissioning the family portrait that I'd do in their home next weekend, but the model release would cover another salable work as well. They were just so nice together. What I really wanted to work on this morning was the picture of Kate, her mom, and her sister dancing. It was another good-sized canvas and I was sure Clarice was going to love this one. From the eight lines I'd drawn by the fire, a full and dramatic composition had taken shape on my easel. I tuned my playlist to some drumming music—a mix of both Indian and Native American drums with a little Japanese Taiko drumming mixed in. It was nothing like the primal rhythms that Grandpa Ken and company managed to fill the night with, but I got some pretty good rhythms playing and was deep in my own world in no time. Just thinking of that night had me swaying as I added splashes of firelight color to the figures of the three women. Gypsies. Right here in the Pacific Northwest. Well, at least one. What it would take to get Kate to dance for us? ------- Wendy startled me when she appeared at my shoulder. I pulled myself out of the music and turned to her as I took off my headset. "Hey! Good morning," I said. "Looks like you found the coffee. I could fix you up some breakfast if you'd like. "I brought the coffee for you, Tony. You shouldn't have to serve me," Wendy said. "I don't think of it as serving you," I laughed. "You're our guest." She looked at the unfinished painting and began to arrange herself to mimic one of the poses. "How do they do that?" she asked. "It's impossible to get into that position." "I think they had to dance into the position," I said. "It was fun to watch." "Don't you usually paint nudes?" Wendy asked. I noticed her robe was slipping off one shoulder as she posed. While I watched, it fell the rest of the way and she stood in a very reasonable copy of Gypsy's dance pose, but without a stitch on. "I'll stand in for you." "That's not necessary, Wendy," I said gently. "I'll do anything for you, Tony. I don't have any other way to repay your kindness." What the fuck? Was Wendy offering... ? She relaxed out of the pose and stepped toward me. "Let me serve you," she said. Serve? "Wendy!" I grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from going down to her knees. She winced. I didn't think I'd grabbed that hard, but I lightened my grip and she sank the rest of the way to her knees. I grabbed her robe and reached to pull it across her shoulders. That's when I saw the bruises. Not just her shoulder, her entire back was bruised. I pulled the robe around her and knelt beside her. "Wendy, what happened?" "I just fell. It's nothing." "Wendy, that's not from falling. Who beat you up?" "It's not like that. I was just acting stupid and he punished me." "He who, Wendy?" "Rafe. My boyfriend." "I thought you broke up with that bastard," I said. The son of a bitch! I gently tugged at Wendy's hand and got her to stand up. We went upstairs and sat on the sofa so we could talk. "I was ... I didn't have ... I was staying with Kate," she finally said. Whoa! What? "She knew I didn't have anywhere to go, so she let me stay in her dorm room. But then her roommate came last weekend and I had to leave and there was no place and I went back. I thought it would be okay. I'd be good and he'd let me live there again. And then..." "Oh god, Wendy! How could you go back there?" "I didn't at first. I was staying in my car. It's all I have, Tony. I went back Wednesday and he ... did this ... and I don't have anything left." There was no stopping the tears now. I wanted to take her to the hospital, but she refused to go. I wanted to call the police, but Wendy was convinced he'd hurt her worse if she reported him. I was in way over my head and didn't know what I was going to do. "I'll leave. I don't want to cause problems for you." "You absolutely will not!" I almost shouted. "You will stay with us until school starts and you're in your new place. When Melody and Lissa find out what's been going on, they'd throw me out if I didn't insist you stay." Wendy stared at me for a moment. I guess she wanted to make sure I was serious, so I stared her right in the eye to make sure she understood. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and lowered her eyes to the floor. "Yes, Tony. Thank you. I'm sorry I've caused you inconvenience. May I go get dressed now?" "Of course you can," I chuckled. "I'll go get us some lunch ready. Lissa will be home soon and we'll all talk about this." "Please let me help," she said. There was a fiery look in her eyes that told me she really wanted to help with the cooking. "Sure," I said. "You can probably give me some pointers. My culinary repertoire is still kind of limited." "Why don't you go back to paint for a while? I can take care of food." "I don't feel quite right about leaving you to fix lunch alone." "You are giving me a place to stay. Please let me serve you ... lunch." Her head was hanging again as she looked at the floor. I reached over and lifted her chin with my finger. "Thank you," I said. "I appreciate your willingness to help out, but shouldn't you go to work?" "I told Carma I would be late this morning. I need to work the evening shift, but I expected to be ... otherwise engaged this morning," Wendy said. "The only other engagements you'll have here are getting healthy and rested. When Lissa gets home, I'm sure she'll have some ideas on how to treat your bruises. One thing though," I said as I suddenly thought of something. She might not want the police involved, but there needed to be a record of what happened to her. "Wait right there for a minute." I ran downstairs and grabbed my camera from my bag. When I got upstairs she hadn't moved. She looked at me expectantly. "I want to take a picture of you ... of your bruises," I said. "If anything ever happens, I want the evidence. Do you mind taking off your robe again?" I didn't expect her to just drop it where she was standing while she was facing me. I kind of have this thing about girls. Wendy was pretty, though her hair was a bit bedraggled and she was way too skinny. She has nicely shaped tits that I'd first seen encased in a red bra when she leaned over my table in the restaurant several months ago. Her nipples and areola are dark and stick out prominently. I could have counted her ribs if I'd been looking at them instead of letting my eyes rake down her body to take in her pussy. Like Kate, she'd let her hair regrow after the posing party and it was a dark mass of curls that disappeared between her legs. Skinny legs. Damn! This going without an orgasm for four days and teasing my wives left me with a hair trigger and my cock pressed out against my shorts. I was sure she noticed because she smiled as if she'd just achieved something miraculous. I gulped. "Uh ... I meant to take the picture of the side with the bruises," I said. I wiggled my fingers and she slowly pivoted away from me. The angry purple streaks stared back at me from her back, her buttocks, and her thighs. What the hell did he hit her with? I snapped half a dozen pictures, then picked up her robe and draped it over her shoulders. "Thank you," I said. "Any time, Tony," she said. "Any time at all." ------- When Lissa got home, she was surprised to find lunch waiting, but Wendy gone. She came downstairs and asked me what was going on. I hadn't heard Wendy leave and just hoped that she had gone to work and hadn't run away. I filled Lissa in on what had happened during the morning and my insistence that Wendy stay with us until school started. I showed her the pictures and she gasped. "Who did this to her?" she screamed. "Her ex-boyfriend," I answered. "Lissa, we can't let her go back there." "Absolutely not. You did right, Tony. She stays here." "There is a little problem, though," I said. "I think you and Melody should handle it. She kind of offered herself to me as payment. Obviously, I refused, but I'm worried that she might think she owes us ... for living here. I don't want to worry about getting ... uh ... trapped here if we're alone." "Wendy is a sweet girl and we wouldn't be upset if you found her ... attractive," Lissa smiled. "But you are right that we don't want her feeling sexually obligated just because we're being nice. Maybe we should ask Kate how she handled having her live in the dorm. I've always felt that Wendy didn't discriminate between men and women." "Speaking of men and women," I said, "we have a mixed doubles match this afternoon. You know what I want to do first?" "What? You have an evil glint in your eye." "I want to lick you until your juices are running so much you have a wet spot on your gym shorts," I said. "Oh..." She moaned and I took that as her consent. I licked her slowly for several minutes, never quite getting to the point of climaxing. Just when she was grabbing my head to push it more firmly between her legs, I stood up and tossed her shorts to her. "Time to go meet our challengers," I said. I led her out with my dick pointing the way. ------- George and Nicole were hot—both as a couple and as competitors. They'd played racquetball as a team for the past five years and knew each other's moves as well as their own. They'd probably make a good showing at Opens if they decided to go. But they were no match for Lissa and me this time. Doubles racquetball has a specific order in playing. Either player on the first serving team can serve and when that player loses a rally, the serve goes to the other team. From that point on, though, each player on the team serves until out. Then the serve goes back to the other team. Once the ball is served, either player on the opposing team can return the ball. It all sounds very orderly, but in a 20-foot by 40-foot enclosed room with four people moving after or out of the way of a ball flying at 40 to 110 miles per hour, it can feel like total chaos. George served first in the first match and was out on the first rally. Lissa and I never even discussed who would take the first serve, but we were in perfect synch when I put the first lob serve across the short line. She took Nicole's return off the back wall and sent it past George just an inch off the floor. We were up one-nothing and that marked the direction the match went from there on. I was living in Lissa's skin and always knew where my partner would be as well as where the ball would be. She moved as if she was an extension of my right arm. What an incredible feeling! We took two straight games and then played the third anyway and won it by six points. "You two are on fire!" Nicole exclaimed as we left the court. "I can't believe you've improved so much in such a short time. Didn't we just beat you two weeks ago?" "It was such a high! I can't believe we played like that," Lissa said. "I've sent out a blanket challenge for any mixed doubles team in the area to play you before Opens," John said. Our trainer was standing outside the door of the court with a clipboard in hand. "You should expand that," George said. "We should send Jay and Dan, our top men's team, to play them. Tony and Lissa need a higher level of competition than they'll find among mixed doubles here in Seattle. Although, you might send an invitation to the Elliotts in the Tri-Cities. They won last year's State competition and I'm pretty sure they're headed to Opens." "Great idea on both counts," John said. "Four weeks from now, I want to hear about these two on the podium in Minneapolis." "Is it really that soon?" I asked. "We should probably register." "I have all the forms. You'll have to play in Open Division. I was going to sign you up for Division A, but the rules say that you have to play in the division of the higher rated player. Lissa is an Elite player, so Open Division it is." "When can you get a new rating for Tony, John? He's certainly playing an elite game at doubles. I'm assuming your singles is on a par," George said. "I guess so," I said. I hadn't considered getting certified at a higher level, but I was already playing at the gold level in Intercollegiate play. "There will be judges at Opens who will be able to revise his rating," John said. "Wish I was going with you two." "I think we'll have quite an entourage as it is," Lissa laughed. She looked at me and I raised an eyebrow. John had turned toward George and Nicole so Lissa mouthed at me, "I want to fuck now!" I laughed and we all headed for the showers. ------- Of course, we weren't going to be able to fuck right away. We had the boys arriving at home just after we got there. We made dinner and played with them. It had been the first week of school and both boys wanted to talk about everything that had happened. With Damon in second grade and Drew in kindergarten, it was a different story than when they'd told us about their days last spring. Damon was absolutely gaga over the class gecko and had to describe exactly what happened every time they put a cricket in the cage. I really didn't want to hear about the leg hanging out of the gecko's mouth still twitching, but Damon had already declared he was going to be a scientist like Mrs. Alton. Drew proudly showed Melody an entire page of alphabet letters copied over and over. Reading progressed, too. Damon brought a book about a dog and cat coming to an agreement about who owned the house and he proudly read it to Drew and me. When it was my turn to read, we started on one of my favorite series, The Berenstain Bears. Poor Jack. I could tell right away this was going to be as big an obsession as Dr. Seuss had been. Finally, the boys were in bed. I came out of their room to find Melody and Lissa locked in a tight embrace and could see that clothing was already being loosened. I lifted Melody's sweatshirt over her head, getting her to part from Lissa's lips just long enough to let the shirt pass. I was a bit surprised to find nothing on under the sweatshirt. Obviously, Melody was just as horny as Lissa and I. She already had Lissa's pants shoved down her butt and was fingering our lover. Not sure exactly how, but I managed to maneuver them into the bedroom before they were both completely naked. I picked up discarded bits of clothing as we went. As much as we'd all been teasing each other this week, we were on hair-trigger. I slid into Melody as Lissa settled on her face and a few seconds later we were moaning out orgasms while trying hard not to be so noisy the boys would hear. We didn't even take a break before I was planted in Lissa and Melody rode her face to another satisfying conclusion. I wasn't sure we'd ever stop. It was the doorbell that brought us to our senses. At first we thought perhaps Kate had decided to come over after all, but she has a key. Then we suddenly realized that none of us had heard from Wendy since she left before lunch. I pulled on my sweats and rushed for the door to catch her just as she was turning away to leave. Wow! It was 10:00 p.m. already. "Is it still okay if I sleep here?" she asked. "If you don't want me, I understand. I'm okay." "Wendy! Of course we want you. You left in such a hurry we didn't give you a key this morning," I said. "Is that Wendy, Darling?" Lissa called from the direction of the kitchen. "Yes," I called. "I didn't give her a key this morning." "Are you hungry? I'm just fixing us a bedtime snack," Lissa called. "I ate dinner at the restaurant a few hours ago," Wendy said as we walked into the kitchen, "but I wouldn't mind a little snack." Lissa was wearing a robe and I could see by the things she'd pulled out of the fridge that we were in for more than a little snack. I just love her! Melody came from the bedroom in a matching robe and I wondered when they'd managed to get those. "Hi Wendy!" Melody chirped. "I was just getting my jammies on before our snack." She hugged Wendy and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Wendy kissed her back, then wrinkled her nose and sniffed. Her eyes got wide. "Oh my god! I interrupted you. I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I'll just go to bed." "Hell you will," I said. "You didn't really interrupt anything. We were kind of ready for an intermission. And don't be embarrassed. Just sit down and relax." "Yes, Tony," she said, sitting on the barstool immediately. "Would you mind if I had a quick shower before we eat?" "Of course not," I answered. "But be quick about it. I'm starving!" "I will." She ran down the hall and I turned to look at my lovers. "She is so insecure," I said. "Did I handle that okay?" "Yeah," Lissa said. "I don't think it's just insecurity, though." "She obeyed you," Melody said. "Naw. I was just comforting her and getting her to relax a little." "Didn't you hear her? You said, 'sit down and relax, ' and she couldn't get on that stool fast enough. Then she asked your permission to shower. Oh my god," Lissa sighed. "Just be really careful what you tell her to do," Melody said. "I think that relationship she was in was worse than we thought." ------- I met up with Kate at the Tent City meeting Saturday afternoon. I was feeling pretty good after my Pilates session with Lissa this morning. It really gets your blood flowing and makes you feel like you could reach the stars. With Tent City moving onto the campus at SCU in just three weeks, there was a lot of work to be done. Kate and I sat and absorbed the incredible amount of detail that was described. For her part, she'd already organized a student committee at PCAD to assemble first-aid backpacks and had a dozen under construction. She also reported that several downtown churches had coordinated efforts with the Northwest Harvest food shelf to provide meals or supplies. A lot of the infrastructure was already in place since Seattle had had tent cities for several years now, but there were always a lot of details to work out in getting the new host area set up. I'd be spending part of the weekend prior to the move-in date working on the site. We'd be putting boardwalk avenues through the encampment space so that when it rained—which it would continuously from October through December—people wouldn't create muddy trenches between the tents. It would help the site drain as well. We'd also erect a canvas barrier around the site so that the residents would have some degree of privacy from the campus traffic that would pass by the city every day. When I thought about it, I wondered if we were giving them privacy, or erecting an excuse not to think about them. We toured the sports field where the encampment would be, right out in front of the athletic pavilion. It was currently a lush green field on which a number of people were kicking a soccer ball without real purpose. There were few students around as classes were still a week away, but freshman orientation started Tuesday and there seemed to be a lot of activity on the grounds preparing for the start of the school year. When the meeting was over, I was surprised to find Bree approaching us. It wasn't me, but Kate that she gave a warm hug to. She turned to me a little more demurely, as if still ashamed of what happened the last time we met. Well, that couldn't go on. I swept her into a hug. Bygones. "Thank you, Tony," she said. "Kate, you wouldn't believe what happened. We went away last week, just like you suggested. It wasn't for recruiting or anything. We actually took a vacation and just went to the mountains. And we talked. Thank you so much for pushing me. I can't say everything is better, but we talked. I almost feel like I have him back. Thank you." I wasn't sure what that was all about. "Who did you go on vacation with?" I asked. "Dad," Bree said. "Kate convinced me that I had to ask him to go away for a while so we could talk without the whole school and athletics thing getting in the way. It was so good." Somehow I thought I'd suggested that, but at the moment Bree was all over Kate for helping her. Well, even if I had suggested it, I knew for a fact I wouldn't have been in that position if Kate hadn't begged me to make up with Bree. This was, frankly, the happiest I could ever remember seeing her. "See you in class next week, Tony," she said as she left. "Do you have time to sit and talk a while?" I asked Kate. "I'd be a terrible girlfriend if I couldn't spend any time with my boyfriend," she smiled. "And ... uh ... I hope by 'talk' you mean 'make out.'" We walked out onto the sports field and just surveyed the area that Tent City would occupy in just a few weeks. "I wanted to let you know that Wendy is going to be staying at our house for a while," I said after I'd kissed her. I don't know what response I was expecting, but having Kate plaster herself to me with her legs wrapped around my waist and her mouth sucking the breath out of mine was not it. Still, I wasn't going to complain and did my best to drag out the event as long as possible. God! Just holding her to me and kissing ... just feeling her breath on my cheek and her arms around my neck ... I never wanted to let her go. Never. If I had taken the time to get to know Kate last year when we were both alone and lonely, I might never have gotten together with Melody and Lissa. That thought shocked me, but I recognized it as true. I also recognized that if Melody had gotten to know Kate during that same period, I would surely still be a virgin, probably in class in Lincoln, Nebraska right now. All things in the right season, as Dad used to say. And in this season—right now—I just wanted to hold Kate and keep kissing her. Alas, she eventually pulled away and put her feet back on the ground, though she didn't attempt to remove my hands from her butt where I'd been holding her up. Oh, my fucking... "How is she adapting?" Kate asked. Oh yeah. We were talking about Wendy. "Okay, I guess. I've got to tell you, Kate—I've already told Lissa and Melody—she scared the hell out of me yesterday morning. She came to me and ... I guess she offered herself to me to pay for the room." "You wouldn't do that, would you?" Kate asked. I smoothed the crease in her brow with a kiss. "Not on your life, Kitten. But ... I don't think this is betraying a confidence ... when she took off her robe, she was covered with bruises. She went back to her boyfriend this week for some unknown reason. When I told her we expected her to stay with us until her housing improves after classes start at the U, she looked at the floor and said, 'Yes, Tony.' It was downright freaky," I said. "Oh dear. Can I use your phone to call her, please? Right now?" "Kate, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean..." "Yes. It's the right thing. I've grown close to Wendy over the past month." I handed her my cell phone and she punched in the number without even looking in my directory. I watched and listened as she started the conversation. "—Stop, Wendy. It's Kate.—Yes, I'm calling on Tony's phone. You're staying at his house now, right?—I'm glad you're safe.—Wendy, Tony isn't your ... um ... boss. He's your friend.—Don't say that.—With kindness and respect.—Yes, Melody and Lissa, too. They want you there.—No, you don't have to pay them. Just be helpful and responsible. You know how that worked.—Oh. You know I can't come over this weekend. Even though I want to.—Yes. It's coming along well, but I've got so much to do!—How about if I stop by and we go for a little walk while you're on break between lunch and dinner tomorrow?—Okay. Be good.—'Bye." Kate smiled and handed me back the phone. "You shouldn't have any problems with Wendy." "Is there anything I should know about what just went on?" I asked. "She's in a really rough spot right now and just doesn't know how to respond to people," Kate said. "She'll get better. We've talked a lot in the past month or so." "You are so unbelievably sensitive to other people, Kate," I said. "She had to pretty much shock me with her bruises before I realized anything was wrong. I'd still like to get my hands on that ex-boyfriend." "Now, now, Tony. Remember what Grandpa Ken said?" "Yeah. I know fighting's not a good answer. But seeing someone abused makes me really angry," I said. "And it's one of the reasons I love you," Kate said. She reached up to kiss me but then shied away. Then she moved forward to touch my lips lightly with hers. She left them there and just brushed them against me as my eyelids drifted closed. I was transported back to the first time Kate kissed me, back at our posing party in May. That shy, tentative exploration of my lips with hers ... the tickle of her tongue tasting me. The hope and promise of things to come. "I need to get back to work, Tony," she whispered as her lips gently tugged at my earlobe. "I'll see you in class Tuesday, and I'll miss you every second until then." She kissed me softly again. "Can you share that one with my other two loves?" she asked. "I promise." ------- Chapter 14 This was a week when I needed to accomplish great things. It was the last week before classes started at SCU and I'd be tied up in freshman orientation for a good part of it. But I'd never had so many canvases started and unfinished. I decided I was going to have to move my work to the new studio and set regular times there to really work. I had an exhibition coming up and suddenly four or five months didn't seem like any time at all. I was up early on Monday morning so I could get moved and start painting, but Melody was up way before I was. I must have been sleeping pretty soundly. When I woke up, Lissa was cuddled up to me, but no Melody. I wandered out into the kitchen where she was staring at her computer screen. "What got you up so early?" I asked, kissing her on top of her head. "Singapore." Her one-word answer was so flat that I thought something must have gone terribly wrong with our order of merchandise. "What is it, darling?" I asked. "Is there a problem?" "No. Sorry. I'm so sleepy. They called an hour and a half ago. They're upset that they have to stay up so late at night to talk to us early in the morning. Did you know it's almost tomorrow there?" she asked. "Oh. Well at least it's not bad news." "No. Actually it's good news. The first hundred outfits are ready to ship." "That's wonderful!" I said. I handed her a cup of coffee and started my own. The coffee hadn't dripped down yet when Lissa looked into the kitchen. "What's wonderful?" she asked. "Coffee?" I handed her the cup I'd just brewed and started a third. "Outfits are shipping," Melody said. "Oh good!" "I just paid $1,260 out of our account." "Ouch." "Are we going to make anything when we sell these?" I asked. "Our margin is only about 30%," Lissa said. "It's not enough to wholesale them to regular retail outlets, so we're limited to what we can sell at events and online." "It's the damn shipping and customs," Melody complained, holding her head. "We ship fabric here and dye it. We ship the fabric to Singapore. They pay customs to get the fabric. We ship outfits back here. We pay customs to get the outfits. We have to find a way to manufacture in the U.S." "Mommy! Meddy! Tony!" shouted two little balls of daylight energy careening around the corner of the hallway into the kitchen. "Morning, kiddos!" "You two need to get showered and ready for school and your move while I feed and water the urchins," Lissa laughed. "May I help?" Wendy asked as she approached the kitchen in the wake of the boys. "With the shower or children?" I asked. Wendy stammered and looked at the floor. "Well ... uh ... if you want..." "He was kidding, Wendy," Melody said. She kissed the older girl on the cheek and the two of us headed toward the bedroom. "He has to wake me up so I can go to class. Have a cup of coffee. I'm sure Lissa could use your help." "Yes, Melody," Wendy said. I noticed she didn't really raise her head. The shower, however, was a great way to start the day. Lissa managed to catch us just before we got out and it got even better. We were all more relaxed and ready for the day when we finally got dried off. ------- Tuesday morning was a repeat, less the call from Singapore. This time, however, Melody and I both had to scramble to get to school. I dropped her off at PCAD for her morning class and went to my first day of orientation at SCU. The first hour was spent shuffling from station to station in the gym picking up our kits, information on events and clubs, looking at school logo clothing, being greeted by the welcoming committee, putting on nametags, trying to identify others in the same program, and generally trying not to look like fish out of water while we drank coffee and ate donuts. I was shocked to pass a table and see myself staring back at me. A second later I realized I was standing in front of a club table advertising the new racquetball club and Bree was sitting in front of me. "You just going to stare at yourself or are you going to help me recruit players?" Bree asked. "Hey!" I said. Man, that was intelligent. "You ... it surprised me. Do I really need to be the focal point?" It was really a good action shot and I wasn't sure where Bree had found it or when she'd managed to take it. It was about three feet tall and had a caption that read, "Join Intercollegiate Bronze Medalist Tony Ames on SCU's New Competitive Racquetball Team." "I had to have this one done at Staples yesterday," Bree said. "The life-size cut-out isn't ready yet." I looked at her. I'm sure horror was stitched on my face. "Gotcha!" she smiled. "The photo isn't high enough resolution for a cut-out. I want a really good one from Opens. Now here, sign it so everyone can see. We're beginning to get a crowd." She handed me a Sharpie and I self-consciously scrawled my name across the poster. Half a dozen on-lookers applauded. We might have drawn a crowd if they hadn't announced that it was time to move on to the auditorium for presentations. I did see Jason Roe and exchanged a few words. He's the only other PCAD student I recognized. We'd been in the same Visual Concepts class and he was planning to do his double degree in Advertising Graphics—like Amy—and Business. We didn't have a chance to talk much more as we were conducted across campus to the auditorium for the start of orientation. We listened to the President of the University and the Dean of Students, the Student Body President, and a representative from Student Services. The afternoon was scheduled with presentations about student loans, scholarship, academic requirements, and other stuff, but I wasn't going to be there for most of it. I had class to go to at PCAD followed by racquetball practice at the club. At lunch, there were tables that matched a number on our name badges, so we grabbed food from the buffet and sat with other people who had been preselected as having similar interests or majors. "Hi, Tony. I'm Ric Ye," the table host said as I sat down. "I'm Joo-Eun Kim," said a smiling woman next to him. "We're orientation hosts for the Literature cohort," Ric continued. "Have a seat and we'll get everyone introduced as soon as the table's full." In SCU parlance, a cohort was a group of people with a common interest who were put together for mutual support. There'd probably be a joint project sometime during the year. Of course, not everyone showed up or got introduced, but that didn't stop Ric. Neither he nor Joo-Eun had a trace of an accent, but Ric talked so fast that sometimes I missed part of what he was saying. "It's unusual for the school to allow a couple to take on a cohort for mentoring," he said. Ah. Staking out his claim so we all understood Joo-Eun was not available. Well ... I guess maybe so I understood. Everyone else at the table was female. Literature majors. Maybe he was telling them that he "So you don't have to ask, Ric is Chinese-American and I'm Korean American," Joo-Eun said. "In spite of our funny names, we've lived in this country longer than most of you have." Laughs. "So to make it easier on you, we've got different nametags." She produced new nametags that said, "Rick" and "June." "Now let's find out a little about each of you," Rick said. We introduced ourselves with a little about our background. I hate this kind of thing. Do I tell people I'm doing a double degree? That I'm a racquetball player? That I paint pictures? That I've got two wives and a girlfriend? I just stuck to the basics when it came my turn. "Tony Ames from Nebraska. I'm an English Major with emphasis in Art and Literary Criticism." Rick and June continued to explain what would happen during the rest of the day. "Rick, is there a way I can pick up what goes on today without attending?" "You should be here for the full day," Rick said. "I have class this afternoon. In fact, I need to leave now or Doc will be upset I'm not there." "Classes don't start until Monday." Okay. Out with it, coward. I took a deep breath. "I only gave part of my intro," I said. "I'm on a double degree program and attend classes at both SCU and Pacific College of the Arts and Design where I major in Studio Art with an emphasis in painting. Classes at PCAD started the day after Labor Day. And I might as well tell you that I play on the school's new racquetball team and currently have practice every afternoon after class." "You're the guy on the poster, aren't you," observed a rather round and bubbly blonde who'd introduced herself as Rio. She reminded me of Beth back in the old days. "Yeah. I'm that guy." "Well, don't let us hold you up," Rick said. "But you really need to come back for the mixer this evening. June and I will be looking for you." "So will I," Rio said. ------- Doc had us drawing big and fast. We used sheets of newsprint and chalk or charcoal. He threw two dozen different subjects at us, including a conch shell, a model in several poses, drapery, a complex still life, and a dog who wouldn't stay still. We had 45 seconds for each drawing, flipped the page while he changed scenes, and drew again. I liked this exercise and could see the progress of my drawings from vague outlines directly to the focal points of each scene. During the process, Doc walked behind us as we drew. It was the first time he'd looked at anything we were doing. Occasionally he would shout something like "Big. Draw big." His assistant and model had apparently been well-schooled in exactly which scene was to be set next and we were all exhausted at the end of half an hour. "Composition," Doc said as he began to lecture, "is not done on the podium. It is done in your mind. Leaf through your drawings. You probably see some improvement as you progressed through the exercise. But this exercise is not simply about improving your drawing. It is about composition. We have a large room, so go stake out an area where you can tack your drawings to the wall in front of you or lay them out on the floor." We moved to find different places where we could spread out. Twenty 2x3-foot drawings take up a lot of space and I was longing to take them back to my new studio where I could tack them all to the walls and look at them. "Now set up your easel and create a single composition from these drawings. Visualize them in one setting. Where would each piece be placed? How would the models be positioned? Draw!" Wow! I could see the scene taking shape. The fruit bowl and wine would be over there, the man would sit here. He would contemplate the shell while the dog looked on curiously. I closed my eyes and saw the pieces come together and then I began to draw. In a way, it's what I do all the time, but I've been doing it subconsciously. When I painted the Rhapsody Suite, I'd switched the positions of Melody and Bree. I'd also lifted Lissa's chin, changed her focus and even added a shadowy figure in the hall, seen through the open doorway. I'd also created the light source and changed the shadow and colors to match. But I'd done it in a trance. Now I was consciously organizing disparate objects in my head and assembling them on paper. I drew. Half an hour later, Doc sent us out on a break. What greeted us on our return was a fully assembled scene on the podium. It didn't take any further instruction. We fell to our easels and drew like crazy. We were enthusiastic and excited and, by the end of the second hour, we were exhausted. "I'm so tired!" Kate said. "Let's go get a Coke before I go to practice," I said, taking her hand. "I can't. I have to go to the projects lab. I have to get my project finished by Friday night and I'm way behind." "Aw..." "I do have time for this," she said as she wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a long luxurious don't-wake-me-I'm-dreaming kiss. Then she punctuated it with a quick peck and ran off to her lab. I went on down to the cafeteria and met Melody and we walked over to the club. We'd started practicing on both Tuesday and Thursday after class, though I wasn't sure how that was going to work when I started having real homework and racquet club practice in the evening. It was the first day of orientation and already I was feeling like I was falling behind. Not again. Geez! ------- Lissa and I worked hard, but with nowhere near the intensity that we played last week. Neither of us were willing to make teasing and denial a part of our normal routine, though it was looking like it might pay off at Opens. We sat on the floor of the court for ten minutes before we headed home while I bitched about life and got zero sympathy in return. "And then they want me to come back for some stupid mixer tonight. Meet the other freshmen. Freshmen! I've already been through this once!" "Maybe you can help somebody else," Lissa said. "What happened at the event last year at PCAD? You must have had some kind of mixer during orientation." "I didn't go." "And how'd that work out for you?" "Shit." "Go to the mixer tonight. In fact, treat yourself to dinner if there isn't one at the school and then go. Don't come home in between. Just take your time in the shower and tub here at the club and then go have fun. I'll swing by and pick up Melody and we'll entertain the boys tonight." "Do I have to?" "Oh! Hi, Tony. Are you Drew's little brother?" We broke up laughing. "I've been taking lessons from Melody," I chuckled as we headed for the door. "Oh no. You missed the punchline if you are going to imitate Melody." "Right. 'Do I have to? I'm horny, '" I whined. "Go! Get out of here and don't forget you've got two horny wives waiting for you at home when the party's over," Lissa laughed. I went. ------- They did a 50s retro sock hop in the gym for a mixer. It went about like sock hops did in the 50s, if "Happy Days" was genuine. The guys sort of lined up on one side and the girls on the other and nobody hit the dance floor. At least I was thankful I had clean socks in my gym bag. The fact that they were bright white made me look hip in this environment. Black jeans and a black t-shirt made me look like the local bad-guy. Hello Fonzie. I headed over to the snacks and drinks table to get myself a Coke. "So y'all the fella on the poster?" drawled a sweet voice beside me. I turned to look and then looked up. The eyes I was searching for were at least three inches above mine. They were so dark brown they looked black. Her skin tone was dark tan and she had a ton of black straight hair tied up in a knot on top of her head so that it gave her another two inches over me. She was thin as a rail and if it hadn't been for the obvious breasts and flare of her hips, I might have thought she was a guy at first. But her voice was soft and heavenly. I love a southern drawl, Miss Scarlett. "Hi," I said, always quick with a clever response. "I'm Tony. If you are referring to the racquetball poster, then yes, that's me." "I'm Whitney," she said. There was a softness to the i-sound that just sucked me in. "Nice to meet you. Can I get you a Coke?" "They got fizzy water? I don't do caffeine or sugar." I rummaged around in the ice bucket until I came up with a can of sparkling water. "Is this what you'd like? It's lemon flavored." "It'll do. Would you mind opening it? I don't want to break a nail before the first day is over." "No problem." She reached to take the open can from me and I handed her a plastic cup as well. As she poured her drink, I noticed that her nails were all perfect in length and had as much paint on them as one of my canvasses. There was a pink undercoat with blue tips and a silver swirl painted over the top. "That's a beautiful manicure," I said. "I'm glad I took the bullet and was the one to break a nail on the can." "Did you? I'm sorry. And thanks." "I was kidding. About the broken nail, not about the manicure. Where are you from, Whitney?" "The Louisiana Bayou," she said. "I'd pick your accent as being Middle America. Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas. Close?" "Dead on. How'd you know?" "I'm planning to study Linguistics. I listen to how people talk." I chortled a little. "You laughin' at my accent?" "It just took me by surprise. I love your accent." "I could change it if you'd prefer something closer to home," she said. I was dumbfounded. There was no trace of the Louisiana accent of just a minute ago. "Wait. Are you fooling with me? Where are you really from?" "Really, Louisiana. But I listen to people and can copy almost any accent. I like my own most of the time, though." "I do, too," I said enthusiastically. "It's cool." A bouncing bubble of blonde mirth came into view and in a moment was looking up at me. "Tony! I'm glad you came to the mixer. Rick said he thought you were anti-social and wouldn't be here," Rio said. "Hi. I'm Rio," she said turning to Whitney. "I'm Whitney," sniffed the tall girl. There was not a trace of any accent in her voice that I could identify. Uh-oh. These girls were on a collision course. "Tony, do they have any 7-Up in there?" Rio asked. I turned my back to paw through the ice again and came up with a can of 7-Up. I opened it and poured the contents into a plastic cup for her while trying to listen to the whispered conversation between the two girls. I couldn't make out a word, but when I turned, they were both looking at me with smiles pasted on their faces. I handed Rio her drink. "I was about to ask Tony how a freshman can already be an Intercollegiate racquetball champion. You saw the posters, didn't you, Rio?" Whitney asked. Whatever had passed between the two had apparently left Whitney confident because the full accent was back. "I wondered about that, too, Tony," Rio said. "Well, without going into too much of a story, I'm technically a freshman with sophomore standing." "You transfer?" "No. I'm double enrolled. I did last year at Pacific College of the Arts and Design and this year I'm mostly at SCU but have a class at PCAD, too. I've got my freshman requirements all complete, but it's my first year here. I competed in the championships last April under a new joint enrollment agreement between the two schools." "You mean that was all real? Rick said that there was no such thing as a double degree program and he figured you just transferred," Rio said. "Who's Rick?" Whitney asked. "He's our cohort's mentor," I said. "He can't help it if he hasn't been told about the new program. I'd guess that the six of us from PCAD are the only ones in this room who know about the program. And I'm not sure if the other five are even here tonight." "Well, I came over here to find out if you dance as well as you play racquetball. Come on. Nobody's dancing," Whitney said. "Aw..." Rio complained as Whitney grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the front of the gymnasium. "Oh, come on," Whitney said, waving to Rio. "Bet you never had two girls on your arm at once," she smirked. If she only knew. ------- "I politely walked them to their dormitory and said, 'Goodnight.' That's all," I said. "Aw. No goodnight kisses? No passes?" Melody whined. "You, Little Devil, know I would never do that," I said, tickling her. "Variety is the spice of life," Lissa quoted. "So I've heard. I certainly enjoyed sucking Beth's clit, though, of course, I'd never trade either of you for her." "True," I said, "but let's not forget that we were all together when you did that. I will never just step out on you." "I love you, Tony," Lissa said. "But why don't you pretend I'm that tall skinny Cajun girl and show me what you could have done to her?" I got the hint and while Melody occupied Lissa's mouth with her own and then progressed to the nipples she so loved to suck, I dove into Lissa's hairless mound and began licking. Is it still called muff-diving if there's no fur? Oh, what the fuck! ------- "You'd want Rio on her hands and knees, wouldn't you, baby?" Melody asked, waggling her ass in the air. "You'd want to hang onto her love handles and push against her soft buns. Oh, like that, Tony!" she screamed as I entered her. ------- "Coffee?" Lissa asked plaintively after I'd finished emptying myself into her the next morning and we'd caught our breath. Melody was in front of Lissa and I was shrinking out from the back. I watched the two kissing deeply. "The two of you are like ten of anyone else," I said. "You're sure?" Lissa asked. I decided not to answer that one. I padded to the kitchen and before I had the first cup of coffee brewed, the boys had come sleepily in from their bedroom. "Why so early, guys?" I asked. "Miss you, Tony," Damon said. "You weren't here to read last night." "Oh, buddy, you know I wish I was. Being out last night was more trouble than it was worth. I miss you, too." "Read a story, Tony." "Sure, kiddo," I said. "Let me take Mommy and Meddy their coffee and then we'll have a story just for us guys. Okay?" Both boys nodded and scrambled for their room to get favorite books. We were now deep into The Berenstain Bears. I fixed coffee for Melody and Lissa and took it to them and told them I needed to go read to the boys. They both kissed me soundly and cuddled up with each other as they sipped their drinks. When I returned to the kitchen, Wendy handed me an espresso, just the way I like it. Man! I'd forgotten she was there. Good thing I'd pulled on my sweats when I took Lissa and Melody their coffee. Although what Wendy wore to bed wouldn't be called modest. I could clearly see her breasts and nipples. I was sure glad the boys added some male energy to the house. I was feeling really outnumbered. "Okay, guys," I said as I settled into the big chair. "What are we reading?" Predictably, it was the Bears, but Drew brought me a Little Critter book called "Just Me and My Dad." I was touched and hoped sincerely that Jack had read this book to the boys. "Can I join you? I love stories," Wendy said. "I don't think you can sit on my lap, but there's room on the armrest if you'd like," I said. I read. The boys giggled. Wendy hugged herself to my shoulder. It was a nice morning. "Tony," Wendy said. "You and Melody should get ready for school. I can fix the boys' breakfast." "Thank you, Wendy," I said. "Guys, don't be too hard on Wendy, okay?" I got nods and went into the bedroom where I had to wake Melody and Lissa up again in order to get them into the shower. "Tony?" Lissa said as I shampooed her hair. "What is it my darling?" I asked. She sighed. That might have had to do with what Melody was washing. "Do you want to keep us secret from your new friends?" I was shocked. Why would I want to keep us secret? Then I thought about the various people I'd met at SCU. I hadn't told Eric—well, I sort of started to, but he didn't believe me. I hadn't told my cohort or mentioned to the girls last night that I was attached. Shit! Was I ashamed of my relationship? No, damn it! "No I don't," I said firmly. "I'm so inexperienced with this that I screwed up last night, didn't I?" "No. Last night was fine," Lissa continued between moans. "I just wanted to know if you wanted us to stay away from your school life at SCU." "I don't," I repeated. "You are part of who I am and if I kept you a secret, I'd be living a lie. I don't want to just start announcing to everybody that I live in a polyamorous relationship, because it's none of most people's business. But if I'm developing a friendship, I want them to know who I really am." "Good!" Melody shouted from somewhere south of me. Lissa tensed up and gasped as she came. Melody's face appeared after she'd given Lissa's nipples a good suck each. "You need to invite them to the party," she said. "What?" "You have new friends. We are having a party Saturday for your birthday and Kate's. Invite your new friends," Melody said while Lissa caught her breath. "I don't know..." "Tony," Lissa finally said, "don't repeat last year. Make friends. Explore people. Girls. Boys. Hermaphrodites. Don't isolate yourself at SCU. We all need more people around us." ------- "Tony!" Bree said over the phone. I'd just finished my orientation game-playing session in which I'd answered the question, "What is one thing about you that no one else at SCU knows?" with the simple phrase, "I have two wives." Now everyone thought I was a real clown. Well... "What is it Bree? I'm about ready to leave for practice." "Are you playing Lissa today?" "Yeah. It's just the two of us working out." "Okay. First let me apologize..." "Bree, you haven't done anything lately to apologize for and we don't need to make a habit of this." "I know, but you haven't heard yet. I don't plan to be your personal secretary, but I didn't know what else to do." "What, Bree?" "I was approached by a few students today who asked if they could watch you practice this afternoon. I said yes and told them to be at the club at 2:30 p.m. Do you mind?" "Who wants to watch me practice?" "Well, your cohort, for one. And another girl who's tall and dark and talks southern. She wants to bring her cohort, too. And I sort of mentioned it to Eric Barnes when we were talking this morning. Maybe 20 people?" "Criminy, Bree! I need to let Lissa know." "Thank you, Tony. I'll try hard not to do this again. I promise. But we're recruiting. Would you wear your uniform? Please?" "Sure, Bree. I've gotta run now." "Play well." Huh! I thought I'd escaped from the group activity planned for this afternoon. Looked like I was going to be the group activity. Well, if we could recruit some players, it might be worth it. ------- Lissa and I played well. It wasn't the level we were at last week, but we'd both come about four times in the past 24 hours. We played well. Most people left right after we finished our game and started to cool down. When we left the court, it was just Bree, Eric, Rick, June, Whitney, and Rio. "So you're the real ones," Lissa said after introductions were made. "I'll see you later, Tony. Don't forget what we talked about." She kissed me on the cheek and left me to face the group. Only Bree had an inkling of what I might be ready to do and her mouth was hanging open. John walked up just as I was ready to speak. "Hey, before I leave to shower, I'd like to invite you guys to a party," I said. "Cool," Rio spoke for the group. "It will be Saturday early evening, at about 6:00," I continued. "But there's something you should all know before you come over. Lissa is more than my coach. We live together and the party is at our house." I saw both Rio and Whitney's faces fall. "Um ... what about Kate?" Eric asked. That was new for everyone else but Bree. Eric had been at the party I brought Kate to. "Well, Eric," I sighed, "I told you I'd ask my wives, but you said to bring my girlfriend." His mouth hit the floor, too. "Look, if unusual relationships aren't cool with you guys, it's better that you don't come to the party. If you're the kind of people I think you are, though, I'd like to be friends with you all and would love it if you come over Saturday night. You'll just meet some interesting people from here and from PCAD and from my family. I really hope you'll come. I'll give you all my address when I see you tomorrow." I left them in pretty much stunned silence. ------- By the time Friday night came and Lissa and I had finished pounding out a hundred little issues with a racquet and ball, I was exhausted. The party invitation list had reached about 30 people, most of whom had no idea what the extent of our relationship was. Most of the people had RSVP'd to say they'd be there. We'd decided that we weren't going to hold back. It was our home. I'd cut the last day's orientation to go to the studio and work all day. It was such a relief to simply purge my mind of everything and let color flow from my paintbrush as I listened to a medley of African rhythms, chants, and even gospel singing. I don't know how, but I morphed the playlist from Paul Simon "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes," to Billy Joel "We Didn't Start the Fire," Dire Straits "Calling Elvis," Led Zeppelin "Dazed and Confused," Iron Butterfly "In a Gadda Da Vida," and finally KLF "Ancient and Justified." My zoo concert canvas was finished when I left the studio. ------- Saturday morning, I had a new challenge. Melody and I picked up Kate after Pilates and we drove all the hell the way out past Issaquah to a huge development of houses that looked like mansions to me. Kate slept the whole way out, but I noticed she brought a sketchbook with her. This could be interesting. I hoped they would allow Melody and Kate to be where they could see the subjects. When I pulled into the driveway in front of the four-car garage, Kate stirred and I gave last minute instructions. I needn't have worried. In their own home, Amar and Indira were gracious and at ease. There was no third party chaperone for the Singhs. They had set up the room almost identically to the photo they'd shown me, but the drapery was even more exquisite than I'd seen in the photo. Now that I actually saw it, that was all I wanted to draw. I disciplined myself. When they'd satisfied themselves that Kate and Melody were both artists, they had no problem letting them in the room with us. We set ourselves up and I got the Singhs positioned. They'd dropped their clothes without hesitation and curled up on the bed together with little Mirium happily attached to one of Indira's paps. "Amar, I don't mean to be indiscreet, but I need to know if you want your ... uh ... equipment visible in the painting or tucked behind your wife. We can adjust the position a little if you'd like more modesty. It doesn't bother me either way," I said. I think Amar glanced at Kate and Melody because he answered rather proudly. "Like it is." Very well. I didn't want to tell him that it wasn't quite as impressive as he seemed to think. We got started and I noted that Kate and Melody also made a few sketches. I focused on capturing everything I wanted to paint. There were carvings on the headboard, the incredible embroidery on the drapery, and, of course, the figures of two very proud, but slightly overweight parents and their darling little girl. We worked for two and a half hours and everyone was exhausted. Before we left, however, Indira cornered Melody to ask about the dress she was wearing. When we left, Melody had an order for two nine-yard strips of fabric prepared with the dye discharge pattern for Indira to have as saris. Now there was an interesting new market. ------- When we got home, the house was looking great, if a little chaotic. Melody rushed to change clothes and start her part of the preparations. Wendy, I discovered, had taken the day off work to help with party preparations. I hoped that wasn't costing her much. Lissa shooed Kate and me back out and told us we had hair appointments at the mall. Oh, boy. I got Kate settled at the salon Lissa prefers and I went down to Quick-Cuts to see Donna. I had to wait a while before she was available since they don't take appointments, but it gave me the opportunity to sketch a little. The place is kind of a discount haircutting place that operates on a first-come-first-served basis, but you can wait for a specific stylist if you want. It's a typical mall store. There's a lot of glass out front with the manicurists working there and then six barber chairs plus another four of those reclining chairs where they can wash your hair over a sink. The whole scene was busy, even for a Saturday afternoon. Two of the stylists had kids sitting on planks resting on the arms of their chairs. Four men sat in the other chairs and three wives/mothers sat in the waiting area. Two women were getting manicures. The walls were burnt orange and dark brown, creating a serene backdrop for a very busy place. Before I knew it, I was deep in a zone capturing the scene before me. Lots of people. I loved it. Donna was actually looking over my shoulder at the drawing calling my name when I surfaced enough to realize it was my turn in the chair. "Well, space cadet, what will it be today?" she asked. "The works," I said cheerfully. "That was a nice drawing you did. You some kind of an artist?" "Some kind, yeah." "So what's the plan tonight? How many beautiful women are you courting?" She dipped my head under the water and started massaging my scalp with shampoo. I sighed contentedly before I answered. I wasn't meaning to stare, but with her leaning over me to shampoo my hair, her boobs were right in my face, and it wasn't a bad view. I think I smacked my lips a little. "It's my birthday," I said quickly. "My wives are throwing a big party tonight." "Howard!" Donna called. "Gonna be a good one!" Howard approached the chair as Donna finished the rinse and squeezed the water out of my hair. In no time he had a hot towel wrapped around my face and was stropping his razor. "You just with the wives tonight or are you playing with the girlfriend?" he asked. After the show he got the last time I was in, I noticed that he wasn't questioning whether any of them existed. "The wives," I said as he lathered my chin, "are throwing a party for the girlfriend and me tonight. It's our birthday." "Wait. Hers, too?" Donna asked. "Yeah. Pretty cool to date a birthday twin." I shut up while Howard started scraping the light beard from my face. I really don't have enough whiskers to merit this treatment, but I loved it. I just don't want to move while he's got that razor at my throat. He kept up a running commentary about how different things were today than when he was dating. He'd never have stepped out on even one girlfriend as hot as my wives were. Donna kept chuckling. "Well, it's not really stepping out on them if they're involved, is it?" I asked innocently. "I'm the first to admit I've got the hottest wives in the world, but our girlfriend is gorgeous, too." "You got it all, young man. You got it all." Donna took over her duties and led me to a different chair where I swear she cut my hair one follicle at a time. The waiting area had cleared out when Howard took the next guy in line, so I guess she felt okay about taking her time. "Are you taking a lot of extra time with me today?" I asked. "I'm just trying to stretch it out to see who comes in to pick you up today," she said. "Someone's coming, isn't she?" I glanced toward the front door just in time to see beauty incarnate walk through. Kate's hair was glowing. It was done in a French braid that wrapped her head like a diadem. She'd had her makeup done as well and even though it was subtle, it accented her best features and made her lips look so kissable that I know I was grinning. Apparently Donna noticed my preoccupation and looked up to see. "Oh, my living soul!" she said. "Wife or girlfriend?" "Girlfriend," I said as Kate approached. "Howard!" The other barber growled as he looked over toward us, and every eye in the room turned to see what Donna was calling about. There was a sudden silence as clippers were all turned off as if in respect for the goddess who was approaching. For her part, Kate was acutely aware of the stares and braved the gauntlet with just a hint of model-like swivel to her hips. Those instructions she got from Lissa really paid off. She was wearing a pair of black leggings beneath a hip-length gauzy tunic, belted at her tiny waist, and a bolero-style vest over the top. She walked directly toward me, her high heels clicking on the linoleum floor, ignoring the stares and sudden silence in the room. She leaned forward to kiss me lightly on the lips. "About ready, my love?" she asked sweetly. I smiled at her. Donna swept the apron off of me and gave my neck a swipe with a vacuum cleaner to get the loose hair off. "Does he meet your approval, miss?" she asked. Kate stroked my cheeks and chin with her fingers. I noticed she had a fresh coat of purple nail polish with white tips. "Oh yes. This will do quite nicely, thank you," she answered. I reached for my wallet and handed Donna the money for the shave and haircut with a nice tip, then walked out with Kate on my arm. I couldn't help but notice that Kate continued to add that special swivel to her walk all the way to the car. ------- People started arriving for the party right at six o'clock. Jack got there a few minutes early and started the grill for riblets. The girls had put together an incredible spread and there were bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling cider on ice. We'd decided that since so many guests would be underage, we just wouldn't serve anything with alcohol. The older folks could go out for a drink afterward if they wanted. It's a great party house, but even with all the food and drinks on the dining room table and plenty of seating room in the living room, I noticed that people tended to hang out in the kitchen. With a steady stream of riblets and chicken wings coming in from the grill, I couldn't blame them. Wendy was really into keeping the food refreshed and offering people drinks. Her hair was nicely done and I noticed that the light streaks that had faded over the summer were back. "Did you get your hair done today, too?" I asked. "Melody helped me," Wendy answered. "I'm a tiger again!" Sheer joy washed over her face and she leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. "Happy birthday. You guys are so nice to me. Happy birthday!" "Hey, do we all get to kiss the birthday boy?" a voice drawled over my shoulder. I turned to find Whitney towering over me. She must have had six inch heels on. I didn't get a chance to say anything before she bent her face to my lips. "Hope that doesn't get you in trouble with your girlfriend," she said. "Oh, they understand," I answered. That got a startled look from her, but I didn't give her a chance to ask any questions as I turned to Rick and June. "Hey, I'm glad you could make it," I said. "I feel a little guilty," Rick said. "We're leaving the rest of our cohort to fend for themselves tonight." "They're all headed to a dance club over by the U," June said. "I don't feel guilty at all." "By the way, Tony, I did some research and want to apologize for suggesting that there was no dual degree program. No one thought to tell the mentors anything about it," Rick said. "It sounds like an exciting program and from what I can tell you are a perfect fit for it." "If I can keep from falling behind, it will be a miracle," I said. "I'm already feeling a little stressed about the workload and missing classes for a week to go to Opens in October. I've already started my paper for Critical Reading and classes haven't even started." "I'm in that class, too," Rio said, peeking in between Rick and June. "How'd you get the assignments already?" "I had to meet with my professors a couple of weeks ago to get approval for the trip to Minneapolis. They're being really nice about it, but I really have to excel in order to stay in their good graces," I said as I finally managed to maneuver them toward the living room. I figured that if I didn't stay in the kitchen at least some of them would migrate out as well. "I'm happy to study with you if it will help," Rio said. "I mean since we're in the same class and all." "That's a great idea, Tony. You should take her up on that," Bree said as she and Eric approached. Bree had a hand on Eric's elbow and I thought that was a little odd. "Hi, Bree. Hey, Eric. Glad you could make it." "Wouldn't miss it after that performance you gave on Wednesday. I haven't been able to wheedle any information out of Bree at all—and I'm sure she knows something." "Me?" Bree said. "What I know is that if we're going to make the racquetball team successful, we've got to keep Tony successful. So if Rio is studying Critical Reading with you, I guess that means I get to study Human Anatomy with you, right?" "Bree?" "Coach Jacobson just told me that I was in the same class with you at god-awful in the morning. I figure studying with you will give me an advantage over everyone else, and I can keep notes for you while you're in Minneapolis," Bree said. "Well, I sure appreciate all the help." "I'm sure I could find something to study with you," Whitney drawled. "Oh, I have something in mind already," I winked at her. "Did I mention that I paint nudes?" Whitney swallowed hard. "Verifiable," Bree said. "I can point out eight women in this house right now who have posed for Tony. Those are only the ones I know of." "Oh ... well ... if ... maybe..." I finally got the best of Whitney. I don't think she was expecting that one. It was great to see everyone and I did my best to get my SCU buddies introduced to those from PCAD. Sandra was doing her part as she had brought one of the football linemen from SCU with her as a date. I was impressed! When Clarice showed up I introduced her as my agent and that got a lot of strange looks, including from Patrick and Noelle who had arrived sometime while I was in the dining room. I noticed that Thor, Sonia, and Amy were hanging out a lot together and at one point saw Amy plant a steamy kiss on the Scandinavian girl. I eventually managed to get Thor aside and ask him how it was going. "Lord, Tony! I don't know how you do it. Man, I'm horny all the time. I mean Sonia could melt steel when she gets turned on, but seeing her with Amy ... it's pretty unbelievable." "Well I hope it all works out. It's not always easy." "Nah. In fact, it's always hard. Happy birthday." I was getting another glass of bubbly when Eric came up to me. "Hey, Eric. How's it going?" "Great, Tony," he answered. "I don't mean to talk a lot of business at your birthday party, but I was wondering if you'll be stopping by next weekend to help us lay out the wooden walkways for the city. We're going to work Saturday morning." "I've got training till eleven, but I'll come straight over afterward. Oh. I don't have my Daytimer with me right now. Is there a chance that you could send me a text so I don't forget to write it down? I think I've got it in my planner, but I have a tendency to forget appointments." "No problem. This is a great party. Happy birthday." "Thanks. Say, Eric. Are you here with Bree? I mean ... I thought..." "Yeah. We knew we were both coming and Bree asked me if I'd escort her and keep an eye out so she doesn't get in trouble. We've known each other for quite a while and I can appreciate her concern. After the last party, I also understand why she doesn't want to get in trouble again," he said. "Eric, Bree is a friend and I appreciate anything you do for my friend. I worry about her." "Yeah. Me, too." ------- " ... Happy Birthday to you!" When the last, slightly off-key note had rung out, Kate and I bent to our individual cakes and blew out our candles. I raised my head and met her lips in a sweet and delicate kiss. I could see Melody and Lissa mimicking our action out of the corner of my eye. When Kate and I broke our kiss, Melody captured my lips and Lissa kissed Kate. Then my two wives switched and I lost myself for a moment in Lissa's sweet embrace. "Look! Kate missed a couple candles!" someone called out. She bent to puff out the offending flames. "I got my wish anyway," she laughed. "Okay, let me get this straight," Eric said. He was leading the SCU contingent. "You live with Lissa, but Kate's your girlfriend, right?" "Sort of," I said. "And yes, I realize that as the newest members of our circle, it's not fair for you not to know what's going on. And thank you, Bree, for letting me be the one to explain. Let's grab our cake and go sit down. It's story time." Kate's cake was a light yellow cake with a lemony frosting, baked by Lissa at Kate's request. No one knew quite what to do when I requested German Chocolate cake, but Wendy said she knew where to get a recipe. I owed her a special thank you for this. The rich German chocolate was great, but the crunchy coconut-pecan icing was one of my favorites. I sat in my favorite chair and the SCU contingent gathered around. I saw John from the club come to join and since it was so obvious that people were gathering with some intent, everybody seemed to gravitate toward us, hoping it would be a good story. "Okay," I said. "Most of the PCAD friends were around while all this was happening last spring. We weren't very sure of ourselves back then and were keeping things pretty secret." There was a snort from somewhere in the direction of Amy and Sandra. "It started when Melody asked me to pose for her final project and offered to return the favor." Melody joined me, sitting on the right arm of my chair. "We became a couple pretty fast. But I also had this gorgeous racquetball partner who seduced my new girlfriend and me. It happened so fast, none of us knew we were an item until I painted a huge picture on the wall of the Admin Building and pretty much announced it to everyone." "The three of you?" an amazed Rick exclaimed. Lissa came to sit on the left arm of my chair the three of us leaned in for a beautiful loving kiss. "The three of us," I confirmed. "We committed to each other and in July we officially became a legal partnership and live here together." "Oh man!" Eric said. "But that isn't the end of the story," I continued. "Somehow over the summer, all three of us fell in love with an amazing woman and we've been dating her for a couple of months." I held out my arms to Kate and she shyly crawled onto my lap. Melody and Lissa put their arms around the two of us. "They're my plus-three," Kate said softly. "Fuckin' A!" Whitney exclaimed. "Any more room on your lap?" "Down girl," Bree snapped. "There's a waiting list." "And just so you know and there are no secrets," I said, "Wendy is staying with us temporarily until school starts at the U. And yes, it's true that many of us have posed for each other in various states of dress and undress." "And it was really fun," Sonia said. "You too?" Rio gasped. "So those are the basics," I said. "Now everybody is caught up and we can all be friends. Right?" ------- Jack started the migration out at about ten. I was getting pretty tired, myself. It had been a long day with Pilates followed by a portrait sitting followed by the party. We waved goodbye to the last guests at eleven o'clock. "Ugh! Clean-up," Lissa moaned. "We might as well get to it." We walked into the kitchen to find everything spotless. Wendy was putting the last of the leftovers in the refrigerator. The garbage bags had been sealed, recycling taken out, food put away, dishes done, and I think she even mopped the kitchen floor. "Wendy!" we all shouted at once. The poor girl was startled and shrank back. "You didn't need to do all this. You are so sweet!" Melody said as she hugged her tiger-haired friend. "I wanted to give you a birthday present," she said looking at Kate and me. "All of you." "Oh, Wendy," Lissa sighed. "Thank you." She gave the girl a big hug and a kiss. I stepped up to take her place. "You really helped make this night special," I said. "And thank you for the German chocolate cake. It was just perfect." I scooped the girl into my arms and gave her a gentle kiss. Wendy melted into me. I noticed Kate kissing Melody and Lissa, so I didn't rush my kiss with Wendy until I felt a tap on the shoulder. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," Kate said after she kissed me. Then she turned away and took Wendy by the arm. "Come on Wendy," she said. "We're going to get you a nice hot shower and a little backrub before bed. You deserve some down-time." With that she led Wendy down the hall. Lissa and Melody and I watched with open mouths. ------- "I understand," I said. "It has to be a little awkward to even consider coming to join us with Wendy in the house. I didn't think of that when I invited her to stay with us." "Well, it doesn't have to all be a disappointment," Melody said. "We still have a birthday boy to entertain." We'd gone to our room quietly after Wendy and Kate walked away and even showering together had been a quiet, though no less loving, event. We were just a little sad that Kate wasn't going to join us for the night. We'd openly declared our love for her at the party. Now it was nearly midnight and Lissa finally released my lips long enough for Melody to capture them. "How about a birthday blow-job?" Melody asked as she began crawling down my body, kissing every inch of my skin that she came to. Lissa quickly reversed the flow and started at my hip kissing her way back up. When they met in the middle, they paused to thoroughly kiss each other and then Melody continued her journey toward my cock and Lissa toward my mouth. When they were double-teaming me, this was one of their favorite methods. My right hand lying beside me found itself being nuzzled by Lissa's pussy while we kissed. I decided to just relax and enjoy myself. Yeah. It was my birthday—well, in six minutes—and my two beautiful wives were going to do everything in their power to make it a happy one. I had no particularly urgent need to come yet, so I was able to close my eyes and just let the incredible sensations wash over me—Melody's mouth absolutely making love to my cock, Lissa's tongue in my mouth, my finger in Lissa's pussy. What a long, slow build. I was going to enjoy this as long as I could. I felt a shift on the bed and Melody froze. Lissa's lips came away from mine and a soft, tentative, almost shy kiss replaced them. My eyelids flicked open and I stared into the flashing depths of Kate's eyes. "Happy birthday, lover," she whispered. ------- Chapter 15 "Kate?" I whispered back. There were no sheets over us this time and she'd caught us all in flagrante delicto. Not in the illegal sense. Just "in the act." Melody seemed frozen with her mouth still covering the end of my cock and Lissa was staring open-mouthed at Kate. We'd left the light on. There was no way she could not know what was happening." "We weren't expecting ... we don't have clothes on." "Neither do I, darlings." I caught my breath as a very naked Kate leaned across me to kiss Lissa. "I hope it's okay that I came to join in the birthday blow-job," she giggled. "Okay?" I squeaked. "Yeah!" After a luscious kiss on my lips, Kate began kissing her way down my body, following the same trail Melody had taken, stopping to suck on my left nipple as Melody's head bobbed down on my cock again. Lissa gave me a shit-eating grin and quickly caught up with Kate, taking my right nipple in her lips and tonguing it as I groaned out my appreciation. They paused for another tongue duel at about my navel and Melody let go of my cock so she could join in. Kate's hand came up to rest on my chest, just so that her thumb could continue to stroke my nipple, but she laid her cheek on my stomach. "Show me," she whispered. Melody showed her as Lissa joined Kate in using my tummy as a pillow. As Melody rose up until just the tip of my cock was in her mouth, and I felt Kate's hand push Melody's out of the way so she could grasp the base of my cock. I went from zero to ninety in the space of that touch. It was all I could do to keep from spurting instantly. But I wanted to really take my time and enjoy this. My god! Kate was stroking my cock! I lay my hands on the shoulders of Lissa and Kate, just relishing the feel of their skin beneath my fingers. Lissa lifted her head to kiss Melody with my cock caught between their mouths. I could feel Kate's facial muscles shift into a grin—feel it!—and then she lifted to copy Lissa, kissing Melody with my cock trapped between their mouths. Melody's lips and Kate's lips sucking on my cock as they kissed! She returned to her resting spot on my stomach, forehead to forehead with Lissa as Melody continued to fellate me and Lissa lent a hand with Kate's in stroking me. From my angle, I could see the back of Lissa's blonde head and Kate's dark brown as Melody came into view and disappeared beyond them. I was thinking this would be a really good time to have a mirror on the ceiling. "Oh!" I moaned. My toes were curling in tightly. I could feel a tingling beneath my fingers on Kate's and Lissa's shoulders. Gooseflesh was rising all over my body, seeming to erupt in waves from where Kate continued to thumb my nipple. "Oh!" I groaned again. Tears were beginning to seep from my eyes and run down into my ears. The third time I groaned, Melody took me clear to the back of her throat and I erupted. My scream turned to sobs as jet after jet of my cum was sucked into Melody's mouth and I could hear both Kate and Lissa moaning against my stomach. Their hands had been pushed down to cup my balls when Melody swallowed me. There was no longer any question about whether I was screaming or crying. My eyes were so full of tears that I couldn't see at all. Moreover, I could feel the hot splash of tears against my stomach as Kate and Lissa kissed over me and Melody pulled off my rod to join them. I was desperate to hold them—hold all three of my lovers—in my arms. As if they were reading my thoughts, they moved up my body, sprinkling kisses as they moved toward me. Lissa arrived a moment ahead and captured my lips and my tongue with hers. What an incredible kiss. Melody joined and then replaced Lissa and I could taste the saltiness of my cum on her tongue as I tried to thank her with every fiber of my being. Then Kate's lips brushed mine. Just the tip of her tongue tickled my upper lip as a warning to the passionate full kiss that followed. When her lips pulled away from mine, she laid her head on my shoulder and sighed. "That was so beautiful. So full of love. So yummy," she giggled. "Why have I waited so long?" Kate was on my left shoulder and Lissa was on my right. Melody was lying on my chest with my still-hard cock sandwiched between us. We were all caught in an embrace and as the warm thoughts flooded my mind a new batch of tears flooded my eyes. I blinked them away and saw my three lovers blinking away their own. We just lay there together, breathing deeply. Occasionally we would turn to one of our partners and share another kiss. My hands stroked Kate's and Lissa's backs, savoring the smooth if slightly damp skin. Occasionally, my cock would twitch against Melody's stomach or she would wiggle back and forth a bit as if to make sure I was still hard. I couldn't imagine being soft again in this life. ------- "It occurs to me that there's a birthday girl present," I said after about half an hour. "Surely what's good for one is good for the other." Kate's head came up off my shoulder to look at me. I was afraid for a minute that I'd scared her, but the brilliant smile she gave me drove that thought out of my mind immediately. "Really?" she asked. I think she said it while inhaling it was so breathy. "How ... who ... I don't know what I'm doing." "All you'll need to do is relax and enjoy like I just did." I saw Lissa's hand in the air. "Yes, Lissa? Did you want something?" "Since Melody got the birthday boy, may I have the birthday girl?" she asked. I don't think Melody was objecting as she squirmed on top of me again. Kate looked into Lissa's eyes and kissed her. "Will you?" she asked. "We just need to sort things out a little," Lissa said, giving Melody a nudge. "How about like the cure for Melody's cramps, only here on the bed?" I suggested. "I never did find out about that," Kate said. "Is it difficult?" "Not at all," Melody answered. "And I guarantee you won't have cramps for a month!" "Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that for a few weeks," Kate giggled again. I sat up and Lissa packed pillows behind my back as Melody rolled over beside Kate. "You like to sit on Tony's lap, don't you, Kitten?" she asked. Kate nodded vigorously. I leaned back a bit against the pillows and motioned Kate onto my lap facing away from me. She settled in, trapping my cock between her nether cheeks. Oh god! This was going to be intense. The last time Kate and I had been in that position, there were two layers of clothing between us. Now there was just the smooth warm valley that I slid within. I held Kate around her waist, letting one hand come up to caress her right breast. Melody kissed her passionately and fondled her left breast. I knew where Melody would be heading soon. Kate's nipples were hardening beneath our fingers and Melody really had an oral fixation. Kate was going to be assaulted from many directions. When I sensed that Lissa was ready, I lifted my knees and parted them, pulling Kate's legs open with my own. Lissa stretched out between my legs and lifted her head to take a single long lick along Kate's slit. Kate gasped and her impulse was to slam her legs shut, but they were outside mine. "Is it okay, Kitten?" Lissa asked. "Do you want me to go on?" "Oh yes, darling," Kate said. "Oh yes, please, please." From that point on, words were merely nonsense and background to the gasping and rising pitch of Kate's moans as Lissa licked her pussy and Melody attacked her nipples. Kate twisted slightly so that she and I could kiss as the girls loved her. I pulled one hand out from around Kate and let it glide past Melody's butt and into her very wet pussy. While I kissed Kate, I fingered Melody and could hear her rising toward her own peak. Melody's moans definitely affected Kate as the vibrations rippled into her nipples. Lissa was taking her time, occasionally giving my balls a lick as well, causing me to reflexively jerk up into Kate's butt crack—a move that she welcomed by sliding up and down my cock slightly. Then Lissa would return to Kate's sex, licking her from anus to clit and back again. Kate was moaning and breathing more heavily. I had the feeling she was holding back in order to enjoy—perhaps even to memorize—each sensation for as long as she could before letting go. It was getting harder for her with each passing second. She could no longer keep her head turned toward me to kiss, but had it thrown back against my shoulder, giving me complete access to the left side of her neck and ear. Finally, I nibbled her earlobe and whispered. "Let it go, Kitten. Just let the dam burst and drink from the flood. We love you, Kitten. We love you." The hum that came from her mouth became a squeal and I could feel Lissa's chin against my balls as she shook her tongue against Kate's clit. The squeal became impossibly high-pitched and suddenly Kate sucked in a noisy breath and went rigid. I could feel the vibrations going through her entire body, held against my chest. Her butt cheeks were rhythmically squeezing my cock and as she jerked, I spouted against her back. I heard Melody squeal against Kate's breast and felt her pussy contract in orgasm around my fingers. Kate's eyes were squeezed shut and her legs shot straight out in front of her, pinning Lissa between them. One hand gripped my hand at her stomach and the other held Melody tightly against her breast. Then everything went slack. I heard the air rush from Kate's lungs and her head lolled to the side. The hand gripping mine fell away to the bed. Her legs collapsed on Lissa's shoulders. Melody pulled away from the nipple she was sucking on and there was sudden silence in the room. "She's passed out!" Melody whispered. Lissa scrambled up the bed beside me on one side as Melody rose to help support us on the other. The girls were stroking Kate's hair when her eyelids finally fluttered open. She looked frantically at Lissa and then at Melody. She twisted again to look at me and we felt the soggy mass of cum between us squish out. Her eyebrows creased slightly. "Why didn't someone tell me how wonderful it is?" she sighed. "You scared us for a minute there, Kitten," I chuckled. "Is it always like that?" "So far," she said. ------- If we stayed in the position we were in much longer, Kate and I would effectively be glued together by dried cum. That had a certain appeal to it, but I didn't relish eventually ripping ourselves away from each other so I let her slide off my lap to settle between Melody and me. I wrapped my arm around Lissa, pulling her close. I kissed her and licked Kate's juices from her face as she absently petted me. After two such powerful orgasms in such a short period of time, I knew it would be a while before I was ready to go, no matter how inspiring the company. Lissa felt the slick coating on me and brought her fingers to her nose, then licked them. "You too?" she asked. I nodded. She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Tony? I'm the only one who hasn't." I smiled. How could I resist my incredible wife asking me to give her an orgasm? I touched her and felt how wet she was as she moaned. The small sound was enough to attract Kate's attention and she looked to see what I was doing. I saw Kate's hand go to Melody's pussy and heard an answering moan from my other wife. This would be interesting. I have favorite positions and positions I like a lot. I think that covers them all. One I particularly like while eating Lissa, though, is a 68.5. I face her pussy, but instead of straddling her head, I kneel next to it. She can play with her favorite things without worrying about me accidentally ramming my cock down her throat when the excitement builds up. I have complete access without having my neck bent back at an odd angle. And—oh!—the view is magnificent. I positioned myself and bent to take my first taste of delight while watching Kate assume a similar position over Melody. I watched as she took her first tentative taste of Melody. She looked at me and smiled a megawatt smile and bent herself to the task of exploring our lover with her tongue. I figured that since she had essentially the same plumbing, she'd figure out what to do from there, so I focused on pleasing Lissa. Lissa jokes about her odor as smelling like canned tuna, but it isn't like that at all. It's spicy. It does get stronger the more turned on she gets—and she was absolutely running with juices right now—but the more aroused she is, the more like some exotic incense she smells. I'm terrible at describing smells. I can tell you all about how her inner lips open; how her color flushes from light pink to coral to deep red; how her clit emerges as an almost translucent pebble with hints of fire beneath the surface to an almost ruby sheen as I nibble and suck at it. But describing her smell? All I know is that I'd recognize it anywhere; and anytime I recognized it, I'd feel a need building deep inside me. The need isn't for an orgasm personally. The need is to please and pleasure my lover. I'd do anything for her. I'd suffocate myself between her lips gladly just to bring her over the edge. As Lissa writhed beneath me, I spared a glance at Kate just as her head snapped up and her back arched. She caught her breath and lowered her head back to Melody's pussy. I looked back and from my angle could see both Lissa and Melody had a hand on Kate's sex. They were distracting her. Well, I couldn't do anything about Melody, but I could certainly divert Lissa's attention. I buried my face and renewed my efforts. In moments, I was being rewarded by Lissa's juices flowing over my tongue as she cried out in ecstasy. The call seemed to inspire Melody as well. She joined her voice to Lissa's and they sang their orgasms in perfect harmony. Kate rose up and knee-walked away from their probing hands. She turned toward me and we kissed, swapping the taste and juices of our lovers. "I can't take any more tonight," Kate gasped at me. "It's so overwhelming. She's so ... beautiful down there. I might explode." I took her by the hand and led her to the bathroom where I turned on the shower. When the temperature was right, I brought her into the shower with me. I bathed her gently, taking care to wash the semen off her back and to soothe her flaming sex. I didn't probe, just washed her gently. "Me next," Melody said as she stepped into the shower behind me. I heard the toilet flush and Lissa's voice. "Room for me, too?" It's a big shower, but with four of us, we were using our bodies to rub against each other and wash the sweat off. We just washed, gently and thoroughly, without getting too playful. As we dried off, Lissa said, "Stay the night with us, Kitten?" "Of course, my darlings. I don't want to let my lovers out of my sight. Is there room?" "We'd make room for you even if we were all piled up in a twin bed," I said. "We'd just stack up from biggest on the bottom to smallest on the top." "You'd get squashed," Kate giggled. We tumbled into bed with no one minding the smell of hot sex that permeated our sheets. ------- I woke up sandwiched between Melody and Kate. I was lying on my back and Melody on my left had one leg thrown over me and pillowed her head on my shoulder. Her hair was scattered across my face and I blew it away from my nose. I couldn't use a hand because she was lying on that one. My right arm was wrapped around Kate and I held her breast in my hand. Snuggled up tight against her, Lissa's breasts pressed into the back of my hand. Lissa's hand, stretched across Kate, rested on my chest next to Melody. I was thinking our bed might be too small. I lay awake thinking about the remarkable women I shared my life with. Melody had given me her virginity as I gave mine to her. I'd never have another first, but every time felt like a first. I marveled at her energy and appetite. She could wear both Lissa and me out in an evening and still be ready for more. But she was almost impossible to get out of bed in the morning. It was not unusual for me to bring her coffee in bed and then come back ten minutes later to wake her again and remind her that she had coffee. She was small—our Little One. But she was super-organized and on top of a dozen projects for school and for our business. Lissa, our former model and my racquetball partner. Her body was simply perfect. But that she shared it with us made it even better. She had wit and charm and two little boys that I loved as my own sons. She was a sexy and erotic dream, feigning superior knowledge about sex in order to pull Melody and me into new experiences. Had we seduced Lissa or had she seduced us? No matter how I answered the question, the result was the same. We were hopelessly in love with each other. And now there was Kate. I remembered clearly finishing the mural at school and turning to see her standing behind me with a look of adoration in her eyes. I remembered her words after we finished cleaning up the brushes. "Anytime you want." Now that time had actually come and she slept, curled up naked beside me. Had our ménage a trois become a ménage a quatre? She must have felt that I was awake. Perhaps my hand on her breast twitched. She slowly and lazily rolled toward me. She had sleepy eyes, but her smile was still brilliant when she looked at me. I stroked her back all the way down to her butt as she let her hand drift downward and casually grasped my morning erection. "I missed feeling this pressed against me this morning," she whispered. "I guess Melody has you pinned." "I'll move a little, sweetie," Melody whispered as she lifted her head. Kate kissed her softly and Melody pulled off of me, freeing my other hand. Kate moved farther onto me pressing herself against my chest and riding my thigh with her pussy. "Is it okay?" she asked Melody. "Of course it is, silly," Melody responded. "I'll just be here if you need anything." She reached up and petted Kate's hair. Kate moved fully over me and ground her pussy against my cock. I could feel her heat and was drenched in her fluids. She kissed me once—tasting, sampling my lips and tongue. She kissed me again—deeply, lovingly. The third kiss was passion incarnate. She hugged me and squirmed on me as if trying to bet the maximum amount of body-contact possible. Her breasts were pressed against my chest and even her toes tried to link with mine. When we broke the kiss, I gently stroked her cheek as we looked into each other's eyes. She pushed herself up and reached down to direct my cock toward her pussy. "Wait! No! Tony, don't!" Lissa exclaimed, coming suddenly awake and realizing what was happening. Kate's face fell and tears sprang to her eyes. She let go of my cock and a mournful wail issued from her lips. "Lissa... !" "I'm sorry, Kitten. I'm sorry," Lissa panted. "Of course you can make love to Tony. Don't be frightened sweetheart. I'm sorry I yelled." "Why?" Kate moaned. "Honey, you have to tell him. That's all. It's not fair otherwise." "Lissa," I said, "I know she's a virgin. She's in control. I'm not forcing her." "That's not it, Tony," Lissa said and looked at Kate. "I don't understand," she said. "Oh dear," Lissa said. "Kate, have you ever had anything up inside you?" "No. Your tongue last night," she giggled a little. "You never used anything when you masturbated?" Melody asked. "I never ... never felt ... I'd never had an orgasm until last night," Kate said. "I didn't know how wonderful it would be." "Oh my god." "Tony," Lissa said, "Kate is not only a virgin, she's a completely intact virgin. Sweetheart, if we didn't tell Tony that and he hurt you, he'd never forgive himself. And when you make love with him the first time, it will hurt." "It can't be that bad," Kate insisted. "I know enough about sex to know that we're made to fit together." "As long as everyone knows and you still want this, then I'm sorry I broke the mood. Forgive me, please?" Kate leaned over and kissed Lissa. It was obvious that no forgiveness was necessary. Kate was sliding back and forth rubbing against my cock again and there was no mistaking that between her fluids and the amount of precum I was leaking that we were both ready. Still... "Are you sure you want this, Kate?" I asked as she reached between us to grasp my cock again. "Aren't I supposed to say something like, 'Make a woman of me, Tony?'" she smiled. "No one could ever make you more of a woman than you are," I said. "I love you." Kate positioned me at her opening. I had my hands on her waist to support her with her delicious nipples directly in front of me. Lissa and Melody both reached to stroke her sides as she sat back on me. And screamed. I moved my hands up and caught her under her arms as she collapsed on top of me. "Kitten? Sweetie, are you okay?" Panting sobs against my chest were the only response. Melody jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom to get a towel and wet washcloth. I lay there with Kate fully stretched out on top of me, holding her in my arms and stroking her back. My stubborn cock hadn't got the message that it probably wasn't immediately needed and it was still hard and throbbing inside Kate. I willed myself to relax. "Thank you for warning me, darling," I said to Lissa as she gently kissed my cheek. "If that had happened and I hadn't known I'd have freaked out. She petted Kate's hair. Melody arrived with a warm wash cloth and towel and began to gently bathe the area where we were joined. That did nothing to relax my erection, but it did clean up the blood and served to rouse Kate. "I'm sorry," Kate moaned against me. "Oh, it hurt. I didn't think it would be so bad." We all three petted her as she lay on my chest. There were still hot tears splashing against my chest. We murmured comforting words. "Is it better now?" Lissa asked. "It doesn't hurt anymore," Kate said. "I just feel so stretched. There's such a lot of pressure yet. Is that what making love is like all the time?" "We haven't made love yet, darling," I whispered. "That was just the barrier. When you think you're ready, we can take it nice and slow and easy." "Oh! You're ... you're still in me!" "Yes, darling. That's why you feel a little stretched." "Oh, I didn't miss it! You didn't... ?" "No, Kitten. I'm waiting for you." "You're so wonderful! You're all so wonderful. I love you all. I love you!" Kate was wildly swinging her head to kiss Lissa and then Melody and then me and back around the horn again. I don't think she realized at first that her movements were causing us to move together and apart until her eyes suddenly snapped forward and she focused straight ahead, somewhere over the top of the bed. "We're ... this is ... I'm so..." Her eyes came down to me and suddenly I was her only focus. Her next thrust was deliberate. Her mouth opened and that beautiful smile lit up her face. "We're making love." "Yes, darling. We're making love," I whispered. And that is what we did. She pushed herself to look at me. She raised her hand and pointed two fingers at her eyes, then gestured with them back toward mine. I copied the movement and we both let our smiles spread as we moved in the age-old dance. Lissa got up and padded around to the other side of the bed and she and Melody clutched each other, kissing and touching as they watched us, and letting Kate and I have this moment together. "It's different than I thought it would be," Kate continued whispering dreamily. "I thought I had it all figured out last night. I thought it would be like it was with Lissa and with Melody. It's so different. All the books—I thought I was so smart. I think I'm an idiot for all the things I thought." No matter what she was saying in her little monologue, her breathing was becoming deeper and her color was flushing. I played with her breasts and rubbed her nipples which made her arch her back. That brought her hips down against my pelvis and I could feel where her clit rubbed against my pubic hair. That accelerated her heartbeat even more and her breathing began to come in short, shallow gasps. It was having an effect on me, too. I was trying to hold out as long as possible—letting her control the pace and ride to her orgasm. But damn! I was making love to Kate! Now that the initial drama had abated, that unbelievable realization settled down on me and I could feel myself expanding in her vagina. We'd teased each other about wanting Kate. We'd pretended. We'd courted her and been courted. We'd built our fantasies. But here she was, thrusting against my cock buried in her treasured womb. I could feel every ripple of her sheath around me as she moved. I could identify differences in how she felt compared to Melody or Lissa—a stronger ripple on the left side—the light touch of her cervix against my glans. I felt the sucking friction as she pulled away from me and the long slow caress as she fell back down on my shaft. "Kate," I rasped. "I can't hold back much longer. Darling, listen to me. I've wanted you ... I've dreamed about you since that night in April when I first kissed you. Not just the kiss in the contest, but when I put a flower on your dress for the party and kissed you the very first time. Kitten, you mean the world to the three of us; but what's more, you mean the world to me. I love you. And I can't ... wait ... any longer." I felt the jolt deep inside me and could trace the path of my cum by its heat signature as it raced through my system and out the tip of my cock buried in Kate. She pressed back against me, her back arched until she was almost upright. In front of me, my fingers pinched her hardened nipples and a high-pitched hum came from her mouth. Even as I felt the last spurts splashing against her inner walls, I could see her eyes roll back in her head as she inhaled a gasp so deep it sucked the air from the room. Next to me, I heard Melody and Lissa coming in harmony as Kate once again went slack and collapsed into my arms. ------- "That was so beautiful," Melody sobbed beside us. I rolled to the left letting Kate come to rest between Melody and me as we petted her and coaxed her back to consciousness. My cock was finally softening and only the tip was left inside as Kate came to and reflexively squeezed her kegels. That pushed me the rest of the way out. "Ah..." she sighed. "So empty now." "I came from listening to your words, Tony," Lissa said. "And Melody's finger on my clit. But what you said was so ... true. So real. It just surrounded me." "I love you, Lissa," Kate said groggily over her shoulder. "What Tony said is what I've felt for so long. I've wanted ... I've wanted so much. And I was so afraid that ... you wouldn't find room for me in your lives. In your family." She was talking to Lissa, I think. But she was kissing Melody, pecking at her lips between words. We were all hugging, squashed in the middle of the bed with the covers gone somewhere south when the bedroom door opened and Wendy walked in with a tray. "Coffee is served," she said. She brought the tray to the bedside table and set it down. She looked so cute in her frilly little apron—and nothing else. "Tony has black espresso, Lissa has coffee with cream, Melody has coffee with lots of cream and sugar, and Kate has a latte," she said as if we weren't all lying in post-coital bliss without a stitch of clothing on. "Uh ... Wendy? You're naked," I finally croaked out. "Yeah. Kate told me you'd probably all be naked, so I figured, 'tit for tit, ' or 'tat' as the case may be," she said looking directly at my semi-flaccid cock. Oh hell. No one else was scrambling in modesty. I sat up and pushed myself back against the pillows to take my cup of coffee from Wendy. There was a mad shuffle during which I was thankful Wendy had brought saucers with the cups. Melody ended up on my left with her legs draped over mine. Lissa pulled her legs up next to me over Melody's and leaned against our wife. Kate grinned and wiggled her way under my right arm, sitting on Melody's feet with her knees bent over the top of Lissa's hips. Wendy gave each girl her coffee. "Aren't you joining us, Wendy?" I asked. "Where's your coffee?" "I had mine about the time the first alarm went off," she giggled. "I knew there'd be more, so I waited until the chorus before I made yours. Here's the newspaper. Happy birthday, Tony and Kate." She turned to head out the door, her pert little ass shaking with every step. At the door she turned and caught us all staring at her backside. "Oh, and breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes. Will you be dressing for breakfast?" ------- We'd showered, cramming all four of us into the stall at once. No one minded the close quarters. We almost regretted telling Wendy that we'd dress for breakfast. Well, that was a matter of perspective anyway. I was handed a pair of black socks, my dress shoes, and a tie and told to put them on. Lissa wore a vest and high-heeled shoes that let her tower over the rest of us. "I know how much you like tall girls," she said to me. "I saw you looking at that Whitney last night." "I didn't," I protested. "I did," Melody chimed in. She was wearing a teddy that was completely transparent. In fact, it was one of my favorites and I felt things heating up. Then I caught sight of Kate. She, too, was wearing strappy, high-heeled sandals, a floppy sun-hat, and gloves. "Wendy will have a fit," I said. "I don't think so," Kate said. "She likes cos-play. It would surprise me if she hasn't outdone us." "Exactly how did she know when to come in this morning?" Lissa asked. "We had a little talk last night," Kate responded, "while I was getting her showered and rubbing her back. I told her what I was going to do so she could prepare herself for any strange noises. I wanted to make sure she understood it wasn't just a free-for-all piling into your bed. She could have gotten the wrong impression." "What's the right impression?" I asked. "That I love three of the most amazing people in the world," Kate said. "Let's go have breakfast." ------- Wendy did have us beat. She wore a tuxedo-printed t-shirt with a v-slash cut-away at the bottom that just exposed her pussy. We all got a good laugh and persuaded Wendy to drop the servant role and sit and have breakfast with us. And what a breakfast it was. There was this baked apple-cinnamon French toast that was unbelievable. Sausages. Bacon. Melon balls sprinkled with goat cheese. More coffee. Hot cinnamon rolls. And Mimosas. We were at the table eating, laughing, joking and staring at each other's naughty bits for an hour and a half. We might have stayed there even longer if it hadn't been for my phone ringing. Wendy grabbed it. "Tony, Melody, Lissa, Kate, and Wendy speaking," she said. "With which birthday boy would you like to speak?" We all cracked up laughing. There was only one person who would be calling me this morning and I was going to have some explaining to do. Wendy handed me the phone. "Hi, Mom," I said. I laughed and both Mom and Dad wished me a happy birthday and asked who I was entertaining. I promised to introduce them to everyone at Thanksgiving. I didn't exactly want to try to explain Kate over the phone and when I started to mention her she shook her head. We would have to talk about this before the holiday, for sure. We had the newspaper torn up and lying all over the living room when Kate turned to Wendy. "Miss Martin, were there any deliveries this morning besides the newspaper?" "Why yes, Miss Holsinger. With all the birthday festivities I forgot about them. Shall I bring them in now, ma'am?" Okay. I get it. When you've got lines rehearsed as well as these, something big is about to happen. "Kate? What are you up to?" Melody asked. "Remember, we still haven't given you your birthday spanking!" "Oh no! Please don't spank me Miss Anderson. I promise I'll be good. And I so want you to lick my pussy," Kate said in her best little girl voice. We all howled. "I think that we should change the rules," I said. "Yes," Lissa joined in. "Instead of a birthday spanking, you'll get a birthday licking." "Mmm! Do I have to pass out again?" "Only if we do a good job," I assured her. "Now what's going on?" Wendy had just returned with a large flat box. She left again and soon arrived with another and left again. A minute later she struggled in with another box and flopped down on the sofa, spreading her legs in a most unladylike way. Damn! I hadn't seen quite that view of Wendy before. It was worth the look. Lissa elbowed me. Kate stood in all her glory in front of the fireplace. It's not that Kate's perfect—not like Lissa is. Nobody else in the world could be that goddess-like. Maybe Kate's eyes are a little wide-set or her mouth is a little big. Her areola are slightly oval instead of perfectly round. But—oh my god!—she is perfect when you put it all together. She reached up on the mantel to where we keep the little bell. When she rang it, I could almost see her coming into the room in that purple dress she wore to the party just five months ago. It was the first time I saw her legs and I was almost speechless. Now I could see her legs, her tummy, her breasts, her pudendum. Only her hands and the top of her head were covered. "Melody, Tony, and Lissa," she began. "I thought you were all strange when I first met you. A model-turned-athlete. A bouncy girl from out East who could never sit still. A boy who never looked at me, but always seemed so sad. Then I saw Tony paint Lissa and Melody and I fell in love," she said. I was already feeling a prickling in my nose and eyes and could see that Melody and Lissa had tears nearly ready to escape. "I didn't know what love was until that day. I could see it in each of you from that point on and you reached out and included me. You made me feel wanted—loved. I love the three of you. The sun rises and sets in your eyes. I love being with you. But I discovered something else, and last night and this morning, I really figured out what it means," Kate said. She looked at Wendy with her eyebrows raised and Wendy rushed out of the room, returning a moment later with a glass of water and a hug. Kate took a big drink and then went on. "I love you, Melody. I love the way you get excited and bounce. I love your sense of humor. I love your smell and taste. You are so beautiful. You didn't send me away like I thought you would. You let me into your life and into your family. I love just holding hands with you at school. I love you so much!" Kate rushed to Melody and wrapped her arms around her. The two girls kissed with tears running down their cheeks. Lissa melted back into my arms, but we just watched. Eventually, Kate recovered herself and returned to her position in front of the fireplace. "I still want you to lick me," she giggled. Then she turned to Lissa. "Lissa ... my god, you're beyond beautiful. If I believed in religion, I'd worship you. I love you. You were so gentle with me. You showed me what strength was all about. You showed me that women are strong—even women who are unspeakably beautiful. And you turned your mirror on me. You made me beautiful. All I had to do was look into your eyes and I could see me as you saw me. And I was so lovely and loved and lovable. And you have the best tongue in the world!" We all laughed through our tears. "I love you, Lissa. I will always love you." Lissa was sitting in the middle of the sofa and barely got her arms open before Kate was in them, smothering her face with kisses. Melody and I smiled at each other over their shoulders. We both felt the same way. We loved Lissa. Finally, Kate separated herself from Lissa and looked at her longingly as she returned to the fireplace. "And you taught me how to kiss," she whispered. "Oh thank you!" I knew Lissa's kisses were something special. "Tony, I love you. I love you like the air I breathe. I don't know what I'd do without you. I can see through your eyes. I can see—and feel—the love you have for Lissa and Melody. I can see how much you loved that rich woman in Medina, and the Indian family, and my mother and sister. I can see how much you love Ally and Beth—and Wendy." I glanced over at Wendy and smiled at her. Kate continued. "I'm sorry, Melody, but I can even see how he loves Bree. Tony, you are the embodiment of love. There will always be women—and probably men—who just want to be near you because you love so completely. I would never have known love if it weren't for you. I love you, Tony." There were so many tears in my eyes that I couldn't see her when she threw herself in my arms. I didn't even try to find her lips, I just held her and kissed whatever flesh was closest. I felt her lips on my shoulder and my chest. I just wanted to hold this precious woman in my arms forever. "Happy birthday, darling," she said as she pecked me lightly on the lips. I dried my eyes as Kate moved back to the fireplace. I didn't have any clothes to dry them on, so I just swiped them with the back of my hand. The first thing I noticed was Wendy, sitting in my chair crying. "Thank you for being my friend, Wendy," Kate said as she bent toward the older girl and kissed her lightly and sweetly. That did nothing to stop Wendy's tears, or any of the rest of us. "I love you, too, and sometime I'll figure out how to show you." "I keep trying to figure out what to call you," Kate said, looking back at the three of us. "You've been my 'plus three, ' my 'intendeds, ' my 'loves' and now 'lovers.' But one thing has always stuck in the back of my mind, and that's what the boxes are all about. They're your birthday present. And yes, I know your birthday isn't until January, Melody, but you'll just have to suffer through having your present now because you all have to open them at the same time. Only I've forgotten whose is whose. So just take one of these and open it and shut me up before I make any more of a fool of myself." She handed me one of the flat boxes. Wendy brought one to Melody and Kate brought the last one to Lissa. We tore into the wrapping paper and through the corrugated boxes that it covered. I looked at what I held in awe. Melody and Lissa had the same awestruck expression on their faces I was sure was on mine. "Um ... some assembly required," Kate said. We brought our panels together. Mine was a portrait of Melody. Melody's was of Lissa. Lissa's was of me. The three wooden panels were irregularly shaped, following our body contours like we were a big jigsaw puzzle. We laid them out on the floor as they interconnected with each other—the positions I had described to Kate and she had painted of us on our bed. The edges were scalloped and enhanced the jigsaw aspect of the art. "They should be about two inches apart," Kate explained. "You are my triptych." "Kate, it's so beautiful," Lissa said. Melody was nodding her head vigorously. I looked at the pieces more closely. The triptych, interpreted in Kate's own unique way, was a three-panel painting. Each panel was complete in itself, but you got a different—or fuller—picture when you saw all three together. That's what was puzzling me. The whole was greater than the parts, but still seemed to be missing something. I traced the edge that cut across my side, Melody's feet, and Lissa's legs. I looked up at Kate and she was smiling at me, watching me as I examined her painting. "Kate?" I said. Her smile got bigger. I adopted my best "Doc Henredden" voice. "This is an interesting treatment for a triptych. Most are rectangular panels. The unusual contour of these pieces, however, suggests more to the story. For example..." Wendy, Lissa and Melody were looking at me in shock that I'd be criticizing Kate's painting, but Kate was grinning so broadly I thought her face would break. "For example..." I continued, "this unusual line across the edge of the grouping suggests something external to the painting itself. It doesn't follow the contour of shadows or body parts, yet it creates a kind of connection among the pieces. What did you have in mind here?" "I hope I'm not being too presumptuous," Kate said, "but that's where I fit." We all tumbled back onto the sofa and Kate snuggled in with us. Suddenly, Wendy was back in front of us with glasses of bubbly that I suspected were the remains of the champagne and not the sparkling cider. We raised our glasses and I looked at Kate. "Welcome home, Kitten." ------- Intermission Note: I took a two month intermission while I worked on Part II of Triptych. This intermission chapter was intended to give readers something to think about regarding what was in store for Tony and company when I resumed the first of October. Of course, while writing, not everything turned out the way I predicted in the intermission sketches, so I've decided it has served its purpose and am taking it down. On the other hand, I think Part I came to a dramatic and appropriate conclusion in Chapter Fifteen. As such, this is a good place for you, dear reader, to take a little break if you'd like to read something new instead of forging ahead with another twenty-some chapters of this tome. You know. Go get a bowl of popcorn and a glass of Tony's favorite cocktail: Ginger Ale and Cranberry juice. Take a deep breath and savor what has gone before, then plow ahead. I love feedback, by the way—both positive and negative—and I respond to all emails, so if there is something you like or dislike or that you'd like to see in the future, please let me know! The stories of the Model Student Series are being published by Elder Road Books, broken down a little for easy access on Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. If you like the story and would like to help a struggling author pay this month's coffee bill, please search for Devon Layne on either Amazon or BandN and download one of the 99cent volumes. It's greatly appreciated! The eBooks of the Model Student series are: Mural covering approximately chapters 1-5 of Model Student Rhapsody Suite covering chapters 6-11 of Model Student Diva including the remainder of Model Student and first chapter of Triptych Triptych covers chapters 2-15 of Triptych. Coming in December Memorial covers Triptych Part II, chapters 16 and following. Coming in March. Thank you for your patience. –Devon Layne ------- Now back to our regularly scheduled program! Enjoy Part II of Triptych! ------- Chapter 16 "We're going to what? Seriously?" We'd shocked Allison. For a minute I thought she was going to cry. One thing I'd discovered during National Singles last spring was that Allison is very sexual. Even when we were in enforced abstinence, she wasn't above relieving herself. Neither was I, for that matter. We'd just told her that orgasms were forbidden as long as any one of us was still competing. "But my competition is a round robin. It won't end till Sunday!" "Well, that's good, Allie," I said. "If we make it to finals in doubles or Lissa in Open, those are on Sunday, too. We'll have a hell of a celebration afterward!" "But ... I wanted to ... to be ... with you. All of you." That revelation was expected, but to hear her say it made all three of us catch our breath. Allie was ready to be with all of us. "Oh, you will be, doll," Melody said. "We've organized our own round robin. The prohibition is against orgasm, not against teasing." "Uh-oh," Allie said as her eyes got big. "Yup," Lissa said. "We're about to hold the draw. You got here just in time." Melody and Lissa had been in Minneapolis since Sunday afternoon. I got in about two this afternoon. We'd been waiting for Allie's flight, but it was delayed and didn't get in until eight. "Three nights, three partners," I said. "Teasing, but no coming." She groaned. "And just to make it interesting," Lissa continued, "when your name is drawn, the other players will undress you." We'd already all brushed our teeth and were about to get ready for bed, none of us anticipating wearing anything. Allie had the first match in the Women's 24 and under category at eight o'clock in the morning. Lissa and I would be playing in the first round of mixed doubles later in the morning. As defending champion, she was given an automatic bye in the first round of Women's Open. "Now for the draw," Melody announced. She had a water glass with a folded slip of paper for each of us. She drew a name. "In bed A ... Lissa!" "Woohoo!" I yelled. I was first to give Lissa a big kiss as I pulled her shirt up and over her head. Melody attacked next and while she was kissing Lissa, managed to pull our lover's shorts and panties down in one practiced move. Allison approached Lissa shyly. We'd only had cheek kisses since she got to our hotel room this evening. When she pressed her lips to Lissa's, though, it was obvious that some kind of switch had been thrown in her head. She wrapped her arms around Lissa, kissing her intensely. And when she pulled away, Lissa's bra fell and Allison's fingers lightly brushed the exposed tips of her nipples. ------- It had been an intense two weeks getting to Opens. We'd had that incredible birthday party on Saturday night. Well, the truly incredible part started at midnight when Kate joined us in the big bed. We'd spent Sunday drifting in and out of the bedroom, getting food, presents, and drifting back to bed. It was such a dream. Kate was ... just Kate. We all loved her and she loved each of us. Every time I thought of her, my eyes started to water. It was just so overwhelming. But Monday morning, three of the four of us had to go to school. I had to go first since I had that god-awful seven-thirty a.m. Human Anatomy course. Not that anatomy is awful for me. I'm pretty good at it. But really, who gets up at that hour? When I woke up to the screeching alarm on my cell phone, it was all I could do to drag myself out of bed. My three unbelievable lovers rolled together and held each other as if I'd never been in the bed at all. My sweet, frisky playmate, Melody. My toned and muscular partner, Lissa. My ... my? Oh my! Sweet Kate. I don't know what you are yet, but you are so important to me! I took a shower and pulled on clothes. I figured my best bet at seeing my lovers awake before I left for school was to make coffee. I took a last look from the bedroom doorway and then headed to the kitchen. Wendy handed me a cup of coffee when I walked into the kitchen. "Wow!" I said. "I wasn't expecting this. Thank you." "I thought I'd try to extend your birthday a little." "You're sweet, Wendy. I need to make coffee for the other women in my life, okay?" "Can I help? I've got the knack of this new machine down pretty well." In fact, she was making better coffee with the fancy espresso maker than I was. "Wendy, you know how much I appreciate all your help?" "You do?" "I do. But you aren't a servant here. Why don't you make your cup and then I'll make coffee for the girls." "I couldn't, Tony. Not before they have theirs." "They are still asleep and will wait until I bring their coffee before they wake up. I've got twenty minutes before I have to leave. That's plenty of time for you to have a cup of coffee with me." She smiled and shook her tiger-striped locks as she made coffee. We sat companionably for a minute, just sipping our drinks. As much as I wanted to get back to my lovers, I sensed it was important to take a little time with Wendy. She was still awfully vulnerable. "Was it good?" she whispered. "You make much better coffee than I do," I answered. "I meant ... you know ... with Kate?" "Oh! Um ... yes," I said. "I really don't know what to say, Wendy. We don't talk a lot about what goes on..." "It was dreamy. Every time I heard one of you scream out your ecstasy, I came. I couldn't take my hands out of my panties the entire last thirty hours. So beautiful." "I'm sorry if we disturbed you. We should have been more considerate." "It's your house. And it was beautiful. She's beautiful." Now I was beginning to get it. I think Wendy had a crush on Kate. Well, who could blame her? "Maybe we should make their coffee and go wake them up before I have to leave for school," I said. She grinned at me and started turning out three more cups of perfect espresso, just the way the girls each liked theirs. ------- School was good. Hell, that was new! Bree plopped down next to me in Human Anatomy, glanced over at me and got an incredibly smug look on her face. She actually snorted. "What?" "You, birthday boy." "What about me?" She shook her head, looked at me and just grinned again. "Shh," she said. "Doctor Delfin is here." That's all that took. As soon as Delfin entered the room we were off at a pace of about a hundred miles an hour and I was scribbling down notes as fast as I could. I mean, I'm pretty damn good at human anatomy, but he was hitting it at a whole new level. This was not going to be the breeze I thought it would. An hour and forty-five minutes into the lecture—just five minutes before the end of class—he stopped abruptly. "Now! If you thoroughly understand everything that I've said in the past two hours, know and understand it all, you may stay after class and take the final exam. I've just given you the quarter in two hours. If you don't think you'd do well on the final today, then I'll expect you ready to go to work tomorrow morning. We'll take things at a slower pace, but it will still require your attention on a regular basis. If you can't live with that, pick up a pink slip at the front of the class and go withdraw. The class is over-booked. Dismissed." With that, he closed his notes and walked out of the room. We pretty much all sat there stunned. When people started to leave the classroom, I saw several go up to the desk and pick up pink withdrawal slips. "Well, that was exciting," I said. "I'm depending on you to get me through it," Bree said. "Come on. I'll introduce you to Coach Fredericks. He's your Sports Conditioning instructor." "Don't you have a class to get to?" "No. My next class is eleven-thirty. I won't be able to walk you to your Lit class. Think you can find it?" "That's one thing Rick and June made sure they did with our cohort. They walked us to each professor's class that we had on our schedules. I can find it." Bree introduced me to Coach Fredericks, a guy who was scarcely older than we are. I guess 'coach' is a term like professor. You use it for any instructor until you find out different. He wasn't a coach of a team, but was one of the guys I'd seen around the physical therapy room. He had sandy hair and as soon as Bree had finished introductions he led me into the gym. "So Tony, I understand you've been doing conditioning at the racquet club. We'll be taking over that part of your routine except for the Saturday Pilates that you'll continue to do there. So we're not really adding anything to your schedule here. I've gone over the notes on your condition with John Gilbert and Coach Jacobson. Twice a week, I want you to work weights, but we're taking the approach of long and lean instead of bulky. So there will be a lot of reps with lighter weights and every muscle will work with its opposite. In essence, if you work on pulling, you'll work on pushing. Everything in balance." He had a clipboard with my expected routine mapped out on a thick pad, one page per day. We headed toward a row of aerobic machines, but he didn't have me get on any of them. "Weights on Tuesday and aerobic machines on Wednesday. Mostly your workouts on the court are going to take care of aerobics. But that brings us to Monday and Thursday." He paused and grinned at me. "Once we get set up, you'll do your Tuesday and Wednesday routines alone. Just fill out your record on the workout sheets I've prepared for you. But Monday and Thursday, you are mine." "Sure, Coach. What are we going to do?" I bit. "Agility training. Also known as Parkour or just PK. I'm going to teach you how to move through obstacles, walk up walls, vault through tight spaces, and roll under your opponents. And you will maintain perfect balance throughout. When you've got the basics, we'll drop the Wednesday aerobics and do PK three times a week. It wouldn't surprise me if, when you find out how exhilarating it is, you start doing your own on the weekends or join a club. I've talked this over with Coach Jacobson and we've agreed that the best thing we can do for your racquetball game is to improve your speed and agility. What do you think?" "I think speed and agility are good things. But my racquetball technique takes me into a zone where everything comes automatically," I said. "Which is exactly why we chose this discipline. It will add to your arsenal so your body will have more ways to react. After we get started, I'll have you carry your racquet and periodically, I'll throw a ball at you to hit toward a target. We're really going to have fun. You game?" "I'm game," I agreed. "Just try not to injure me before Opens in two weeks." "Not to worry. Just the basics for now. Let's go." He led me to a room with a variety of obstacles. There were weighted pillars about two feet tall and eight inches across, a balance beam, a ramp, trampoline, stairs, a kids play tunnel about six feet long, and a hula hoop hanging in the middle of the room. It looked pretty bizarre. We walked the course first and he showed me what he wanted at each obstacle. He showed me the pattern he wanted and then said, "Okay, let's see what you can do. Ready, set, go!" He clicked a stopwatch. It took a long time. I was running—when I could—following the serpentine pattern marked out on the floor. The stairs led to a short jump to a pillar that I made without a problem. But I was on the wrong foot to make the jump to the next pillar and ended up falling off and having to climb back on. I crawled through the tunnel and figured out how to pull myself up on the balance beam. Walking it was another challenge. I hit the mat at the end of the beam before I figured out how to do a forward roll sort of thing through the hula hoop. I bounced once on the trampoline and almost missed the top of the steps, but managed to hold on. Finally, I ran down the steps and serpentine to the finish line. I was dizzy and breathing hard. It took nearly four minutes. Coach handed me the clipboard and stopwatch. "That was good," he said. "You analyzed every obstacle and put a good strategy in place for meeting it. But that strategy isn't good for anything if I move the obstacles around. It's pattern memory. Your body has to be thinking three to ten steps ahead of the move you are executing. Say ready, set, go and click the stop watch." I did as instructed then watched in awe as he flew over the course. I mean flew. I swear his feet never touched the floor. He took all four steps in a single move, launched to the first pillar and then bounced up to the balance beam. He didn't walk the beam; he did a forward roll and launched himself off the end of the beam through the hoop. He hit the trampoline, planted just the toes of his right foot on the top step and made a single leap to the finish line. Forty-five seconds. "Wow! That was so cool!" "The obstacles will never be placed in the same position twice," Coach explained. "You'll always have to make the decision on the move. Just like you do in racquetball." This was going to be fun! ------- The best part of Critical Reading was that it's only an hour long—fifty minutes, actually. But the first class was followed immediately by Critical Reading Lab for another fifty minutes twice a week. Professor Strait warned us that we were going to have to read a lot this quarter, and once I looked at the full syllabus, I was almost overwhelmed. The lab focuses on reading skills so we can improve our reading speed and pick out salient details on the fly. It's obvious that I'm going to need that lab. Of course, the fact that Rio sat next to me in both classes certainly lightened the burden a little. I think she's a faster reader than I am already, so we'll be doing a lot of discussing the works we're reading. She wanted to sit and talk after class, but I had to get to the club for my two o'clock court time with Lissa. What a disaster! It seems like neither of us could even hit the ball. I kept trying to apply things I learned in my sports conditioning session, but nearly killed myself. Lissa was a little frustrated, too. Now that Melody and I are both in school, all the business management is on her shoulders and she was on the phone all morning with the management of the Opens. Since it's a sponsored event and Gearbox is the official clothing sponsor, having our clothing there is creating problems. They've agreed that there is a section of the lobby where unofficial vendors can exhibit, but they're trying to make it really expensive. Geez! Regardless, we were both so frustrated with our game that by four o'clock, when we went home, we were hardly speaking to each other. ------- "Tony, we have to talk," Lissa said as I sat in the recliner with my nose in a book. I looked up. "Not for long," she continued. "I know you've got homework." I closed my book. "I'm sorry," I said, holding out my arms to her. "It was a frustrating practice after a crazy day and I didn't mean to take it out on you on the court." She curled up in my lap and gave me a long, gentle kiss. "I know, love," she said. "I wanted to say the same thing to you. Don't let practice get you down, darling. We're going to be okay. We work hard and it's normal to have an off day now and then." "I don't want to let you down, Liss. I feel terrible that I was trying new things when I didn't even know what I was doing." "That's what practice is for." She kissed me again. "But maybe not two weeks before opens. Let's just focus on the game we know and take it to the next level for competition. I think your training is going to do wonders for your game, but you can't expect it to change overnight. Or over lunch, as the case may be." "I'm struggling already, Lissa," I confessed. I buried my face in her neck and felt her hand on the back of my head pulling me to her. "First day of class and I have so much reading to do I won't be done before midnight. Thank heavens Professor Strait gave me the first two papers to work when we met last month or I'd be out of there by now." "Are Rio and Bree going to help?" "I think so. They were both really focused and seem like they just want to study. That's a relief from Bree. I'm glad Rio is focused on studying, too. Like I have friends." "You have friends and you have lovers. I won't delay you any longer. I'd like you to get your reading done and come to bed since I'll be alone there until you join me." "What? When's Melody coming home? And Kate?" "I got a very mysterious call. Melody just said something had come up at school and she was working late and would crash in Kate's room tonight. With Kate." "Those wanton little hellcats! I'll bet Kate's roommate is mysteriously missing tonight." "I think she's going for one-on-one time with us now that she's had us all," Lissa laughed. "Well, I could use a little one-on-one time, myself. Can you keep your hands to yourself if we take a hot tub together? I really need to read, but I'd love to be with you," I said. "I'll run the water in half an hour. You read until I call you and then I promise not to disturb you while you read in the tub. But afterward..." "Darling, afterward, I'm yours." ------- I'd like to say that afterwards the week got better, but that would be a little fib. Tuesday was more of the same, plus Doc Henredden's class. I got a delicious kiss from Kate after class and we had a light dinner together, but I had to rush to the club for team practice at six-thirty. We officially had five team members, plus Lissa as coach and Bree as team manager. Only two of the other players had ever held a racquetball racquet. The good part, though, was that two of the other four players were women. Tall women. There was Tonya, who would be a part-time player when basketball season started. That would suck for the early spring, but she should be able to compete in the big end-of-season tournaments. The other woman was Whitney, my Louisiana Bayou friend. She'd decided that since we didn't have any classes together, she'd try racquetball. It turned out she was pretty good, too. We got Bree to work out with us as well, even though she insists she isn't going to compete. She's taking the management responsibilities pretty seriously. I worked with the two guys, both of whom had played some before. So after a quick review of the basics, I had them play a match together so I could see how good they were. Brent and Franklin were well-matched. They're both juniors and six feet tall—couple of inches on me. But Brent is a blond guy and a typical preppy, and Franklin is a black guy from the hood. It was actually funny to listen to them talk to each other. It's like they're from different countries and don't speak the same language. But I saw something else that I really liked. They learned from each other. When one tried something, the other tried it, too. They coordinated. Lissa worked with Whitney, Bree, and Tonya, all of whom needed instruction from the ground up. Bree knew most about the game because she'd been studying it for a few months. Tonya decided to join the team before school was out in the spring, so she'd read up on the rules, but hadn't had an opportunity to play yet. Whitney had basically never heard of racquetball before SCU. Bree had some others who had expressed an interest, but hadn't managed to sign them up yet. She was being most effective among the juniors. Lissa started them with lob serves. Five each. She'd point out places on the wall that they were to aim for and only got hit herself once or twice. From my vantage point outside the box, I was able to observe her and my pair at the same time. She's really good. The last half hour, Lissa and I had the team watch what it meant to be at an Open level or elite player. We did much better than the previous day. Not only did it give the rest of the team an idea of what they could shoot for, but it made us feel better about working together. And Wednesday, John had lined up a men's doubles team for us to practice with. It was good to get our confidence back. ------- What's the old joke about the engineer who died in the shower because he followed the instructions on the shampoo bottle? Lather, rinse, repeat. That's the way my week went. Class, class, class, practice, homework. The first break in the monotony of my schedule was Friday at nine-thirty when I met with Clarice. She wasn't happy. I hadn't done any work on the Singhs' portrait since my sketch last Saturday. I promised that I'd have studio time on Saturday afternoon, but that this was reality now that I was back in classes. I was only going to get to paint in my studio about once or, at best, twice a week. I was really surprised, though, when she faced me with another issue. "You aren't taking advantage of Wendy, are you?" "Clarice! Why would you even think that? Wendy's my friend." "She's staying at your house. She served everyone at your party. She was cleaning the kitchen and mopping the floors when I left Saturday night. She looked like a servant." "How much do you know about Wendy?" I asked point-blank. "Enough to tell that she's been abused in the past and has lost every shred of her confidence. She is not the same girl that was working here a year and a half ago." "I don't think she's the same girl that was working here last spring," I said. "She's gone through shit. She's still very closed and private about what happened, but I gather that her ex-boyfriend not only beat her, he robbed her. We're very careful not to give her orders and we're trying to provide a safe environment for her to recover in." "That's a relief to hear, Tony. I'm not close to Wendy, but I see her every day and I can tell she's hurting. Please let me know if there is anything I can do." "I'll do that, Clarice. I'm glad you are concerned. She says she has a new place to live at the end of the month, just after classes at the U start next week. She's looking forward to it." "Good. Now go get some painting done." "Can't. I've got class. See you next week." ------- I dropped into the ice bath at SCU and groaned. As good for me as it was supposed to be, this was not relaxing. And why did my muscles hurt so much anyway? Oh. Yeah. I was working out two hours a day at the club and another hour a day in Sports Conditioning. Man, I hope I won't be this sore when Opens start. I squeezed my eyes shut as the ice started to leach away the aches. It seemed like I was only in there a minute before I was being shaken. "Hey, don't fall asleep in the tub!" Bree said. "I'm not big enough to haul your ass out. Climb out now and dip into the still bath for ten minutes." "Bree? What are you doing... ? Oh, yeah." I kept forgetting that the sports therapy room was co-ed. It had doors connecting from both the men's and women's locker rooms. That's why we wore shorts. "Do you get to boss me around?" "What do you think a manager does?" she laughed. "Ten minutes in the still tub, then dry off, put on a dry pair of shorts or jockeys and go into massage room two." She turned on her heel and went into the women's locker room. Her tight buns really filled out her warm-ups nicely. Well, I couldn't help but notice. The water in the still bath isn't as hot as the spa, but it felt like boiling to my ice-conditioned body. Still, there was something about feeling life return to your limbs after they've been frozen stiff. The ten minutes was over too soon and I headed into the locker room to get dry shorts on. When I got to the massage room, the table looked so comfortable that I just stretched out on it and buried my face in the cradle at the end. Someplace along the line I heard the door open and shut and felt hands start on my neck and softly stroke down to my waist. It was gentle at first, but by the third stroke, I could feel the pressure building as my muscles gave way beneath strong fingers. I groaned. After the long strokes, she started on my neck. She? Yeah, I could tell. Either a girl or a really small guy. Her hands were strong, but small. "Now, repeat after me." "Bree? Why are you doing a massage?" "It's part of my training. Repeat. Trapezius." She worked the big muscle across my shoulders and I muttered the word. It did feel good and she was digging her fingers in just right. "Rhomboid major," she said as she moved down and under my shoulder blade. "Rhomboid major," I repeated. "Deltoid." Her hands moved outward across the top of my shoulder joint as I repeated the word. She moved down the back side of my shoulder. "Ow! What the hell was that?" I screamed when she pushed her thumbs in at the base of my shoulder. "Oh! Um ... Teres major, I think," she said. "Sorry. I didn't know it would be so sore." She didn't let up, though and in a few seconds the pain eased and I could feel the muscle loosening. "What's with repeating the names of the muscles?" I asked. "I thought as long as I was working on them, we might as well memorize them for anatomy. I'm looking at the chart while I give you a rub-down." She kept up the process for half an hour, thoroughly covering my back and arms. She was really pretty good and I was feeling less sore than I had when we started. I had a feeling that we were both learning the muscles pretty well, too. When she reached my waist she stopped and gave me a smack on the butt. "That's it for today," she said. "So far my classes have only covered back and arms. Next week, legs. Go shower and get out of here. I know you've got plans tonight." I turned my head as she opened the door. She was still dressed in her warm-ups, but instead of a sweatshirt she had a tank-top on and she was sweating. "Uh, Bree? Thanks," I said. "See you Monday, Tony." ------- Family dinner. Friday night used to be date night. But there was something much more calm and enjoyable about family dinner. Well, scratch the calm part. There were five adults and two kids at the dining room table. Lissa and Wendy had put together a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and pasta. We couldn't help but laugh when Drew splattered his face with sauce as he slurped a noodle into his mouth. I sat between Damon and Kate. Wendy and Melody were between the boys. Lissa had Kate on one side and Drew on the other. For a moment I considered starting a game of Musical Meals, but it looked like Lissa could read my mind and gave me a stern look. Then we both giggled. We talked about school and what was going on. Wendy was working the late shift tonight instead of the early dinner crowd so she had a few minutes to enjoy the time with us. She hadn't put on much weight yet and still looked painfully thin, but she was definitely more relaxed and didn't jump to run to the kitchen when Damon asked for more milk. I got the honors for that one. When I sat back down, I felt Kate gently pat my thigh. When I looked, I saw that neither of her hands were above the table and by the look on Lissa's face I was guessing she was getting the same treatment. It was good. I had a ton of reading to do and needed to put the finishing touches on my first paper for Critical Reading. The dishes had to be done and the food put away. The boys had to be scrubbed, storied, and put to bed. Wendy rushed out of the house to go to work. And then it was the four of us. Melody came over and sat in my lap in the recliner and just cuddled in. Kate and Lissa cuddled on the sofa. I kissed Mel long and sweetly, just relishing the taste of her lips. We made out for a few minutes and saw that Kate and Lissa were doing the same thing. "No homework tonight, okay guys?" Lissa pled. "It's date night," Melody said. "Can't do homework on date night." "I can sacrifice one night of painting," Kate said. "For date night." They all three looked at me. "No one's ever accused me of being too dedicated to my schoolwork," I said. "I might have to do reading in the morning before Pilates, though." Melody pecked me on the lips and got off my lap. I thought we were getting up, but Lissa pushed me back into my chair and crawled into my lap. Now Melody and Kate were on the sofa holding hands and kissing. I smiled as Lissa's lips met mine. "I've had entirely too much court time with you and not enough courting time," she said into my mouth. "I agree. I love you, Lissa." Nobody was keeping track of time. There was a lot of kissing and fondling going on, but every once in a while someone would crack a joke or mention something that we needed to do this weekend, or tell a story from class. Eventually, Lissa and Melody were stretched out next to each other on the sofa. Melody had managed to get Lissa's shirt off and was busy sucking on a nipple. Kate was in my arms in the recliner and she was exploring my mouth with her tongue. "We haven't even gotten you moved in this week," I whispered to Kate. "I could bring the car over and help tomorrow afternoon, if you'd like." "What?" she asked. "Help you move your stuff from the dorm over here with us, Kitten," I explained. "Why?" "I assumed you'd want to be here with us," I said. What's going on? "Assume makes an ass out of u and me," she intoned. "Hey guys," she called, interrupting Lissa's exploration into Melody's panties. "What's up?" Lissa asked. "Um ... we never talked about this and I know I've been presumptuous about being with you and all," Kate began. "Are you kidding?" Melody laughed. "You know we want you with us." "Yeah, but ... well ... I'm not planning to move in, you know?" We were all shocked into silence. I wasn't the only one that had made assumptions. Kate forged on. "I'm ... uh ... not ready for that. I mean, I like my life at school. I love being here with you, too, but I don't want to cut off everything that's going on in my life. I want to keep dating and making love and coming to spend the night ... or kidnapping one of you to spend the night with me..." She looked meaningfully at Melody. They'd spent Monday night together at the dorm. "But I don't want to ... like ... get married right now. Is that okay?" I didn't know what to say. Of course it was okay if that's what she wanted. I'd been thinking about how we needed a bigger closet if we were going to add another person, or that maybe we'd need to convert the downstairs into our dressing rooms. But none of us had actually talked to Kate about moving in. I did the only thing I could think of to do. I kissed her. It was several minutes before anyone spoke again, but in that time Melody and Lissa had managed to get into the recliner with us and were kissing and petting, too. "We love you, Kitten," I said. "Never any pressure," Lissa said. "Just love," Melody joined. "I love you," Kate whispered. And we knew she meant all of us. ------- Chapter 17 I woke up with my cock nestled between a couple very friendly butt-cheeks that were squeezing on it rhythmically. Lissa loves morning sex. I nudged forward a little to let her know I was with her and awake. Her head turned toward me and I opened my eyes a slit to look into the violet depths of Melody's very wide awake eyes. I was about to say something when she pressed her finger against my lips and turned back. I followed her gaze to the loveliest thing I think I'd ever seen. Lissa and Kate were wrapped together with legs and arms so entwined it wasn't easy to tell which was which. Kate's almost black hair was interwoven with Lissa's blonde. Their cheeks were pressed together and they slept peacefully. Melody turned back to me and whispered, "Shower." I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom, with Melody right behind me. Once we were in the shower, our care in washing each other was loving and gentle and punctuated by a few delightful stabs that left me coming deep inside Melody. God, what a great way to wake up in the morning! We wrapped ourselves in fluffy robes and padded to the kitchen with one more look at our sleeping lovers. "I think Lissa and Kate need some alone-time together," Melody said. "Kate loves being with all three of us, but really wants face time with each of us, too. You just wouldn't have believed Monday night," she sighed. "We didn't fall asleep until two. And we weren't fucking the whole time. When Kate looks at me, it's like when you look at me. I think she's memorizing everything about me. I swear, I think she counted the freckles on my shoulders." "So, not fucking, huh?" I asked. "I said not the whole time," Melody giggled. "Why don't you bring the boys over to the studio this afternoon?" I suggested. "I'm going to go over to do some work on the Singhs' painting, but I'm not going to be so deep that I can't have company. Maybe we'll even go out to dinner and leave Kate and Lissa alone until bedtime." "Don't you have to work at SCU for Tent City after Pilates this morning?" "Yeah. I promised I'd be there for a couple hours, but I plan to go to the studio after lunch, about one o'clock." "Sounds like a deal. The boys love to go to the studio. It was so nice of you to fix easels for them." "Well, at least there it's easy to clean up. We might need to put in a shower, though!" We laughed as we got our coffee ready and sipped it. Pretty soon, the urchins in question came padding down the hall with books in hand and popped into the kitchen. "Story, Tony?" "You betcha, buddies. Let's go to the big chair," I said. "I think I'll go crawl into bed next to our sweethearts for a little while. I just want to soak up some of that hot juju," Melody said. I settled into the chair and the boys crawled into my lap as I opened the first book. Before I started reading, though, Wendy padded out in a baggy t-shirt. "Me, too?" she asked. "Come on, Tiger," I said, patting the arm of the chair. Drew scooted enough so Wendy could get comfortable and leaned back against her. She put one arm around him and the other around me, hugging me tightly. Her tousled hair was striped, but at this hour it certainly didn't look sleek like the tiger she claimed to be. She'd come such a long way, though, and was getting more confident daily. When I read to the boys, she loved to cuddle up with us. ------- After my Pilates class, I headed over to SCU and got there just in time to help unload a flatbed truck full of wooden pallets. We were headed into the rainy season, and there was an effort to raise the tents on platforms so they weren't sitting directly on the ground. The pallets were donated by the local Longshoremen. Then we set about staking out the city according to the specifications the residents had given us. We were volunteers and SCU was the host, but Tent City is self-governing and they're in charge of exactly what the place is supposed to look like, where everything is set up, and who stands security patrol. Once we helped with moving things in next Saturday, we were officially no longer a part of the process. The one exception was the agreement that SCU students would provide an on-site liaison twenty-four hours a day. We were shown where the student tent would be—outside Tent City against the wall of the athletic pavilion—and our responsibilities would be limited to calling for help in an emergency and making sure the doors of the facility were unlocked during the hours designated for showers. If there was a severe storm or temperatures fell below thirty-two degrees, it would be our responsibility to unlock the building so those who wanted to could sleep inside. We met with the representatives of Tent City so that we were all introduced. It put a sobering light of reality on what we were doing. These folks are fiercely independent and don't consider themselves to be taking charity by living in temporary housing. In a way, they reminded me of Kate's commune in Oregon. They were an independent community existing within a larger construct. I had a new respect for them when the lunch meeting was over. ------- Melody arrived at the studio with the boys right at one o'clock. They were excited to have an afternoon working with Tony and Meddy. Melody's loom was set up on one side of the studio now and she was doing an intricate, loosely-woven hanging. "I'm still not sure this is going to work," she said as she sat down at the loom. "I think I'm actually going to have to stretch it on a frame when it's done in order to display it." "I think it's beautiful," I said. "You are a constant reminder to me to get out of my shell and not be so focused on one kind of art that I look down on or ignore any other." "Is that a danger?" she laughed. "Really? Yeah." I was serious. "I see it all the time, and sometimes I see it in me. Think about the Rhapsody Suite. Everything was focused on my painting and Kate's charcoal. But you and Sandra and Amy rounded it out in such a way that it included all kinds of art. None of your contributions are inferior to Kate's or mine. But because everyone focused on mine and I got the offer, it seemed to discount what everyone else did. And that doesn't even take into consideration the fact that we know musicians, sculptors, potters, jewelry makers, dress designers, actors, set designers ... Is there any way to truly have a comprehensive view of the arts?" "At least you recognize that there are other arts and you are open to them, unlike some people I know." Melody's dad had refused to recognize her work in textiles as an art. He called it a craft and insisted that she come to PCAD to get a "real" art education. That had worked out well for us and not so well for him, but he was still reluctant to recognize Melody's incredible talent. "Have you talked to your dad lately?" I asked. "Yeah. We talk every couple of weeks for a few minutes. It's always about mundane things, though. How's the weather? Am I studying hard? Who's his latest client? He seems so distant. It never used to be like that," she said. "Feel free to remind me not to act like that when I reach my mid-life crisis," I said. "We're going to reach that point one day," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not predicting that you are going to walk out on us and turn into my father. But we're going to get that old together, aren't we? We're going to be together for the next thirty years." "And then some, I hope, my love," I said. I leaned over her at the loom and kissed her. It's funny. I could talk to Melody with the boys happily painting alongside me while I sketched in the picture of the Singhs on the three foot by five foot canvas that I'd stretched. My zone was expanding. ------- "Look Tony! See what I made?" Drew was covered from head to toe in finger paints. There was almost as much on his paper. "Wow! Look at all that color," I said as I started mopping him up with a wet cloth. "Tell me about it." I'd learned a few things about dealing with kids from Lissa. We never asked, "What is it?" You had to get Drew to tell you about his paintings. He was five years old now and figured we should know what he was drawing or painting. Really, Damon was the same. In second grade, he was very self-conscious about criticism of any kind. We tried to be as positive and supportive of the boys' creativity as we could. Equally as important, we tried to ask their opinion of what we were working on. Damon often had a comment that would start with a wrinkled up nose and then progress to something like, "It's got too much red." Surprisingly, he was often correct. We'd all gone through our reviews of each other's work when the buzzer on our door sounded. I figured we must have a door-to-door solicitor showing up at this hour on a Saturday afternoon. I opened the side door and saw a huge delivery truck backed up to our garage door. "We've got a delivery for Ice Queen Sportswear at this address," the drive said doubtfully. "Is this right?" "Wow! Yes, this is Ice Queen. Let me open the door." I raised the garage door and the guy opened the back of the truck. Of course, we didn't have a forklift, so moving the pallet was out of the question, but he gamely tossed me the boxes that only weighed about thirty pounds each. Twelve boxes. Melody signed for the delivery after checking the bill of lading against the delivery and verifying that we had everything. I'd have never thought to do that. In twenty minutes he was gone and we were opening the first box of sportswear under our own new label. "We need to call Lissa," I said. "Um ... huh-uh," Melody responded. "It's exciting and we want to share it, but it's going to be just as exciting at eight o'clock as at four o'clock, and I really don't want to interrupt anything. Just let me find one that's my size and I'll put it on. Then when we get home we'll see how long it takes her and Kate to notice. I'm guessing they'll have their eyes glued so tightly on each other that it will take an hour before they see what I'm wearing! Except they're so wrinkled. Ooo." We found the box of green outfits and Melody unceremoniously stripped and put on the new clothes. It was nothing the boys hadn't seen before. The outfit looked great, even if it did have a few creases in it. About five-thirty, we finally left the studio and headed for Red Robin for dinner. Believe it or not, the boys just love the Clucks & Fries, and we can get pretty good food for a reasonable price. Melody and I split a Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad. By the time we were done, the boys were getting antsy to get home and even though it was only six-thirty, we decided we had to go. I sent a text to Lissa and Kate warning them, but didn't hear back. ------- "You go in first," Melody said. "I'll delay the boys a minute while you go warn them we're here." I agreed and entered the house from the garage. "Kate? Lissa? Are you home, lovers?" "Tony?" The voice came from the living room. I went in and stopped dead in my tracks. Lissa was sitting in my big recliner and Kate was curled up in her lap. Both girls were naked. At first, it looked like they were just making out, but I saw Lissa's hand buried in Kate's pussy and Kate's hand covering Lissa's left tit. "Sorry, lovers," I said. "The boys really wanted to come home. I just came in to warn you." "Can you ... give us ... thirty more seconds?" Kate gasped. "Sure," I said. Kate mashed her lips against Lissa again and I backed out of the room and into the garage. They weren't going to be using the thirty seconds to run and get dressed. As I reached the garage door, I heard a familiar high-pitched whine coming from the living room. "Okay?" Melody asked. "Not quite yet," I said. "Guys? I need your opinion on something I've been thinking of before we go into the house. Come on around the outside to the back yard." I managed to keep them occupied outside for nearly five minutes talking about Parkour before they charged up the back steps to the deck. A glance through the French doors affirmed that at least we didn't have a naked mom and girlfriend in the living room anymore. We walked in and Lissa came down the hall from the bedroom to meet the boys. She was dressed in a hastily donned track suit. The boys descended on her and both started talking at once. Lissa glanced up. "Melody, maybe you should go ... Never mind. Tony, go wake Kate up in the bedroom. Melody! What are you wearing?" I left them with Lissa hearing the story told by Melody, Drew, and Damon, all at once. Kate was stretched out beautifully naked on top of the bed and still moaning. I approached quietly and leaned over to place a soft kiss on her lips. Her arms reflexively closed around my neck and pulled me down to her in a passionate kiss. "Oh," she whispered when she finally opened her eyes. "You aren't the lover I went to sleep with. Are you my wake-up lover?" "I guess I could be," I laughed. "Don't tell me Lissa knocked you out with an orgasm again." "She teased me for an hour!" Kate said. "And then you came in and I thought she wouldn't finish. But oh god did she finish!" "Well, you haven't been out long. Let's get some clothes on you and you can go out to see what all the shouting is about." "I wasn't completely out this time. I just didn't want to open my eyes. Lissa carried me in here. Oh Tony, I'm so in love with you." It took a moment for me to process that, but I finally figured out she meant with all of us. I found her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and together we went back to join the others. "Look at this, Kate!" Lissa squealed. "Look, look! The first Ice Queen Sportswear outfit. It's here!" "Ice Queen my ass," Kate laughed. "You are the hottest..." she looked over and saw the boys, still excitedly jumping around Melody. "Hot," she concluded. "Yeah," I agreed. "Too bad Icy Hot is already a taken brand name!" Eventually, we had stories, Melody fixed Lissa and Kate some dinner, we got the boys bathed and ready for bed—including getting the rest of the paint out of Drew's hair—and the four of us adults sat with a cranberry and ginger ale cocktail and relaxed. We took a soak in the tub with no jets so we could hear the boys if we needed to. Kate and Lissa were so exhausted from their day that they tumbled into bed and were sound asleep as soon as they were dry from the bath. I grinned at Melody and the two of us ended our day much as we started it—quietly making love in the shower. "So Kate kidnapped you last Monday and had her way. We abandoned Lissa to her today. Or her to Lissa as it seems to have worked out. When's my turn?" I asked as I lathered up Melody's hair and rinsed the shampoo off. "Next Sunday." "Hmm? Why then?" "Because Lissa and I will be on our way to Minneapolis. You need to look at your Daytimer again." "Oh man. It's time already! I wish you didn't have to go early, or that I didn't have to go later." "Believe me; you don't want to be with us that first day we're there. Did you see the condition of those outfits?" "They looked fine to me." "They're wrinkled. They washed the fabric, sewed the outfits, and didn't press it out. Lissa and I have a hundred shirts and a hundred skorts to iron. We'll be standing against matching ironing boards with soap operas on TV complaining about being married to a man who doesn't do housework." "Hey! I do housework," I defended myself. "It's a cliché, darling. If we're going to spend the day bent over hot irons, we're going to eat bonbons and have our hair in curlers, too." "You're going to spend time bent over each other, too, I bet," I laughed. Melody showed me what that position might look like and I happily took my part in bending over her. And beginning to slowly saw in and out. "Sex Monday night. Tease on Tuesday. That's the rule. Play your hearts out on Wednesday through Sunday and don't be too exhausted to fuck like bunnies Sunday night before we all explode!" "Speaking of which..." "Go ahead, darling. I want to feel you. Explode." ------- Lather, rinse, repeat. It was another school week. I'd had to isolate myself the rest of the weekend in order to get all the reading done I needed for the next week. I wasn't able to help with the move-in for Tent City. I had to prep for my first Anatomy exam. That was the real reason I couldn't travel with Melody and Lissa on Sunday. Doctor Delfin had rescheduled the exam for earlier in the week so I could take it before I left. I'd take the exam Tuesday morning before Kate drove me to the airport for my eleven-forty-five flight. With Melody, Kate, and me all in school, Lissa ended up with the job of packing all the outfits in smaller boxes and shipping them to Minneapolis to be held at our hotel. Wendy moved out Saturday morning and in spite of all of us volunteering to help her, she insisted that everything she owned was already in her car and there wasn't anything else needed. Her classes had started on Tuesday at the U and I think she was really happy to have that routine in her life again. She called in the afternoon and told us that the space was small, but she was happy to have a place just her own and thanked us about a hundred times for letting her stay with us through September. I thought she would be okay, but she didn't give us her address. For our part, with the boys back at Jack's Friday night, we spent most of Saturday and all Saturday night in a naked tangled mess. The very nicest mess possible. And with that, it was Sunday and Kate and I were on our way back from the airport. We'd stayed with Melody and Lissa until they went through security and we couldn't see them any longer. We were quiet on the way back. When I came into Seattle, I spoke, just as Kate did. "Kate..." "Tony..." We laughed. She pointed at me. "You go ahead," she said. "Well, I was wondering. I know you usually go home on Sunday night—I mean back to the dorm—but would you like to spend the night? Uh ... with me? Tonight?" "Whew! I was afraid I'd sound like a tramp when I invited myself to stay," she laughed. "Maybe I should ask what your intentions are first." "I thought we could have a little light dinner. I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup on the side," I said. "Apparently fatherhood has really set your standards," she said, smiling at me. "What a romantic meal! What then?" "Oh, I thought I could cuddle up with you in the big chair and tell you a bedtime story." "Wow. The last time I cuddled up in the big chair with someone, she left me unconscious." "Well that doesn't happen all the time anymore. I know you've stayed conscious through at least two orgasms that I've witnessed." Kate really didn't pass out every time she came, but she got so excited that she often held her breath during an orgasms and would black out right at the peak. The first time, she'd been out for nearly five minutes. Usually it was only for a few seconds. "I had no idea that would happen to me," she laughed. "It's just so overwhelming I can't breathe. So what comes after cuddling in the chair?" "You do." "Oh! I think I just did a little. But what about you?" "I'm driving." "I mean, later." "Kitten, I'm going to be happy no matter what we do. I love making love to you. I promise that if you are unconscious, I won't take advantage of you." "Do you miss it?" she asked. "Miss what, sweetheart?" "Miss me teasing you and not letting you touch me or get any relief?" "Mmm. Yeah, but no. With school we do plenty of going without any relief. I mean, we only see you on the weekend and it seems like I spend a lot more time studying late at night than I do making love. Melody and Lissa are usually asleep by the time I come to bed and I get up earlier because I've got that stupid seven-thirty class. What I guess I miss is just being with you, or Melody or Lissa. I keep reminding myself on the weekend what a lucky guy I am, but I'm on the edge of panic all day through the week." "Take me home with you, Tony," she said. "Let me make love to you." ------- When there's just two of you, and you chop up a real tomato into a can of Campbell's and add a little Worcestershire Sauce and a pat of butter melting on top of it ... and when you make a grilled cheese sandwich on thin-sliced Pugliese bread with Manchego cheese and a thin slice of red bell pepper, grilled in butter, of course ... a kids' meal turns out being pretty romantic after all—especially if you work in the kitchen together and have a little kiss as an appetizer every few minutes. After our early dinner, we cuddled up in the big recliner and just plain made out for a while. Oh damn! Kate's kisses absolutely melt me. About seven o'clock, my phone rang. "Hi darlings," I said. "Are you safe and sound?" "Hi Tony," Melody said. "We're in Minneapolis and have checked into the Hilton. They brought eight boxes up with our luggage. One bed is covered with clothes already and we've only unpacked one box." "I thought there were only six boxes. What are the other two?" I asked. "Hangers," Lissa said. "It was a last-minute addition. We have to run to K-Mart tomorrow or Tuesday morning and get some kind of rack that we can hang things on. I didn't even think of that. We'd look like Goodwill if we stacked everything up in piles on the table. In fact, it would be more like a rummage sale. We need things appropriately displayed. What are you two doing?" "Just cuddling in the big chair," Kate said into the speaker phone. "Oh my," Lissa sighed. "Melody, stop unpacking. We've got better things to do tonight." "I like the sound of that, lover," Melody said. "You two want to join us?" "Mmm. I think we'll just have a quiet evening," I said. "Actually I was hoping to stay conscious all evening," Kate laughed. "But I do love you, you know." "Oh, we know, sweetie. And don't worry. We're not going to be selfish tonight. At least not with you two," Melody laughed. "If this blonde goddess doesn't get her face between my thighs pretty soon, though, I'm going to take things into my own hands, so to speak." "Well, I'm glad you are there and safe. It's nine o'clock there, so you shouldn't spend your night in a hotel room unpacking. Have fun. Your flight was okay?" I asked. There was giggling in response. "What are you doing?" Kate asked. She was grinning just listening to Lissa and Melody. "Um ... just remembering," Lissa said. "Guess who's a member of the mile-high club," Melody shouted. "You didn't!" Kate exclaimed. "I thought for a while she was going to announce it to the entire cabin," Lissa said. "Not with words. I had to clamp my mouth over hers to keep her from screaming." "I'm going to want a full explanation of this when I see you," I said. I sounded stern, but it was all I could do to keep from choking on my laughter. "For tonight, have fun in Minneapolis." "Oh we will. You two have fun, too. We're getting off the phone and promise not to interrupt anything tonight." "It wouldn't make any difference," Kate said. "I'm turning Tony's phone off. Goodnight, lovers." "Goodnight, Kitten. Goodnight Tony." ------- I was wearing a pair of Dockers and a polo shirt. I'd long since lost my shoes and socks. Kate was wearing a pair of black, three-quarter length tights that were—tight. She had a strapless black camisole under a gray and white striped serape-style knit top that fell completely off her right shoulder, almost to her elbow. We were still cuddling in the recliner. "Remember when I told you the story of Gawain?" Kate asked between kisses. "Yeah. I thought I was going to burst." "What did you think when I put your hand here?" she asked, pulling my left hand to her bare right shoulder. That night she'd been wearing a strapless sundress. "Just having your skin beneath my fingers sent chills down my spine. I was so excited I could hardly breathe," I said. In truth, it was just the same tonight. Her skin beneath my fingers felt so silky and warm. "When I pulled your hand down, like this," she said, slowly guiding my hand until it rested on her right breast, "I almost lost control. I just soaked up the feeling. It was the first time a boy—or anyone—had ever touched my breast." "It feels the same to me now," I whispered. "Kitten, touching you does strange things to me. It always has. When I touch your skin a frisson of electricity rushes through my body, and when my hand is on your breast, I never want to move." "Move, Tony. Squeeze a little. I was so new, I couldn't enjoy the subtleties of what you were doing. Show me all the little ways you want to touch me, darling. I feel like I've missed something." "Oh, Kate. The night you told me you didn't own a bra, I dreamt of you. Did I ever show you the sketch I did at Nationals last year? I was supposed to be drawing the action on the court, but I looked down at the paper and suddenly realized that I'd sketched you—nude, like when you posed. I was using my thumb to blend the shadow beneath your breast and for a moment, I felt like I was stroking your skin—right here." I used my thumb to trace the lower curve of her breast. She shuddered a little. "Did you already know me so well—have me so well memorized—that you could draw me without looking?" "No. It's a poor rendition. Every time I look at you, I discover something new that I missed before. The slight indent here on the outside. Exactly how high your nipple rises when I touch it so lightly that I can hardly feel it. It's like a magnet that clings to my finger as I pull away." "Tony, what happens when you kiss it? Does it have a special taste? Do I just taste sweaty and salty?" "No darling. That peach body wash that you use? You still taste like peaches to me, hours later." My hand was on the upper curve of her breast and this time as I slid lower, I dragged her camisole down with me until her nipple was fully exposed and my hand lifted her breast toward my lips. I kept my lips together as I brushed them across the tip of her nipple. She collapsed back into my embrace, opening herself to me further. I swept the tip of my tongue from the deepest valley between her breasts up to the tip of her nipple, then back again. As I moved toward her left breast, she pulled her cami down on that side to give me clear access. "Sex is so exciting, Tony," she whispered. "It's so hard to believe that just two weeks ago, I was a virgin. Well, technically two weeks and a day ago. How many times have we made love, Tony?" "I don't know for sure, Kitten. It gets hard to keep track of when there are so many orgasms going on." "But just us, Tony?" "I don't think we've made 'just us' love," I said. "Yes. Yes we did. But it wasn't in the past two weeks. I made love to you that night in the caravan when we were in Oregon after Dusty attacked me. We didn't have sex, but that's the first night I made love with you." "Kate, that night was the most wonderful night I can remember. It was the night that I first knew—knew beyond any shadow of a doubt—that I love you. Holding you against my bare chest, kissing you..." "Trying to get your hand in my panties," she laughed. Yes, I'd tried that, too. "Tony, can we make love tonight?" "Kitten, that's all I want to do." ------- We lay in bed together. It was still a little strange to think of making love to Kate in this bed without either Melody or Lissa there with us. But it was also okay. Lissa and Melody were making love to each other in Minneapolis right now and this was my special time with Kate. I wanted to make it as special as I could. We'd undressed each other, one piece of clothing at a time. I took off her top—she removed my polo shirt. I slid her cami up over her head and off—she unfastened my belt and let my pants drop around my ankles. I stepped out of them before kneeling and slowly pulling her leggings down and off her feet. I kissed each of her pretty, purple-polished toes. We stood in front of each other and just let our eyes rove—she across the bulge in my briefs and me to the sheer mesh of her black bikini panties. We moved together for a kiss and each hooked our hands in the waist of the other's undergarment to pull it down as far as we could reach, leaving my cock free to press against her tummy and pudendum. We lost the underwear completely as we fell back on the bed together. There is something about being in a bed with four people making love that amps up the experience, even when you aren't all focused on one person. When you are paired, there is still that extra sexual energy that is permeating everything. You hear your partner's gasp when you touch her echoed in the gasp of one of the other lovers as her partner touches her. Making love with just the two of us, didn't diminish the experience, it focused it. Every little sound, every feather touch was focused on the two of us. Kate rolled onto her back and held out her arms to me. I realized that in two weeks, we hadn't used this most basic of positions. I hovered over her, my knees between hers and my hands planted on either side of her ribcage. One of her hands was on my neck while the other wormed its way between the two of us to grasp and guide my cock. I rocked back and forth a little, hunching my back in order to drag my tiny nipples against her much larger ones. She had a look of excited expectancy in her eyes as I let her guide my hard-on to her hot opening. When I pressed slowly into her, the sun rose on her face. I knew that if I went blind, her smile would be the memory that lit my darkened eyes. We began the age-old rhythm of moving apart and together again. Our gasps and ragged breaths were punctuated by kisses—sometimes quick touches and sometimes long, moaning entanglements. I felt Kate tense up and let a small orgasm pass through her. "Oh, that was nice. And I'm still awake. I can still feel you moving in me. Tony, you feel so perfect in me—so stretched and yet comfortable. I want ... ohh! ... I guess I got. Again!" I moved slowly and deliberately in and out of her. I let myself feel—truly feel—every ripple of her pussy walls as she contracted around me. There was the spot where the little flap of her inner labia folded inward with my cock as I plunged deeper and then fluttered around it as I pulled out. Her orgasms continued to ripple through her every few seconds and I could tell she was building to a big one. So was I. I was wrapped up in her—absorbed. There was nothing in the world but the two of us on a bed that disappeared an inch from where we touched it. I could feel the tingling in the back of my spine, the pounding in my heart and lungs that told me my climax was imminent. "Stay with me, Kitten," I whispered to her. Her breath was coming in gasps and I could hear the high pitched whine that usually built to a mind-blowing orgasm. "Stay with me, darling. Look in my eyes. Ride this one out with me. I love you. Breathe. Do you feel it, my love? Kiss me." I bent my mouth to hers. We were connected at our lips and tongues as well as our genitals when the first wave swept over us. "Tony!" she gasped. "I love you." She sucked air into her lungs in one long draw that I knew she'd hold until she passed out. "Let it out, darling," I said. "Feel me inside you and let it come. Kate, you're more than the world to me. I love you. Hold me with your eyes. Breathe and come with me." She did. When she released her breath, her entire body shook with the waves of pleasure washing over her. Her vagina clamped on my cock drawing pulse after pulse of cum from deep inside me. Tears sprang from both our eyes as we were overwhelmed by the feeling of truly making love with each other. A wordless syllable rose in harmony from our throats as we clamped our mouths together again, clutching at each other to gain the greatest amount of contact between our bodies that we could. We broke our kiss so we could both breathe as another crest broke over us. We were laughing through our tears—loving each other. Shaking in our arms. "I love you!" ------- I couldn't help myself. Tears continued to flood my eyes, even with Kate cuddled in my arms. "Shh," she whispered. "It's okay. Baby, come back to me." I sobbed as she kissed my wet cheeks. "That's just it, Kate. I don't ever want to be away from you. We're alone and I didn't even think about sharing what we were doing with Melody and Lissa. I feel so..." "Tony, don't!" she said sharply. "But..." "Listen. Do you think that Lissa and I thought about you and Melody even once last Saturday? Or that Melody and I thought about you and Lissa? Think Tony. Was there ever even one time you were with Lissa when you thought about me?" "Well, there was that time when they were teasing about you," I sniffed. "Doesn't count. But this is more important. Has there ever been a time when we're all together that you wished one of us would go away?" "No!" "That's why we're unique. Any two, three, or four of us can be together without holding back anything. We can be completely together with no reservations." "I'm sorry, Kitten. It was just ... so overwhelming. So complete. You filled my world." "Oh, Tony, I felt so loved I was floating in heaven. And I stayed conscious! But, honey, I would never ever come between you and Lissa or between you and Melody or between Melody and Lissa." I looked at her and couldn't help but smile. I was hard against her tummy again and I pushed forward a little. Her face broadened into a grin. "Okay. Anytime I'm between any pair of you, I'm likely to come," she giggled. A little laughter led to a little tickling. And that led... Oh god! I love this girl! ------- "What time is it?" "Um ... about two o'clock," I answered. We were still connected and my cock was softening and slipping out of her for the fourth time tonight. I just couldn't get enough of her. "Can we cut classes tomorrow?" "Ohh," I groaned. "Class. I can't cut. It's Delfin's review for the skeletal system exam on Tuesday and I have a paper to turn in for English. Damn! I'm not practicing tomorrow, though. I could pick you up at two?" "I'll be outside waiting, darling," she said. "I don't want to let go of you." We finally found a comfortable position in each other's arms and began the inevitable drift off to sleep. "Tony?" I almost didn't hear her, and then I wasn't sure if I was dreaming when I did. "Mmm?" "The same goes for Minneapolis. No reservations." Oh shit! Allison! ------- Chapter 18 "And on court two ... I mean, Bed B," Melody announced, "it's ... me!" Allison was on Melody before either Lissa or I could move. She planted a hot kiss on our littlest partner and when she was done, she dragged Melody's pants and panties down in one move, kneeling in front of her and sneaking a little kiss right on Melody's mons. "Ooo!" Melody squealed. Lissa pulled Melody's shirt over her head and gave her a loving kiss. I got to remove the bra and place a kiss right on the tip of each nipple. "Oh! My! Okay!" Melody said, catching her breath. "Everybody ready for the pairings? I know I sure am. Facing the Ice Queen in Bed A it's our own ... Tony!" I was already hard as a rock and by the time the girls had finished stripping me, I was leaking precum, which Melody cleaned off with her tongue. This was really going to be difficult. We all turned to Allison, the only one of us left dressed. "That means you get Bed B with Melody," Lissa said. The two of us approached Allison together, slowly and deliberately. Allison was absolutely shaking with excitement. Lissa and I kissed her together as we moved our hands up under her shirt. Lissa unfastened the bra so when we pulled away we took the bra and shirt off at the same time. We didn't let the moment pass, though and both latched onto a nipple while Allison squirmed and chanted, "oh god oh god oh god." Melody knelt in front of Allison and slowly pulled her warm-ups and panties off as Lissa and I pushed them down over her butt. As Allison raised her foot to step out of her clothes, Melody licked her slit from stern to stem. Fortunately, Lissa and I were still close enough to support Allie. From that point it was a race to the beds and the lights were out as we got comfortable and began teasing our partners. "Do you have any idea how much I like tits?" Melody asked Allie. "And yours are world-class." "Oh Melody! That's so nice." Lissa and I giggled as we held each other and listened to Melody and Allie. "Please, Melody," Allie begged. "Don't tease too much tonight. I'm so close I might accidentally come. Come and kiss me, sweet thing." Believe it or not, we all got to sleep eventually and none of us quite climaxed. When I drifted off, Lissa's butt cheeks were still rhythmically squeezing my cock and my hand was clenched tightly against her pussy. ------- "Girl! You totally killed on the court!" I exclaimed as Allie came off after the second and last game in her match. "Fifteen-two and fifteen-five! Way to go!" "I'm so proud of you Allie!" Lissa chimed in. We'd all come down to Allie's first match after each ritually licking her clit—just once—before we left the room. "Someone had better go mop the floor in there," Allie giggled. "I'm sure I leaked all over it." "Sweetie, you mopped the floor with your opponent," Melody laughed. "Where was this pro racquetball player in Tempe last spring?" I asked. "You played like a different person." "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get ready for this match," Allie laughed. "My show just closed last weekend and then my ... lovers ... decided to torment me." "Allison, congratulations." Allie's opponent had come over to wish her well. "Thanks, Deb. It was a great game," Allie said. "I have to ask, though," Deb went on, "where did you get that beautiful outfit you're playing in? I've got to get me one. It's so cool!" "It's the latest from Ice Queen Sportswear," Allie said. Pride was just seeping out of her. "Ice Queen?" "You know Lissa Grant?" Allie said, ushering Lissa forward. Allie was wearing the green version. Lissa had the blue version on. "Oh my god! You have your own sportswear line? Where can I get it?" Deb enthused, shaking Lissa's hand. "We'll be open in the lobby in about ten minutes," Melody said. "As soon as we can get this girl off to the showers." "As soon as I'm showered, I'll see you there," Deb said. We parted and Melody went to set up shop. Lissa and I had our first mixed doubles match in an hour and were headed off to warm up. Scheduling coverage for the booth while we were playing and wanting to watch was a real pain. As soon as Allie was showered, she was going to cover the booth while Melody came down to watch us play our match. Tomorrow, if we were still in the hunt, Melody would cover while Allison watched and they'd switch places when it was time for Lissa's first Open round. As defending champion, she'd drawn a bye in the round of thirty-two and would be playing in the round of sixteen for her first match. It meant that we could all be at the booth for the afternoon today and we scheduled an autograph party for Lissa this afternoon. Before Lissa and I made our way to the court, we found an out-of-the-way corner and shared a deep and passionate kiss. All morning, we'd been in synch. Something about waking up almost making love, but holding back was keeping us so in tune with each other that I could feel her thinking in my head. "It's time for us to go kick some butt," Lissa said. There were twelve pairs in the mixed doubles competition, so there were only four matches in the round of sixteen. Four pairs had drawn byes and would come into the competition fresh tomorrow morning. Since Lissa and I had never played a mixed doubles competition, we were seeded in the middle, based on Lissa's rank in Opens. You have to play in the division of the highest rated player on the team. I was a complete unknown as far as this competition was concerned, but the fact Lissa was in it had drawn a small crowd. We won our first game by eleven and the second by ten. There wasn't anything we couldn't do. We were in the right place every time. I felt like I was making love to my partner for a solid forty-seven minutes. There was press waiting as we came off the court and cameras flashing. Word had gotten around that the Ice Queen had moved to mixed doubles. "Does this move mean you are leaving singles competition?" one reporter asked. "No, not at all," Lissa said. "I drew a bye in the first round, but I'll be playing tomorrow." "We've heard you have a new clothing line, Ice Queen," said another. "Well, you can see right now how it holds up under extreme conditions," she answered. "Our line released today and our website, IceQueenSportswear.com went live at midnight. We have a table with our first four designs available in the lobby." "Will you be turning pro anytime soon?" "I am a mother with a business to run. I coach part-time and play part-time. I can't make that into a pro career," she laughed. "Besides, we might get racquetball approved as an Olympic sport eventually. I don't want to miss that!" "Tony, are you playing in Open singles?" I was caught off guard by the question. I figured Lissa would have to field them all and I was just window-dressing. "Uh ... no. Just mixed doubles. I'm playing on the intercollegiate circuit this year for Seattle Cascades University." "We saw your match against Karl Higgendorfer last spring. How do you see your chances for a national intercollegiate championship this year?" "Wow! You guys get right down to it, don't you?" I said. "There's some really powerful competition on the intercollegiate circuit this year. If you saw my match, you undoubtedly saw Karl go up against Brian Summers, too. If there's anyone to beat for a national championship this year, that's the guy to watch." "What's your relationship with the Ice Queen?" Shit! "Um..." Damn! I needed to learn to respond to questions a little more quickly. "Miss Grant and I coach each other and are partners in Ice Queen Sportswear as well as here on the court. We have a third partner—Melody Anderson—who just escaped to get back to our booth in the tradeshow area. I think that covers it." ------- "Shit! I did not expect to get grilled in an interview after round one of the competition," I complained when we were all back in our room. Rather than face any crowds in the hotel restaurant, we'd opted for room service. "You handled it well, darling," Lissa said. "You just have to learn to expect reporters to dig for anything that makes their story unique. They'll invade your privacy and try to get pictures of you naked—especially naked with me. Fortunately, with the pro competition starting tomorrow, no one will notice us again until Saturday." "They sure noticed you today," Melody said. "And you, Allie. We sold twenty outfits today!" "Wow! That's incredible!" I yelled. "That's nothing," Melody continued. "We sold another ten units through our online store. Amy has Sandra and Kate ironing so she can ship tomorrow." "Holy cow! I never thought about fulfilling online orders while we were here." "Amy thinks of everything," Melody said. "She sent out an email blast to the entire USAR email list. I don't even want to know how she got hold of it." Lissa's phone rang and we all used the opportunity to shovel food into our mouths while she talked. All we heard were a bunch of yesses and uh-huhs. She put her phone down. "Well?" I asked. "The defending Pro champion wants to wear our sportswear," Lissa beamed. "She wants all four combinations." "Woo-hoo!" we all chorused. "Here's what I want to know," Allison said. We all looked at her expectantly. "Who do I get to sleep with tonight?" ------- It turned out that Melody's carefully arranged brackets—according to tournament rules for round-robins—put Allison and me in Bed B. We'd all been running around naked as we got ready for bed and had managed to fit all four of us in the shower. Just as we were getting in bed, my phone rang. "Speaker, darling!" I heard. I pushed the button. "Hi lovers," Kate chimed over the phone. "Hi Kitten," we all answered. "I just wanted to let you all know that we're supporting you back in Seattle tonight in the best way possible." "How's that, sweetie?" Melody asked. "We're all denying ourselves orgasms until you are out of the competition." "All?" "Me, Amy, Sandra, Sonia, Bree, Wendy. Bree even talked to Rio and Whitney. Thor grudgingly joined in and so did Sandra's boyfriend, Walt. He's ready to kill someone in the football game this weekend. I just wanted to let you know that we're all on edge, waiting to hear that you've won your competition so we can get off." "Listen to the girl," Lissa laughed. "What two weeks of constant sex will do to you!" "I love you, Lissa. And I am definitely going to practice that little move as soon as you are home!" "Little move?" I asked. "What little move?" "Uh ... nothing!" Lissa squeaked. "Melody, darling," Kate said. "Yes, sweetie?" "I still haven't forgotten. One hundred thirty-seven, and I know right where I left off. I love you." "Oh. I love you, Kate. I love you." "To-ny..." Oh, that two syllable sing-song pronunciation of my name. "Absolutely no reservations." "No, but I ate there anyway," I laughed. "I love you, darling." "Allison, are you there or did you sneak away to have an orgasm by yourself?" Kate asked over the speaker. "Um ... I'm here, Kate. Are you okay ... I mean with this—or me, I mean?" "I've got a bet with Tony," Kate laughed. "Oh?" "I bet him that the first time you make love to my triptych, you pass out, just like I did." "Oh! My! God!" "Hold it in, girl. You've got four more matches," Kate laughed. "I love you guys!" ------- "Tony? You are so lucky," Allie panted. "Right at the moment, I feel tormented." "Oh yeah." My cock slid between Allie's thighs from the back and I could feel the heat and moisture from her slit as I grazed her clit. Allie gasped for breath. "No more! No. Just once more. I can take it." "I'm not sure I can take any more," I said. Still, I slid back and thrust forward once again. "Okay. Really. No more. Oh!" I drew back far enough that I pulled out from between Allie's thighs and rolled onto my back so there was no more direct stimulus. "We have to get some sleep," I said as Allie rolled with me, partially on top of me. "Sleep? No way. I'm going down and pound on the bitch's door and take her on right now," Allie responded. "You don't know what room she's in." "I'll work my way through all of them." "Sleep." "That's easy for you to say." Nonetheless, a few hours later we all woke up—hard, wet, and ready for blood on the court. ------- Allie took her second opponent fifteen-five and fifteen-zero. The poor gal didn't stand a chance. Not only was Allie winning, she was piling up a point spread that could be hard to beat, even if there was a tie. She stayed to watch Lissa and me struggle against our second round opponents from Wisconsin. We won by two points in straight games, but we were plenty worried. It felt like they were on the same wave-length that we were. What great energy. We showered and I fed Lissa a light lunch. Before her first Open match, Melody and I cornered her and molested her until she could hardly breathe. Lissa came out with a two straight victories against a Korean competitor by four and by ten. We kissed Melody and headed for the showers as Melody headed back for our clothing display. ------- "We have to iron!" Melody exclaimed. "What? What are you talking about?" I asked. "I'm talking about the fact that Lissa and I only got seventy-five outfits ironed on Monday and we're down to twenty on the rack. We need outfits for people to buy tomorrow. We're increasing sales every day someone wears one of our outfits onto the court—win or lose. We need to iron more." "Do we need to have Amy ship us more?" Lissa asked. "No. I think we have enough stock and it's okay if we sell out on the last day. Amy and Kate are filling orders at night from our website. We're selling almost as well online as we are live!" Melody said. "Well, I know how to iron," Allison said. "Geez! What a girl will do to get laid!" "You're doing enough on the court," Melody said. "Everyone has sat back to recover from the new Division A Lady from Kansas State. You sell as many outfits as Lissa does." "Well, if we need to iron, we'd better get going so we don't spend all our tease time at the ironing board. It's my night with Allison!" Lissa crowed. "Oh god! I just started dripping. I need to go mess someone up on the court, right now," Allie said. ------- She did mess someone up the next morning. The poor girl who faced Allison didn't stand a chance in straight skunks. She never scored a point. "Fuck, girl. I'm glad you aren't competing in Open Division," Lissa said. It was our semi-finals day for Mixed Doubles and we were on our way to meet the top-ranked pair from Ontario. After that match, Lissa would have three hours of recovery time before her quarter-finals round in Women's Open. Allison sidled up against Lissa outside the locker room before she went in to shower and change. "You're the first one I want on Sunday when this is over and we can come," Allison growled at Lissa. "I want to bury my face in your pussy and eat you until the Ice Queen melts." She glanced at me. "And then you." That was enough to put Lissa and me on edge for our match and we played like one person. We were so in synch that when I hit a spike, Lissa hit the floor before I'd finished my swing. The ball sailed an inch over her head and dribbled onto the floor before the Canadians could react. From that point on, they were on the defensive and never caught us. We won by three and by eight. I'd just come out of the men's locker room and was feeling pretty hot. I was semi-erect and couldn't wait to rub up against Lissa's pussy before her match. She was taking extra time to cool down and stay limber before her match this evening, so I figured I'd go up and help Melody and Allison in the booth for a while before I got Lissa ready for her match. "Tony Ames," a voice whispered. It came from the very alcove where Lissa and I made out before our match. I spun and looked into the shadows. "Tony, can I talk to you for just a minute? Please?" There was something about the voice that I recognized. The face was hidden in shadows, but the guy was scrawny. When he reached out his hand toward me, I almost dove back into the locker room. It was like the bony hand of death reaching out to clutch me. "Please." The voice rasped. "Yeah," I said, harshly. "What do you want? Who are you?" "It's me, Harold Anderson," he said. "Melody's father." Shit! The guy was a shadow of the man I met last spring. I thought back to when I saw him in July and realized he'd been thinner than in May, but nowhere near what he was now. "Mr. Anderson. Are you okay?" "You've got to help me, Tony. Please. You're my only hope." Who am I? Obi-Wan? "What do you need, Mr. Anderson?" "I want to ... want to see my daughter. I've made such a crock of things. I just want to see my little girl and tell her that it's all right. I was so stupid, Tony. I'm so sorry," he said. "Hey. You know Melody loves you. Come on up to the lobby with me. She'll be thrilled to see you." "Not like this. She won't even know me. That's why I need your help. We talk every week or two, but she doesn't know I look like this." "What's happened, Mr. A?" "I'm dying, Tony." ------- I had too much to process all at once. I was in the middle of a tournament. Lissa was about to face a new challenger in the quarter finals of the Women's Open. Melody was up in the lobby selling sportswear and Allison had just joined her after the last match. Now here was Melody's father, telling me he was dying. Fuck! I had to think fast. There was suddenly nothing so important as getting Melody and her father together. I had to come up with something fast. "All right, listen to me," I said harshly. "If you are fucking with me, you are going to wish you were only dying. You are here right in the middle of the most significant thing Melody and Lissa and I have done since we met. Our whole business is on the line, not just Lissa's title. But there is nothing ... do you hear me? ... nothing more important to me than family. My family and my family's family." "I promise, Tony..." "Don't give me promises. You don't owe me anything. Do you know the coffee shop in the Hilton lobby?" He nodded. "Go there. Just find a table and wait. When you see Melody, make sure she sees you and comes to you. It's going to take me half an hour. You've got that long, don't you?" "The doctors say soon, but I should be able to last at least half an hour," he chuckled. "Tony? I know you don't like me and I don't blame you. I'm an ass. But thank you." "I hope you can still say thank you after you've met with Melody," I said. ------- Melody and Allison were selling like crazy. There were no changing rooms, but people were buying the outfits as quickly as Allison could hang them up. "Hey, Tony!" I spun around. What now? "Karl? Hey man. How you doing?" "I'm just preparing to get creamed in the quarter-finals tonight. My first Pro tournament and I'm not going to make the finals. Or even the semis," he laughed. "That's a hell of an attitude," I said. "Why so certain?" "Luck of the draw. I've got Waselenchuk in the quarters. Man, he is in a whole different league than you and me," Karl Higgendorfer included me in the same league as he was! Shit! "So you're really just hanging out?" "Yeah. Want to go practice?" "Actually, I need something else. You know how to run a credit card?" ------- "Look, Allison. I've got a new strategy that I'm going to spring on Lissa. It's only going to work once and this is it. I want you to go to the locker room and find her." "Now? You want me to go tease her now?" "I want you to go and tell her that I decided the best way to keep her on edge is if I don't show up. Yes, I want you to tease her. I want you to get her right to a peak. I want you to tell her I'll be waiting for her when she comes home victorious. Anything you need to do to get her head in the game the way yours has been the last three days. Can you do that?" "Oh, Tony! It's going to be a pleasure!" She took off at a run to the locker room. "What's that all about, Tony?" Melody asked. "I could really use the help." "I've got more help for you. You've never met Karl Higgendorfer, have you?" "Oh my god! I mean, you are like a god! Oh wow!" "Take it easy. You know Karl and I compete in a lot of areas, but I'd rather not compete against him for you," I laughed. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Melody. You really did these fabric designs? Way cool. Makes me wish I was a woman." "Um ... hang in there. We'll be coming out with Ice Queen for Men next spring," she said. "We will?" I asked. I hadn't heard about that plan. "Not Ice King?" he asked. "Hey, no one would believe there was such a thing as an ice king. And every man wants to wear something the Ice Queen touched." "Okay. I'm there. Where's the price list? Show me a transaction." In ten minutes, I had Melody away from the booth and Karl was absolutely charming the pants onto every woman who passed the booth. ------- "What's going on, Tony? I mean, Karl is nice and is going to make some sales, but I should be there." "I'll take care of the business for the rest of the day, darling. Listen. Something has come up that only you can take care of. You've got to listen closely, Melody." "Tony, when have I ever not... ?" "Shh. Your father is here." "He's what? Now?" "Honey, trust me on this. You need to go talk to him. Oh, Melody. You know how I feel about family." "I have a family." "And your family all has family, including you. Sweetheart, you need to go talk to him. God! I wish there was some easier way to say this." I know I had tears in my eyes and Melody was beginning to focus on them. I could see terror building up. "Melody, your dad's been really, really sick. He's been hiding it from you and your mom. He desperately needs to see his little girl and tell her that he loves her." Melody threw herself at me and buried her head in my chest, crying. "Why now?" she gasped. "Why does this have to be now?" "Darling, this kind of thing never has a convenient time. I'm so sorry." ------- Karl and I sat and chatted together in the booth for a couple of hours as I kept looking up at the boards where they were posting results as they came in. He was in his first term of Med School and figured that the Opens was his last hurrah on the competitive circuit for a while. School was heating up and he wasn't going to have time to even practice, let alone compete. He noticed that I was distracted and that I nearly came out of my seat when they posted the women's Open quarter-final results. "Hey, the Ice Queen is your coach, isn't she?" he said. "Yeah. And my lover," I answered. "Sorry. I couldn't resist saying that. She won her match. Oh hell!" "No shit? Congratulations. Uh ... maybe I shouldn't be here when she gets back." "Why? Don't you want to meet her?" "Well. I sort of met her last October when I was competing in Men's Open. She kinda ... uh ... shot me down." "Were you trying to put the make on the Ice Queen?" I laughed. "I was afraid you'd slug me," he said. "Damn! She is just so unbelievably beautiful. I couldn't help myself." "You and about a hundred others, from what I've heard. She got pretty good at shutting guys down." "But you?" "Don't ask me how. I'm still recovering. You should see us play in mixed doubles." "I wondered what you were doing here since I didn't see your name on the singles roster. Mixed with Lissa?" "Killer, man." "I'll catch your next match before I head back to Baltimore." ------- "You bastard!" Lissa screamed at me when she and Allison arrived in the lobby. The kiss she floored me with, though, was anything but angry. Literally. I was on the floor behind our table with Lissa on top of me as Karl faced off with Allison. "All-i-son?" I heard him say as she approached. "What did you do now?" ------- We sat in our room. None of us had anything to say. Allison and Lissa kept ironing outfits as I hung them on hangers for display tomorrow. I'd stopped long enough in the lobby to verify that Melody and her father were still in the café. But we didn't disturb them. We ordered a light meal from room service and then started ironing. Lissa had nailed her opponent in the quarter finals. Allison had been right there to keep her focused and it worked like a charm. None of us was happy that neither Melody nor I could see her performance, but we got another surge of business at the booth after their match and stuck around to watch Karl get clobbered in his match. He was up against the top pro competitor in the world who had won the title three years running. Karl took it in good humor and played a heck of a game. But, as he said, "Every time you move up you start from the bottom." We'd been pretty somber since dinner and it was after eight already with no word from Melody. I was beginning to worry that Harold had kidnapped her and left town. Yeah, I've got an active imagination. We hadn't been teasing each other much, though I tried to give little touches to Lissa and Allison when I passed and they did the same. Low-key only begins to describe it. The door opened and we looked up to see Melody walk in. She leaned against it as it closed and kept sinking until she sat on the floor with her back against the door. Once she was fully down, the dam burst and she began crying inconsolably. Lissa and I almost fell over each other trying to get to her. I hope we have better coordination than that on the court. We managed to get down next to Melody and both of us held her tightly in our arms as we rocked back and forth. Allison quietly put away the ironing and hung the remainder of the outfits as we sat rocking back and forth. ------- "The son of a bitch!" Melody spat. "He thought he could 'spare' Mom and me seeing him while he was sick. He thought he'd crawl off and lick his wounds and try to heal himself. And if it didn't work, he figured we'd be less hurt if he left us first because our grieving would be over and having him dead would be a relief. God damn it!" We'd managed to move from the huddle in front of the door and gradually get Melody to where she could talk over the past hour or so. Allie was in the bathroom getting the shower turned on and we'd decided to all get in and let the water wash over us. Lissa and I kept picking bits and pieces of the story up and were beginning to get it together. Last spring, just as we were getting together, Harold found out he had prostate cancer. That's when he moved out and decided he was going to go it on his own. They tried some kind of radiation treatment on him where they insert radioactive seeds right into the gland. It hadn't worked. The last time we saw Harold, when Lissa and I picked up Melody, was just before he'd had surgery to remove the prostate. Unfortunately the surgery had uncovered more cancer in nearby organs—the rectum and bladder. "He started thinking he'd done the wrong thing when the doctors told him his chance of survival was lower than fifty percent, but didn't know how to tell us. So instead, he tried to delay the divorce so there wouldn't be any inheritance issues and taxes. He still hasn't told Mom," Melody burst into tears again as the four of us clung together under the shower. Poor Allison had to be feeling pretty overwhelmed. She sure wasn't expecting the kind of week we were giving her. I only thought about that for a moment, though, because Melody was suddenly devouring my face. She was kissing me with such desperation that I almost slipped in the tub. As quickly as it began, she switched from me to Lissa and then from Lissa to Allison. I decided that it might be best if we got out of the shower and I started offering towels as we dripped all over the room, stumbling out of the bathroom. Melody was all over us. She just needed that affirmation that we were with her, I think. She needed the touch of those she loved. And I had a feeling that she might need it to go further. Well, celibacy during the tournament had been a good experiment, but really, we should be able to play at this level without the teasing. Our darling needed us. "I want— I need— I can't—" she was casting around desperately, clinging to us one moment and pushing us away the next. Sometimes a person just needs to be physically comforted and Melody was trying to resist asking for that from us. "Honey, don't worry. We're here for you. Anyway you need," Lissa said. Allison was looking almost as desperate as Melody. She had scarcely said anything all evening, but was right there to hold Melody's hand, wash her hair, and towel her dry. "I can't," Melody said more firmly. "We agreed. You have to play finals in doubles and semi-finals in Open. We're too close. I won't wreck your chances." "Mel? Use me." The words were so soft I wasn't sure I'd heard them, but we all stopped everything and looked at Allie in the silence. She approached Melody and held out her arms. "Use me, Melody. Use anything you need—my pussy, my mouth, my fingers. Let me take care of you like you always take care of everyone else." "I can't do that, Allie," Melody cried. Nonetheless she melted into the larger girls arms and pillowed her head against those magnificent breasts. "You have a match tomorrow, too, silly girl. I can't have you on rubbery legs any more than I can Tony or Lissa." "But there's a difference," Allie said softly. "I didn't come here to win a racquetball championship. I came here to make love to three people I've grown to love. You are my victory, my championship. Sweet Melody, come let me help you keep Tony and Lissa on edge while you have the comfort you need right now. There comes a time when you have to let go of the hormones in order to think clearly. Let me help clear your head, baby." All this time, Allie was punctuating her sentences with little kisses, stroking Melody's hair, cupping her ass cheeks. When she finished, she pulled Melody to one of her perky little nipples and gasped as Melody started to suck and nibble on her. "Oh, Melody! Make love to me or just fuck me. I don't care. I want you so much. Oh god yes!" Lissa and I held onto each other for support as Melody and Allie fell into Bed B together and rolled until Allie had Melody pinned beneath her. She reversed the flow and moved down to Melody's nipples, sucking one then the other into her mouth, tonguing them and nibbling. Melody moaned and looked up at Lissa and me standing next to her. "Okay?" she mouthed at us. We grinned back, nodded, and then slipped beneath the covers of Bed A just as Melody went rigid and cried out. Allie had just buried her face between Melody's legs and was apparently having the desired effect. I turned out the light and took Lissa in my arms. We kissed long and passionately. She had to lift my cock up from where it was pinned between us so it could rest comfortably against her slit and tummy. We were in that position when we heard Melody's first unmistakable orgasm sweep her away. Our mouths clamped back together as we listened to positions shifting and Allie squeak. "Someone's in the midst of an emergency," I whispered to Lissa and we giggled. But the truth was we were near our own emergency and we had to figure out how to slow things down. Our tummies were slippery with my precum and Lissa's juices ran down her thighs and over my balls. We rolled so that we could see the other bed in the glow of the nightlight in the bathroom. Allie was on the bottom of a sixty-nine and was squeaking into Melody's pussy as our lover ground herself against Allie's mouth. The sounds were primitive as was the visual. Lissa hung onto my back as we watched and I felt her hand on my cock. "Easy," I whispered. "With all this stimulation it wouldn't take much." "You're so wet it feels like you already came." "I feel like I'm leaking gallons." There was a screech from the bed next to us and Melody flipped off Allie onto the bed. There was only an instant's pause, though, before both girls were rearranged and kissing with their fingers busy exploring tits, pussy, and ass. "How are we ever going to sleep?" I asked. "This could go on all night." "We have to look away," Lissa said. She rolled over to face the opposite direction. I rolled with her leaving me spooned behind her with my cock lodged between those nether cheeks I loved so much. I moaned as one hand tickled Lissa's nipple and the other clamped her pussy, dragging her ass back onto my cock. It was Lissa's turn to moan and turn her head to kiss me. "We have ... have to—" I pushed myself back away from Lissa's delectable derriere so that we weren't quite touching. She moaned again and pulled my hand out of her pussy. The sounds were building behind us again. Geez! They'd been at it non-stop for over an hour now. My balls were so tight they were about to explode. We snuck another peak at the action. They were interconnected somehow. They were mostly sitting and kissing, but their legs were pushed open so they had their pussies rubbing together. Their hands were frantically rubbing breasts and I saw Melody manage to plant a finger right where I knew Allie's pucker would be. The sounds amped up again. Lissa's nails were biting into my shoulder and I had one hand behind me clutching her ass like it might escape. Then they exploded. There was no other word for it. It was vocal. It was visual. If I was a mystic, I'd have said their bodies levitated off the bed, but I'm sure it was some kind of optical illusion as they spasmed in a mutual orgasm that almost took me over the edge just from watching and listening. It wasn't just one explosion and then silence, but one big one followed by a dozen progressively smaller ones leaving the two girls melted into a puddle in the middle of the bed and I heard the unmistakable sound of Melody's little snore. Allie was right with her. "I ... think it's ... safe to go to sleep now," I whispered. "Glad I'm not sleeping on that wet spot," Lissa giggled. Her voice was still ragged as well as she struggled to bring herself back from the brink. It took us longer than Allie and Melody, but eventually we did manage to sleep, still holding on to each other. ------- Chapter 19 "Hi lover," I whispered. I wasn't worried about disturbing anyone, but there were other people around and I kind of wanted a private conversation. "Mmm. I love hearing that. What time is it?" "It's eight o'clock here. I know it's early for you." "Yeah, like six. It's a good thing I love you." "I needed to talk to you this morning, Kitten. We're waiting for Allie's match to get underway." "How's she doing." "Fine, so far. But last night..." "What happened. Oh! Did you break celibacy? And here I am teasing myself all day thinking about you." "Not me." "No?" "Melody. She and Allie were insatiable. Lissa and I were practically crawling all over each other." "Are you telling tales? Shouldn't Melody be telling me this?" Kate asked over the phone. "She would, but she's otherwise occupied this morning and told me I could talk to you. She wanted to, but things are kind of tough for her right now. Her dad's here," I said. "Oh. That explains last night. Poor Allie. Is she going to be able to play?" "Her legs were like Jell-O this morning. We did our best to stiffen her up. But this is really about Melody and her dad. He's sick. I don't mean like in the head, though with what he did, I'd add stupid. Melody's going to have a really tough time of it, Kitten. Her dad's dying." "Oh, no! Oh, my poor sweetie." "She talked to us last night after she and her dad talked. But she was so tense and wound up that ... well, Allie stepped in and helped her out. I just hope she didn't ruin her game today. But that's not really why I needed to talk to you, I guess," I said. "Kitten, I love you." "I love you, Tony. Tell me what it's about." "Sex, sometimes ... well, sometimes it isn't all about love, is it? I've had this idea that I would never just have sex with someone unless it was an act of love. And I'm not saying that Allie doesn't love us or that we don't love Allie, but what I saw last night ... it wasn't love in any kind of romantic form at all. It was passionate and connected, but it was about comfort and being consoled. They tried to make each other pass out last night. Allie actually told Melody to use her any way she needed. It was like a healing. Melody woke up calm and ready to go deal with her dad this morning. Allie did that when neither Lissa nor I could." "Melody's liked Allison ever since you sent the picture that night," Kate said. "But even though it wasn't romantic—or didn't seem like it—don't think that it wasn't love. Allie did something really beautiful for Melody. I'd be tempted to make love to her myself, just for what she did last night. What would that be? Gratitude? Too strong a word. Just appreciation for what she did and who she is." "I'm beginning to understand more, Kate. In so many ways, I'm still just a kid with three incredible girlfriends and a couple others that I think the world of. I don't understand yet how everything is supposed to work, but I had to talk to you about it right away." "I miss you, Tony. You'd better go to Allison's match. I'll text Melody before I go to class. Give my love to my girls, okay?" "I miss you, too, love. Talk to you later." ------- Allie's match was a hard one. She lost the first game by six points. It was almost the Allison we saw in Tempe last spring, and she was playing against the lowest ranked competitor in her division. We only had three minutes between games to get her on track. "Did you think you were all through now that you've had Melody's pussy in your mouth?" Lissa whispered in her left ear. I was on the right. "There's another day of competition for all of us. Just imagine what's going to happen then. You'll have a face full of Lissa pussy while my cock is plunging in and out of your sopping wet cunt." "And just when you think it can't get better," Lissa continued, "Melody is going to bite your nipples." Carefully shielding what was happening between us, Lissa and I each tweaked one of Allie's nipples while she was tipping her water bottle up for a drink. Water came out of her nose and sprayed all over the three of us. Allie's eyes were wide open and gleaming. "Oh, I'm not giving up yet," she growled. She charged back into the court and took the game to her opponent. It was still hard. The night's activities definitely took something out of her. But her opponent was just overmatched against Allie and the round went to our friend, by three and by two in the last two games. Allie didn't bother to shower after her match, but went directly with us to the finals of the mixed doubles. We had to change venues because finals of the Open division and Pro division matches were all held in the big glass box in the center of the arena. Being the smallest of the Open and Pro brackets, ours was the first to play finals. Women's Open Doubles and Pro Doubles would play their final round later in the afternoon. Tomorrow, most of the matches that anyone was interested in would be played in the glass box. "Remember the secret," Allison said as she held my face between her hands and looked at me with a sharpness she didn't have just two hours earlier. "You have to really not see the walls. Be your partner and go where the ball will be." She turned to Lissa. "You've been here before, Ice Queen. But you're not alone this time. Cue him. Drag him with you. And when this is all over, remember, I'm the one who's going to thaw the Ice Queen's pussy with my tongue." I saw Lissa shudder. She looked at me and we walked into the glass box. Our competition in the finals was Jorge and Jessica Rodriguez from Argentina. They were trying to throw our game off before we ever got on the court. Jorge was dressed all in black Ektelon court clothes just like me. Jessica was wearing one of our outfits. Lissa was in blue and the Argentinian was in green, but she must have just bought it off our rack in the lobby. I could see Lissa was thrown by it, too. They were mimicking us—or mocking us. Which was it? Lissa was shaking her head. I got right in front of her and held her eyes. "You have to really not see the clothes," I said. "Just go where the ball will be." She giggled and nodded. Jorge served first, a soft lob that would drop a foot in front of the back wall near Lissa's backhand. I saw it play out before the ball came off the front wall. Lissa's return would put it right into the Jessica's forehand. I charged forward as Lissa swung. The ball traveled thirty-six feet at seventy miles an hour. The Argentinian took it at the short line and sent it toward the wall. I didn't let it bounce, but slammed it straight back at her from six feet off the wall. She didn't have her racquet back in place from her previous swing and the purple ProPenn ball hit her in the shoulder and dribbled to the ground. The game was on. These two were no newcomers. I'd looked them up online and knew they'd been beaten in this match twice before. This was their third trip to the finals in Open Mixed Doubles. They had a few tricks of their own and Lissa and I were sweating by the time we'd taken them down in the first game by two points. In the second game it was like facing all new opponents. They'd changed their strategy and were playing the short game that Lissa and I excelled at. They were holding us away from the front wall and dominated the returns. We lost by two. Lissa and I gulped down water during our five minute break. Suddenly Melody was in front of us. "Listen here, you two. If you think it was hard to sleep last night, tonight Allie and I are going to be louder, longer, and livelier than last night, and you still can't come. You don't get to come until after Women's Open Finals tomorrow afternoon. All you can do is dance with each other on the court. If you come during a rally, it doesn't count. Go for it." She kissed us each and swatted us on the butt for good measure. Man, what a tough coach! "Dance with each other," she'd said. That called for music and I knew just what was needed. I'm a lousy singer, but as we walked onto the court, I sang to Lissa, "Besame. Besame mucho." It wasn't much, but she picked up the rhythm and swung her hips toward me. Our Argentine opponents picked up the words right away, of course, and looked at each other oddly. Then he sang "Como si fuera esta la noche La ultima vez," and Jessica grinned. It might have been the sexiest game in the competition. I'd inadvertently put the same rhythms into their heads. Salsa is a great way to play racquetball. Lissa and I put our moves together and it was like the Argentines were dancing a counterpoint. In thirty minutes, we were tied at fourteen. We'd played match point four times. And wouldn't you know; it was an accident that decided the game. I dove to make a return, sliding halfway across the court before I could regain my feet. Jorge came right behind me to take the ball and hit the wet patch on floor left by my sweaty body. His foot flew forward and his racquet twisted just enough that the ball didn't make the front wall before it hit the floor. We'd won the Mixed Doubles Open Championship. I was on my feet and jumping up and down with Lissa. We kissed right there in the middle of the court. Then we turned to our opponents. A new pair of lips clamped down on mine and Lissa was swept up by Jorge. Jessica was reaming my mouth with her tongue. "Besame. Besame mucho," she purred at me. "Gracias. We danced together. Gracias. Gracias." "You're great competitors," I said. "It was a pleasure to dance. Gracias." Jorge turned to shake my hand and Jessica kissed Lissa. It was gentle and not as passionate as the kiss she gave me, but it was right on the lips and delivered with intent. As we walked off the court, it looked like we were two sets of partners on the same team—Jorge and I in black and the two ladies in our Ice Queen sportswear. Cameras were going off like crazy as we all embraced once again. There were microphones pushed toward us for comments. Video cameras were running. In a moment, two more hot girls in our sportswear were clamoring for Lissa's and my attention and we swept up both Melody and Allison in our arms. They'd decided to close the booth in the lobby to watch the match. "I didn't know you were the competitors today when you bought your outfit yesterday," Melody said to Jessica. "It looks great on you. It was hard to tell which of you was which at times." "Except I am small and dark and she is tall and ... bella," laughed Jessica. "I will always wear Ice Queen Sportswear." Wow! I think we just got our first endorsement as the cameras were still rolling. ------- We had four hours before Lissa's semi-final match this evening. The Men's and Women's Open and Pro Division semis were back-to-back in prime time. Melody headed back to the lobby as the rest of us hit the showers. I encouraged Allison and Lissa to take extra time in the showers and get a good rub-down before joining us. Lissa would have no booth duty today, but I felt that I needed to go up and give Melody some support. For me, the competition was over. And now that I thought about it, I was getting damned horny. I needn't have worried. Melody had backup in the form of her father who was happily wrapping up outfits and running credit cards as quickly as Melody was. He was really thin and completely bald now. He'd been through radiation, surgery and chemo, and still the cancer was eating away at him. But I think it was the first time I'd seen him when he looked happy. There was no other word to describe it. Yes. And proud. Every few minutes he would glance over at his daughter and I could see him swell with pride. He regaled customers with tales of how his daughter had invented the process for dye extraction that we used on our sportswear and that we would be the only ones with this type of sportswear on the market for at least the next twelve months. Happy and proud. I slipped into the booth beside them and was immediately put to work. We were attracting quite a crowd. "And this is my son-in-law," Harold said to a customer, "who just won the Mixed Doubles competition. He's an artist, too." I was pulled aside by every other customer to get a picture and an autograph. We were going to run out of stock soon. ------- An hour before Lissa's match, we closed the booth and all headed for the arena. I went to the player ready-room and found Lissa asleep cradled on Allison's ample bosom. They looked sweet. Allison was just holding Lissa there, looking at her. I came up quietly and knelt beside them. I glanced up at Allison's smiling face and then bent to kiss my lover's lips. Lissa opened her eyes then responded happily to the kiss. "I think there's a snack beside you," I whispered. Lissa started to turn toward me. I shook my head. "Other way." She turned her head toward Allison and her mouth came in direct contact with Allison's nipple. Lissa opened her mouth and latched on. She was surprised, though, when I did the same thing to her. "Oh! Is it bedtime yet?" Lissa moaned. "No, darling. It's time to get your sexy ass ready for the semis." "What about my sexy tits and pussy?" "We're going to get them all ready for action," I said. "If I was any more ready for action, there wouldn't be a dry spot on the court. We'd all be slipping around." "I hear you sister," Allison moaned. I looked around. We were the only ones in the ready room right now, so I slipped my hand up the inside of her thigh and inside the leg of her skort. Allison saw what I was doing and followed my lead up the other leg. We met in the middle and both dipped our fingers in Lissa's creamy depths. Lissa went rigid, but we left the area. She relaxed with a moan. When she opened her eyes, she saw Allison and I feeding each other her nectar off our fingers. "Oh! All right," Lissa said, pushing herself away from us and standing up. "Let's get this over so we can go make out." We headed for the courts. ------- Lissa won the first game by two and the second by ten. She was a demon. She waved off the cameras with a curt, "No interviews until after finals." She came straight to me. "Take me home." "You should shower and then we're having dinner with Melody and her dad," I said. "Tell them we'll meet them. I'll shower in our hotel room and change clothes." "Why not shower here?" I asked. "I can't suck your cock in the locker room." I kissed Melody and Allison and told them we'd meet them in an hour and to text us the location. ------- Harold Anderson was the most animated I'd ever seen him. We introduced Allison as a special friend who was helping with both the business and our racquetball and he simply accepted her. "How is your business organized?" he asked. "It's a corporation owned by our partnership," I said. "The partnership is three equal shares, plus a non-voting share each for the two boys," Melody concluded. "I looked up the way you organized your business, Dad. It seemed to be a good model for the corporation." "I couldn't be prouder of you," he said. "I'm so sorry that it took coming to grips with my ... mortality ... to recognize what a remarkable situation you have. Tony and Lissa, I know you have to ask yourselves if I'd be this ... enthusiastic about you being with Melody if I wasn't dying. Well, the truth is: no I wouldn't. If I wasn't dying, I'd still have my head stuck up my ass listening to the echo. I'm so sorry. I wish so much that I had it all to do over again." "I'm sorry your time with us is so short, Harold," Lissa said. "Melody has always loved you, no matter how frustrated she was. That love can't help but rub off on Tony and me." "Daddy, have you told Mom yet?" Melody asked. That brought the table to a moment of silence as Harold was suddenly very busy with his walleye pike. We all just waited. Finally, he sighed. "Honey, I had hope of being able to reconcile with you and your family. There's no hope with your mother. I did too much damage and to go back now would just be hypocritical. I'd be playing on sympathy and that's why I left in the first place. I didn't want to drag her through all this," he said. "But Daddy, I can't keep it from her. She's going to know," Melody said. "It would be so much better if you told her." A tear dripped from Harold's right eye. "I don't know how to tell her," he sighed. "It all sounds so melodramatic." "I'll help you," Melody said. "We'll make the call together." "Okay," Harold said. "Okay." We finished our meal, talking about the two final matches on Sunday. Allison was undefeated in her round-robin with just one opponent left to face. Lissa was going up against the strongest competitor in the tournament—a pro competing in the Open category. It was going to be an exciting day. We had to get some rest. Besides, I had a feeling there was going to be some sexual tension built up in our room tonight. "I know you need to get your athletes to bed, sweetheart," Harold said, "but there's one more thing that I need to discuss. I promise it won't be long." "Okay," Melody said. Uh-oh, I thought. Here comes the talk about burial or cremation. "I sold my business," he said. It was obvious that he'd caught us all off-guard. "Daddy, you worked twenty years to build that business." "And it paid off," Harold said. "Now you are building a business. I'd like to invest in it." "No, we can't," I started. "We talked about this." "Hear me out, please. You are structured like my business was. Fine. I'd like to buy three non-voting shares of stock." "Just three?" I asked. "I'm not even sure what the price would be." "I'll pay one hundred thousand dollars for each share," he said. "That should pay off your loans and the value of the business will be net zero. Then, when I die, these non-transferrable shares will go to Lex and she can make a gift of them to you. The par value of the shares will be so small that it won't affect your tax situation." "That's very ... nice, Daddy, but what about Mom. I understand you fighting the divorce so there won't be an estate to deal with, but if you siphon off that much money..." "It won't hurt her inheritance, dear. I sold the company for a lot of money. That's why I decided to contest the divorce and have been delaying things. Since the company was jointly owned everything already belongs to Lex when I die. There's no inheritance or taxes to worry about." "I don't know, Daddy." Melody looked at Lissa and me. It sounded like such an easy way to get our business established. I felt guilty because I wondered if Harold had an ulterior motive. "Tony and Lissa," Harold said, "you love my daughter and she loves you. I want to do this for the three of you—for my daughter, my daughter-in-law, and my son-in-law. Please consider it." "We can talk to our lawyer on Monday to see if there are any implications we should be aware of," Lissa said. "Actually it might be Tuesday since we aren't flying out until Monday morning. Is that okay." "Melly, you have made a beautiful choice of mates," Harold said to his daughter. "You'd better take them to bed now. I want to see another victory tomorrow." ------- Lissa and Allie took care of the bulk of the teasing—as if it was a task! Melody and I finished ironing the remaining twenty outfits we had in our stock. That was it. Just twenty more and we were sold out. According to Kate, we'd been taking a pretty good number of orders over the Internet as well. Fortunately, the next shipment was due in from Singapore in a week and we wouldn't have another major promotional event until the big tournaments started up after the first of the year. We should have enough stock to get us through the holiday season. Wow! I caught myself thinking like a businessman instead of a horny college student with three naked hotties in my hotel room. What's with that? When we'd finished the prep and had all had our showers, Melody and I fell into bed A and Lissa and Allison were tangled in a knot in bed B. They kept moaning. "You two better not go too far over there," Melody said. "Don't make me spank you," I sang mocking her voice. "Ooo! He's going to spank us!" Allison moaned louder. That was followed by a spate of giggles from both beds that evolved into all out laughter as we finally settled ourselves in for sleep. I spooned behind Melody and shoved my hard cock firmly between her legs. "Mmm. It's still hard. I thought Lissa was going to eat you whole when you came back to shower," Melody whispered. "Well, she kind of did. It was a little overwhelming." "Tell me. After all, Allison and I came last night. Did you get Lissa off?" "No. It was weird. She was on a real power trip after her match tonight. We got back here to the room and she shoved me down in the middle of the bed and ripped my pants down. Not even off. I never managed to get my shoes off, even. She swallowed my cock and bobbed a few times. There was no teasing about this—no slowing down. She just sucked until I came, which took all of two minutes. When she finished, she stood up with her fists pumping over her head, stripped off her clothes, and went to shower. She locked the door." "Oh god!" she whispered. "Maybe you could put it in me just a little? You're so close. We could just sleep that way." "You think?" I said. I pushed my cock forward a little and it parted her folds. I almost slipped right past her, she was so wet. "Right there," she said when the head of my cock was just inside her labia. "Hold me, Tony. Hold me forever." ------- Don't ask me how we slept. I just know I woke up with my cock still wedged just inside Melody's entrance and clamped tightly between her legs. I think I must have been hard all night. When those television commercials come on for some erectile dysfunction medicine, they always warn guys to call a doctor if they have an erection that lasts longer than four hours. That's just because of the drug, right? I mean, it seems I've been hard forever. Melody shifted and I sank a little deeper. She moaned. I held my breath and started describing each of the two hundred plus pictures of water lilies by Monet in my head. "We could just..." she whispered as I pinched her nipple. "Wouldn't be fair," I answered. "But it's all so perfect." "Remind me to sleep like this with you again." "Sleep with me like this again." "Gladly." "Oh..." she pushed back a little further and I sank a little deeper. I had to stop now or there's no doubt I'd spray her insides in about a second. I started pulling out slowly. She followed me, making it even slower. Finally, I was all the way out. "Oh," she moaned. "I'm taking a cold shower. Right now," I said, rolling out of bed. "It's the only way there is a chance that I'll be able to pee this morning." ------- The final matches in the elite and pro divisions didn't start quite as early as the preliminaries this week. Allison, of course, would go first. In addition to the cuddling and moaning she and Lissa had done last night, they'd had an intense whispered conversation this morning. Lissa had gone to the locker room with her and they'd emerged in matching Ice Queen outfits. They were about the same height and weight, but with Allison's tits and Lissa's blonde hair, no one would ever get them confused. Still, for a minute I thought I was looking at the Ice Queen and the Ice Queen II. I sat with Melody to watch the match. Harold had kindly agreed to watch the store while Allison played. He'd be catching a plane back to Boston before Lissa's final match this afternoon, but we'd agreed to simply close up shop before that match and reopen afterward if we thought it was necessary. Allison played at ten and Lissa at three. "Look at the charts, Melody. Did you realize this?" "Realize what?" "Allison is the only one undefeated in her division. Even if she loses this match, it's a tie for first and they'll go to point spread between the top two. She's practically locked in to win the tournament," I said. "Does she know that?" "If she'd been aware of it, she'd have said something. I'm not even sure Lissa knows." "Should we tell them?" "I don't think so. But man, this is going to be interesting." And interesting it was. Allison dominated the opening game, exercising cool control through twenty-five minutes of play. She won by seven. She came off the court and sat down between games, looking straight ahead. Lissa handed her a water bottle and whispered in her ear for a minutes. Then the players returned to the court. Allison served first. I'd never seen such power in her serves. And she put every one of them in exactly the same place. Her twenty-three-year-old opponent failed to return the first five at all. The serves all went from about two-thirds right in the serving lane to what I'd have called "a foot to the right and six inches below the scuff" on the end wall that always filled my imagination. They came back at the same trajectory, bouncing off the side wall and across court just over the short line. Her opponent stood right where the ball was coming and couldn't get it all the way to the front wall. She finally got a return in, but Allison sent it back with such force that the girl didn't stand a chance of making the play. Allison lost the service after eight straight points. Her opponent served once and was side-out. I'd never seen such consistency. Allison's next five serves were exactly the same before she was side-out again. Her opponent got one serve. I saw Lissa signal for a time out and Allison came off the court to talk to her. They nodded to each other and Allison returned for her next serve. Strategy changed. Her next serve was an easy lob that nearly made the back wall before it hit the floor. Her opponent took it off the wall and Allison missed the return for side-out. The serve to Allison didn't seem to be that tough a serve, but her return was soft and her opponent spiked the ball into the corner for a point. It was thirteen-one. Allison gave her one more point on a soft return before taking control of the game again. Her opponent was side-out and Allison served two straight aces in the exact same location as the first thirteen points to take the game and match. We had another champion on our team. ------- "What was with the change-up near the end when you served a lob?" I asked when she'd come off the court. Melody gave her a quick kiss and ran back to the lobby to man the store. "Um ... Lissa said." "Said what?" "That girl didn't deserve to be skunked," Lissa said. "She played hard and Allison was playing at a level above where she started the tournament. You were amazing, baby. I'm glad I wasn't in there with you." "So you gave her points?" "Not really. She had to earn them, but I backed off the intensity of my serve." "I've never seen such incredible control and perfect serves." "Well, if you'd rather watch the women's pro match tonight instead of coming back to the room and getting your eyes fucked out, you'll see them when Paola Longoria takes the court. That's what gave me the idea," Lissa said. "We just set Allison up to be compared to Paola by everyone who knows racquetball." "They'll all know my opponent wasn't pro level," Allison protested. "They'll know that in their heads," Lissa responded. "But when Paola did that at Worlds, her opponent looked like a beginner." "Okay," I said. "Shower and dress. We've got time for a light lunch before Lissa has to start getting ready." ------- Lissa's opponent in the final match was Janet Bacon, a pro. That's what an Open competition is all about. Any elite competitor can take on the others. Most pros don't compete in Opens, only because the Pro division has much more prestige and, frankly, you have to play too many matches if you want to compete in both. I realized that I'd nearly exhausted Lissa already by competing with her in mixed doubles. She'd already played twice the number of matches this week as Janet. It looked bleak. Lissa lost the first game by five points. "Lissa, look at me, darling," I said as she came off the court for her five minute break. She raised her eyes wearily to meet mine. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm just not on top of it." "Mmm," I said. "You can get on top of me." "What?" "Later. You know, win or lose, we're going to make love tonight and nothing else in the world will matter." "Is this supposed to encourage me to play better racquetball." "No. Forget about playing better, darling. You are already the best there is. Play racquetball like you want to make love to me tonight. You want it hard? Do you want my face between your thighs? Do you want to ride me until you come over and over again?" I asked. Lissa was smiling now. "Uh-oh, it's not just me you want to ride, is it? You want to ride Allison's face and drench her in your juices. And look at Janet over there getting lectured by her coach. I bet her pussy is soaked with sweat, too. You could spank her bottom before you buried your..." "Okay, Tony," Lissa said breathlessly. "One more word and I'm going to drench the carpets. Give me a drink of water. I'm going back on the court." Wow! Control and focus. Lissa took Janet by surprise. Serves came fast and slow. She brought the pace to a crescendo and just when her opponent caught the rhythm, Lissa changed it. "What the hell did you tell her?" Allison asked as we watched the match. "Told her that as soon as she got this over she could ride your face until she came," I deadpanned. "Ohh..." she moaned. Lissa put the game away by eight points. She waved me off as I came to her during her break. "I've got it now, Tony. Don't interrupt." I didn't say a word, but went back to my seat and smiled. The last game of the match was hard-fought. They exchanged serves and exchanged points. I had a feeling they were exchanging words out there, too, but they were so soft between serves that no one could hear them. Just watching them play, I could feel myself getting hard. I think Allison noticed because I felt her hand on my thigh, clenching and releasing, with the tension of the match. There was something about the way they were playing that was not only athletic, but sensuous. They passed close to each other at every break, the conversation continuing, occasionally their hands brushing against each other. "Oh my god!" I said. "She's seducing her." Allison looked at me with her eyes wide open. She caught her breath. "We could have five in bed tonight," she whispered. The last rally for game point was intense. Janet was pushing hard. Lissa was giving back everything she got at a furious pace. I'd seen this kind of action from the inside once when Lissa and I connected and never let the ball touch the floor. It was right after that game that John suggested we play mixed doubles. Janet went for a hard low ball coming off the wall and slid on her knees halfway to the front wall. I saw the look of agony cross her face, not from the floor burn, but from the knowledge that if Lissa returned the ball, there was no way Janet could get to it. Lissa knew it as well, but left nothing to chance as she pulled her swing and tapped the ball into the opposite corner of the wall and watched it dribble on the floor. Game, match, championship. Lissa crossed to Janet and helped her up off the floor. The two women embraced and Janet almost collapsed in Lissa's arms as I watched her knees weaken. They walked off the court hand-in-hand and lifted them to the adulation of the crowd. The Ice Queen was victorious. ------- Chapter 20 After she'd collected a quick kiss from Allison, Melody, and me, Lissa turned to the cameras and reporters to answer questions. I was surprised to find another pair of lips plastered against mine, briefly but intensely. They were quickly gone and Melody was tackled. Janet was about the same height as Melody and even though she was surprised, Melody responded to the kiss. Then Allison bent to receive her kiss. The interview continued next to us as we all three looked at Janet. "Um ... not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" I asked her. "Consolation prize," she said. She smiled at us and headed toward the podium where Lissa was being conducted to the top tier for the medals awards. Then they were off to the showers. We hung around, but the Men's Open final match was almost over before Lissa came out to join us. She looked flushed and relaxed as we headed toward the hotel. "You fucked her," Melody accused as we walked. "Right on the court in front of everyone!" We all broke up laughing. That was about as good a description as I could have come up with. "What did you tell her?" I asked. "Remember when you sang going into mixed doubles with Jorge and Jessica?" Lissa asked. "It set the tone for the last game. I did the same thing with Janet." "You sang to her?" "No. As we walked onto the court for the second game, she turned and said, 'good luck' to me. I said, 'That was just foreplay, ' and she gasped. Right then, I knew she was vulnerable, so I started making quiet little comments to her about how she looked and how attractive I thought she was." "It threw her off that much?" I asked. "No. She fed me the same lines back. Told me how much she liked me and hoped we'd be friends. She was really sweet!" "What about the last game," Allison asked. "There was something more intense about that one. You were both playing for something more than the championship." "Oh," Lissa said. I could swear she was blushing as we got in the elevator. "I told her that if she beat me, she could have her choice of me, my boyfriend, or either of my girlfriends for the night." "You didn't!" "Well, I certainly wasn't going to let her win that bet," Lissa said. "When you hugged her at the end, though," I said as we started stripping off our clothes as quickly as we could in the hotel room. "There was something that went on. It looked like she came." "Yeah. Well, I told her she could still come and watch if she wanted." "Lissa!" Melody shouted. "Is she?" "No, darling. Turns out that her coach is her husband and I didn't extend the invitation to him. Of course, the fact that I knew that before I started playing with her had something to do with my confidence. But she's agreed that she'll only wear Ice Queen Sportswear on the court from now on." "You were really naughty out there," I said as we started rubbing together in a group hug. Allison was already in a deep kiss with Melody, who seemed to have forgotten already that she'd been offered as a prize in a racquetball tournament. "I think you deserve a good licking for that." Lissa moaned as I pressed my finger toward her pussy opening, only to find someone else's approaching from the opposite direction. I guess Allison and Melody weren't too lost in each other to ignore what was going on beside them as I felt another hand wrap around my cock. We were four extremely hot and horny lovers who had been denying ourselves fulfillment all week. It didn't take long before we were all stretched out on the bed, rolling over each other and hungrily trying to devour all the naked flesh we could get our mouths on. Lissa was under Melody in a deep sixty-nine when Allison noticed and dropped my cock to dive in and do battle with Melody over Lissa's pussy. Melody sat up with a gasp as Lissa found a particularly hot spot and Allison almost lunged into Lissa when I attacked her pussy with my tongue from behind. I could see the chain reaction as Lissa's heels came off the bed and Melody's back arched. The week had been tense for all of us and this was not going to be a short night, even though our first encounter was not likely to last long. As Allison rapidly approached her peak, I scooted up on my knees behind her and set my cock at her opening. I didn't need to do anything else as Allison pushed back and I sank into her for the first time. Her body tensed and I could hear a gasping chant of "fuck, fuck, fuck" as she continued to lap Lissa's pussy with her tongue. Melody and I faced each other as she rode Lissa's mouth and Lissa humped up against Allison's. She reached her hands out to me and I was able to lift mine to join us together as I saw her eyes roll back in her head. I thrust forward and heard Lissa and Allison both gasp as I drove our new lover deeper into Lissa's folds. It was too much for me and my cock started pouring forth into Allison as she screamed into Lissa. Lissa went rigid beneath us and didn't seem to relax. I was suddenly afraid Melody was suffocating her and pulled her forward off Lissa's face. A long, low moan issued from Lissa as her breath escaped. She caught me with her eyes just before they rolled up into her head. Allison lifted her head from Lissa's core but I kept a firm grip on her hips to keep us from uncoupling and she sat back against me. I leaned forward enough to shift my hands to her awesome breasts and bite her gently on her shoulder blades. I was rewarded with rapid tensing of her pussy muscles on my cock which kept me hard and planted deep inside her. Melody kissed Lissa and Lissa shuddered in an aftershock once again as she refocused. She lifted herself enough to look down her body to where Allison was sitting on my lap with my cock stuffed up her pussy. I saw a smirk on Lissa's lips that turned to a canary-eating cat grin as she looked to Melody. Allison's head was leaning back on my shoulder with her eyes tightly closed, so she didn't see Melody and Lissa move as one to pounce on her. In a second, Melody was attached to Allison's nipples sucking noisily as Lissa buried her face at our joining and licked from my balls up and across Allison's clit. "Ah! Oh! Ah! Fuck!" Allison squealed as I bent my face to nibble up her neck to her ear and back again. "It's too ... No! Don't stop! I can't stand it! Fuck me!" The three of us continued to do so and as Allison rose to her third peak of the night I was surprised to find that my second load was ready to spew inside her. When the dam burst, Allison rose up so violently that my cock escaped and Lissa's mouth immediately engulfed it just as I started to go. I could feel myself tumbling back off the short end of the bed, but grabbing Allison more firmly only served to add momentum to my backward motion. Melody grabbed my arm to keep me from falling. "Help!" she cried. Lissa's head snapped up off my dick and she grabbed my other arm hauling Allison and me firmly back onto the bed, Allison face down and me on top of her. We rolled apart, all gasping for breath with the adrenalin pumping as if we were on the court. ------- "We need a bigger bed," I panted when we'd all recovered a bit. Allison and Lissa laughed. "What a great idea!" Melody said. She scrambled out of the bed and started tugging at the end table between the two beds. "Help me move this out of the way and we can push the two beds together." I had to laugh. That was just what we'd done months ago when Melody moved into my dorm room after my roommate left; we'd shoved the two beds together and got a king size mattress pad. I helped Melody move the end table away. At least it wasn't bolted to the wall, but we still had to unplug the lamp and the clock radio. We shoved the beds together and it was obvious that there was going to be a crack down the middle, but the bed was big. We could roll around all night if we wanted to and at least slipping into the crack wouldn't hurt as much as falling off the end of the bed. There was a line-up waiting for the bathroom, so Lissa called room service and started ordering stuff. I realized I was pretty hungry, too. I'd just pointed out the French dip when my cell phone rang a familiar tune. "Hello, Kitten," I answered. "Oh Tony, I love you," she breathed. It sounded like she'd been running. "Did you start already?" "Um ... yeah. After Lissa's match this afternoon, we were all so horny we barely made it to our hotel room." "It was amazing. Wendy and I watched it streaming live on my laptop. It was so hot!" she said. "You understand why we didn't get around to calling you before we started in?" I asked. I was a little concerned. Kate and I had talked about this. She knew we were going to be bursting when the last match was over and that Allison would be with us in the room. She said that we weren't always going to have all the same lovers. I wasn't sure what that meant beyond the fact that Allison was here and Kate wasn't. "Oh, I understand. You know how close you have to get when two people are watching the same computer screen?" "No," I said. I had a feeling I was going to find out. "How close?" "Real close. When the match ended, I discovered that a tiger had her paw on my pussy! Imagine that!" "Really?" Wendy was playing with Kate? I clicked the phone onto speaker as Lissa hung up the room phone and Melody and Allison approached to listen. "Tell me about it, Kitten." "It was really all sort of innocent," Kate began. "We were sitting so close to each other watching Lissa play. And we've all been teasing each other all week. Sandra and her boyfriend Walt were going to watch the game this afternoon at his apartment. Amy was watching with Sonia and Thor. I don't know who Bree was watching with, but I think maybe she was watching with Rio and Whitney—maybe John and the rest of the team, too. And—well, we are all pretty horny." "Did you have a big orgy?" I asked. "Oh no! Not at all. But everybody called as the match was ending and a couple didn't hang up right away. There was a lot of heavy breathing going on," she said. "None of it yours, of course," I chuckled. "Well, a little. And then I found this tiger with her paw on my pussy." "That sounds frightening," Lissa said, joining the conversation and laughing. "Oh, it really wasn't that bad," Kate said. "Besides, I guess I kind of had a paw on the tiger's pussy, too." "Um ... Kate? You didn't, like, give her any ... um ... orders, did you?" I asked. We'd worked so hard with Wendy over the past two weeks to make sure she understood we were her friends and not her masters. "No! I would never do that. We're friends. We were just so horny that— You know that you've spent two weeks getting me used to having sex a few times a week and then all of a sudden you were all gone? I didn't know it would affect me like that. I couldn't concentrate in class or anything. Thursday, Doc Henredden sent me home and said I should go somewhere that I could focus on the competition." "How did he have any idea that you weren't focused?" Melody asked. "He caught me watching the stream on my smartphone in class," she giggled. "You weren't!" Allison screamed. "In class?" "Hi Allison," Kate said. "Did you pass out?" "Mmm. I just sort of went black for an instant. Not quite out." "That's only because we nearly fell off the bed and all got a shot of adrenalin," I said. "So did you and your tiger ... um ... finish?" Melody asked, getting us right back to the real subject of interest. "Ohh, I don't think we're finished yet, but we certainly got a good start," Kate said. "Is she listening in with you now, little minx?" Lissa asked. "Grrr. Rawr. Rawr." Was the response. "Who's got her paw where now?" I asked. "I think we'll just ... um ... go to bed now," Kate answered. "Just wanted to say, 'love you.' I do, you know?" "We love you, too, Kate," I said. "Have fun!" "Okay!" ------- "You guys don't mind that your ... uh ... other lover is messing around with someone else?" Allison asked as we moved back onto the bed. "What are we doing?" Melody asked as she attacked Allison's pointy nipple. "Well, yeah, but ... ah! ... Somehow ... I thought it would be different. I don't know why," Allison said. She seemed to lose her train of thought again, but that could have been because I'd just buried my face in her pussy and Lissa covered her mouth with her own. What came out next was just a series of gasps and groans. We shifted positions a couple of times and I found myself flat on my back with Lissa's pussy in my mouth. I figured out that it was Melody who sank onto my cock. Her tunnel is shorter than Allison's and I could feel myself pressing against her cervix. I hoped someone was taking care of Allison because that's about the only thought I spared for her. I was being overwhelmed by my lovers. I felt pressure against my sides and sliding my hands down, found Allison's feet. I followed her legs upward with my hands until I found Lissa and Melody attacking her from front and rear. I thought perhaps I should keep my hands on Allison's butt in case she collapsed, but Melody and Lissa seemed to have her well in hand. Instead I turned my hands and took Lissa's beautiful orbs in them. Even with her pussy nearly smothering my face, I marveled at the supple tenderness of Lissa's breasts. I tweaked her nipples gently and was rewarded by a renewed grinding against my mouth and a fresh flood of her juices. I'm so amazed that the human body and mind can receive so many signals at once and still remain sane. I survived only by shifting my focus from one to another. Lissa's nipples against the flat of my palms and her succulent pussy in my mouth. Melody's tight, vibrating pussy wrapped around my cock, begging for my flood inside her. Allison's thighs against the back of my hands and her juices dripping onto my chest from far above me. I heard gasps, felt contractions, smelled our increasing arousal. Lissa took my right hand from her breast and brought it up until I was able to push two fingers up inside Allie as she and Melody continued to tongue her. And then there was the magical suspension of time that caused every muscle in all four of our bodies to tense, draw our breath into our lungs in one long continuous gasp for air, and then all scream our orgasms into each other. ------- "Can you join us for Thanksgiving, baby?" Melody asked Allison after we made it through the long security line at the Minneapolis airport. "We'd love to have you." "As dinner?" Allison giggled. "Just an appetizer," I joked back. We paused on the concourse. Allison had to head for Blue as the three of us headed for Red. There was a lot of hugging and a little groping going on. We'd tucked into a little alcove between two shops, but we were still pretty exposed for the amount of grabbing we were doing. We just couldn't keep our hands off each other. "Um ... about Thanksgiving," Allison said at last. "I ... um ... kind of have another invitation I'd like to accept. But, I wanted to check to see if it was okay with you guys first. Especially you, Tony." "Allie, of course you can accept a different invitation. We'd love to have you with us, but we'll never prevent you from going other places or seeing other people. We all need as many friends as we can get," I said. "It's not that. It's ... well ... Beth invited me to spend Thanksgiving weekend in Boston with her," Allison said. She was blushing bright red. She caught us all off guard with that one. We stared open-mouthed for a full minute and then burst out laughing. "That little bitch," Melody said. "You tell her next time I see her I'm going to spank her bottom." "I think she'd probably like that," Allison laughed. "You're not mad at me, are you?" "Of course not," I said. "You and Beth. Wow!" Lissa said. "Just the image of those four tits coming together makes me drip." My cock was responding as well now that Lissa described it. "I don't know that we'll do anything like that," Allison began. She raised her eyebrows a little. "Okay, I expect we will do a little of that. In fact, maybe a lot of that. Do you know she made me ready to be with the three of you? When we were there over Labor Day ... Well, she kind of licked some sense into me. I'm hoping to return the favor." "What do you mean?" I asked. "You can thank me after Christmas," Allison grinned. It had the same kind of prophetic ring that Beth's comment to me on Labor Day had. "I want you to go and have a wonderful time with my best friend," I said sincerely. "But you aren't just doing this for us, are you?" "No! I'm not stupid, really. But I really like Beth and ... I might be falling for her. Please say you don't mind, Tony," Allison pled. "I don't mind. In fact, I'm happy for both of you. Just ... Allie, promise that you won't either get together or break up because of us. I mean all of us. We've got a strange dynamic and we're all going to love each other and stay friends, no matter what combinations anyone ends up in or stops at along the way," I said. "I love you, Tony," Allie said, giving me a big kiss. She turned to Lissa. "I love you, my queen. Thank you for letting me be with you this week." After they kissed she turned to Melody, who was rocking back and forth on her heels. "I love you, little devil," she laughed. "God! I've never done anything like that before and every time I think of my clit grinding against yours I'm going to come. You are so fucking sexy!" The kiss she gave Melody caused the lights to flicker in the concourse. Well, maybe it wasn't the kiss, but they did flicker. "We have to get to our flights and hope they aren't cancelled," Lissa said, looking around. "They aren't supposed to get snow here this early in the season are they?" ------- It didn't snow, but there was a pretty big wind that came in and it was a rocky ride home. The three of us spent most of our time huddled under a blanket trying to keep where our hands were—and sometimes mouths—a secret. We all figured out pretty quickly how quiet we had to be in order to keep people from turning to look at us. Fortunately, we'd been assigned an exit row, so there was a little more legroom, but its big advantage were the noisy engines just outside the window. As we came up the escalator into the baggage claim area in Seattle, we had to drop our carry-ons in order to catch the flying ball of joy that came at us. I'm beginning to get used to causing a spectacle when I arrive at SeaTac. I just hope they don't start watching for me. Kate was all over us with kisses and hugs that we neither could nor wanted to escape. We couldn't wait to get home. Once our bags and the one remaining box of hangers were collected, Kate dragged us to the parking garage and in the car the hugs and kisses started all over again. "Home!" Lissa gasped. "We can't do this in the car. Tony's rules. Let's get home!" ------- We'd just entered the house when Melody's phone chirped. "Hi, Mom. We just got home.— It was great!— We sold tons. And Tony and Lissa won!" There was a long pause as Melody listened. "I'm so glad he called and told you," she said in response and then listened some more. "I know you're mad, Mom. I was, too. You wouldn't have believed me Friday night. My poor lovers even suffered." Thank heavens Melody didn't go into describing our suffering through listening to her and Allison burn off the frustration while we struggled to keep our vow of abstinence. "He didn't want to call you," Melody continued. "I guess I pushed the issue.— Thank you. I knew you'd want to know. So what now?" Lexi apparently had a lot to say about the situation. Lissa and Kate moved our luggage to the bedroom, but I thought it was best that someone stay beside Melody in case she needed a little moral support. "Do you need me to come home? I could withdraw from classes, but this is the last week I can do it. I'm sure they'd understand.— You're sure?" I was worried about what we'd do if Melody left to help her mother take care of her father. This was turning into a stressful fall in my head. Of course, we'd support her. Maybe Lissa could even spend some with her. At least there were four of us now and I wouldn't be left alone. Damn! How can you go from such a high in the morning to such a crash in the afternoon? "He told you that?— Well, what is your opinion?— I don't know yet. We're going to talk to a lawyer.—I love you, too, Mom. Keep me up-to-date, okay? I don't want to ... you know ... not be there.— 'Bye." The call was over. Melody looked up at me. She hadn't even sat down for the call, but had been pacing around the living room. She threw her phone on the sofa and pushed me over to my chair. As soon as I was settled, she crawled into my lap, buried her face in my neck and began to cry. It was quiet. Sometimes I think the angry, heart-rending sobs of a broken heart are easier to deal with than the shaking child in my lap whose eyes would simply not stop weeping. I just held her and hugged her and let her cry, my own tears dampening her hair. I've never had anyone close to me die—never prepared for it to happen. I wondered if maybe Harold's original idea of not telling anyone was better. Would we be all out of tears when the time finally came to say good-bye? ------- The call kind of put a damper on our sex-drive. We cuddled. We ate some dinner. We talked about everything that had occurred during the week, including Kate's little escapade with Wendy. "I hope it was okay," Kate said looking at us with a worried expression on her face. "We were both so ... and Lissa looked so hot on the court ... and that other woman kissed you all; it was on camera." "It's okay," we all said in one way or another. "We all love Wendy, too. We might not be ready to have sex with her, but as long as you weren't exercising any undue influence on her, we're okay." "I wouldn't do that," Kate said. "But it was just—" "Kate, don't say it," I spoke. I might have said it more sharply than I meant to, but I couldn't let her go on with that thought. "It's never just sex. No matter what we intend, it's always more." "I wasn't going to say that!" Kate objected. "It was just that we're friends. I care for her and she cares for me. We lived together for most of August. I could see that she was hurting then, but I couldn't touch her. For lots of reasons. But it seemed so right to share that intimacy with each other. Then, when we were more relaxed, I took her home." "She didn't spend the night?" Lissa asked. "No. She needed to be back for class on Monday morning," Kate answered. "She didn't drive over?" Melody asked. "Um ... you guys, you have to respect what Wendy wants and not jump up to rescue her. She needs to do this on her own. She sold her car to pay for tuition." "Oh no! She loved that little car," Melody squeaked. "She wants to pull her life together and she has a plan to do it," Kate said. "You saw where she lives then? Is she safe?" "Um ... she'll have to tell you about where she lives. She made me promise not to say anything to you. But she's confident that it's the right move for her." "Okay," I said. "Now, back to the point. No one objects to you and Wendy making love. It doesn't change how much we love you or how much we want you with us." "I know, sweetheart. I wouldn't bet on it happening again, even. It just seemed right at the time," she said. ------- "I'm exhausted," I said, standing up to step out of the tub. "You must be," Kate laughed as she pushed the tip of my limp dick with her finger. "So cute." "I'm shot, too," Melody chimed in. We gently dried each other off and for the millionth time since I'd come to live with Lissa and Melody, I said a prayer of thanks for a super-size washing machine and drier that left our towels so fluffy and soft. No. I didn't forget to thank the hands that had taken the laundry last night, which would have been Kate. We all tumbled into bed and there was a lot of rolling over each other as we settled in for good night kisses and cuddles. Before anyone could get too frisky, though, we were drifting off to sleep one-by-one. ------- I awoke in a familiar position. I opened my eyes and discovered we were all four spooned together. Kate was cuddled behind me. I was behind Lissa, and Lissa was behind Melody. It was the center contact that I was noticing. I shifted forward slightly and the tip of my cock touched Lissa's warm opening. She turned her head to kiss me. "Tony, honey," she whispered. "I'm a little sore from yesterday. We were kind of rough in the bathroom during the turbulence." "I'm sorry, sweetie," I said, kissing her again. "This isn't a morning requirement, you know." "Usually it's me doing the demanding," she continued to whisper. "Did you do it on the plane?" Kate whispered in my ear. "Yes," I answered. "It isn't the most comfortable place in the world." "I'm not sore," she said. Lissa raised her left leg releasing my cock from her grip. "Go ahead, darling," she whispered. "I'm going to see if I can get our Little One to come before she wakes up." "Too late," Melody moaned. "But I'll pretend to be asleep." I rolled toward Kate, who gave me room, and kissed her. It was a long luxurious early morning kiss. "Were you suggesting something, Kitten?" "Me? Only that I didn't make love to any of my lovers yesterday and I'm feeling a little left out," she giggled and then kissed me again. I'm glad I was raised in the country. Waking up early isn't usually difficult for me, but it's always hard. I took my time and reacquainted myself with Kate and every inch of her beautiful body. I was kissing my way back up her legs when she reached for me and drew me up to her face. "I love when you do that," she said dreamily, "but I want to look in your eyes and kiss your lips." Who was I to complain, especially since she had one hand on my cock, rubbing it up and down her slit to get it good and wet? When she positioned me at her opening and held me there, I slowly moved forward. "Oh," she sighed. "Still so full. I love this feeling." She let me sink fully into her and then clamped her legs around me tightly to keep me from moving. I bent forward and kissed her lips. We stayed that way for an eternity—me buried inside her with just our lips touching. I opened my eyes and met her hazel depths as she stared at me. She smiled and my entire world shrank to the connection between us. Gradually she loosened her grip on my hips and let me slip back and then in again slowly. She helped guide me to the speed she wanted through the pressure and release of her heels against my thighs. Each time I sank to full depth, she captured my lips and held me there, caressing me with her tongue. We moved in orbit around each other. I couldn't break my gaze from her eyes, even when she pushed my face down to gently suck her nipples into my mouth. I kept looking up at her. Connected. She pulled my lips back to her mouth and let my tongue between her teeth where we played together. My orgasm surprised me. It seemed to surprise Kate as well. We both gasped through our kiss. We pulled away from each other far enough to let our eyes focus and felt another powerful surge through both our bodies. Just as we both cried out a wordless syllable, we heard the muffled gasp of our forgotten partners next to us. Her smile was reflected on my face as we turned to see Melody and Lissa clenched together with their eyes fixed on the two of us. After the initial shock, I saw a tear trickle from Melody's eye. I nearly panicked, but before I could say anything, Melody spoke. "That was so beautiful," she whispered. Then she turned her face back to Lissa and they were once again lost in a kiss. It seemed like a reasonable action, so I returned to Kate's luscious lips. ------- "Oh, fuck," I moaned. "I only have forty minutes to make it to class." I reluctantly rolled off of Kate and she came with me. "You get your shower," she said softly. "I'll make coffee and get you something to eat." Then she glanced at Melody and Lissa looking up at us. "You stay there," she said. "I'll bring yours after I get our boy off to school." I showered quickly and true to her word, Kate had coffee and peanut-butter toast ready for me as soon as I reached the kitchen. She walked me to the garage and just before I got into the car she gave me another searing kiss. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love you." "I love you, Kate," I said as I kissed every part of her face I could reach and let my hands caress her bare breasts again. "Um ... Maybe you should let me get back inside before you open the garage door," she said. I realized she had followed me to the garage without a stitch of clothing on her body. "I will always remember you just like you are right now," I smiled. "Go take care of our lovers, darling." Kate scampered back into the house and I raised the garage door and left for class. ------- Chapter 21 "The overview of the human body is complete," Dr. Delfin lectured. "You understand the basic systems, skeletal, skin and fascia, muscular, cardiovascular, lymphatic, and nervous. Now it is time to delve deeply into regional anatomy and see how these systems work together to maintain a living whole. In these next few weeks, you will have the opportunity to share your knowledge with your classmates on projects that will be team-based. Choose your team carefully. Grading will be done based on the poorest member's effort." Bree grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where Justin and Amanda were huddled together on the side of the room. Everyone in the class had their eyes on the two, but Bree was not about to be beaten to them. Justin Chen and Amanda Fortier were pre-med students and were considered the most brilliant members of the class. They'd gravitated toward each other the first week of class and created their own unapproachable clique, considering themselves above everyone else. SCU didn't turn out that many pre-meds, but they were considered the highest quality. I didn't like the two all that much. "We want to be your teammates," Bree said as we approached. I swear Amanda's lip curled in a sneer. "So does everyone else," she said. "Why should we pick you?" Yeah. I didn't like her at all. Justin just stood there looking at us. "We did the picking," Bree said. "You are the two people in this class least likely to drag our grades down." "Your grades?" Amanda began. "I just got a 98 on the systems exam and you think I could bring your grade down?" "Same grade I got," Bree shot back. "Tony aced it." That shut Amanda up. You could almost hear her teeth clack together when she snapped her mouth closed. "Maybe you should find someone better than me for your fourth," Justin said quietly. "I only scored a 96." "We'll carry you," Bree said. "After all, we all owe it to each other to help the less fortunate." I lost it. Sometimes Bree's natural cattiness just comes out at the right time. When I started laughing, Justin did, too, and finally Amanda cracked a smile. "Don't you ever say anything?" she asked me. "I live with three women and have this one as a lab partner," I answered. Well, that was stretching it a little as Kate didn't really live with us, but as far as I was concerned she was part of my family. "Okay. Bree and I will do the talking. You guys do the lifting." "Are you pre-med?" Justin asked me as we left the classroom. "I thought I knew all of us." "No. I'm an artist," I said. "And why do you know so much about anatomy?" Amanda asked. "I paint figures. I had to study anatomy." "Figures?" "He paints nudes," Bree supplied. I swear Amanda blushed. "How about you?" "I don't paint nudes," Amanda sighed. "I had a bad case of hero-worship for my pediatrician. When she died of breast cancer I swore I'd find a cure. I've walked the three-day every year since." "I'd do it with you this year," Bree said quietly. The two women looked at each other but no more was said. "How about you, Justin?" I asked. "Nothing so dramatic," he said. "I just want to be a surgeon. Probably specialize in the nervous system." I looked at him. "You mean you're going to be a brain surgeon?" I asked. "Hey, it's not rocket science," he quipped. We laughed and I had to wonder how often he'd used that line. ------- "Focal points," Doc Henredden said as we looked at the complex arrangement of objects and people on our podium. He hadn't allowed us to draw anything yet. "You aren't going to draw this composition," he continued. "What I want you to do is study it. Think about it. What is the path your eye takes as you contemplate this scene? Close your eyes and re-open them. Where are they first drawn? From your initial point of entry into the composition, where do your eyes move most naturally? Up? Down? Left? Right? What is the next point on which they focus?" I let my eyes wander around the composition randomly for a minute and then closed them again. I've always been attracted to the human form and love to paint figures. With three of them in this composition and the guy struggling with a hard-on as he sat in front of a woman whose breasts were practically in his face, that was what I was thinking about. But when I opened my eyes they were riveted on the blank space. I hadn't even noticed it the first time I looked at the scene, but I suddenly realized that everything in the scene was held in relationship to that negative space. It was like the scuff on the front wall of court four at the club. I hadn't consciously thought of that scuff in months, but it was always an anchor in my mental image of the court. With my new awareness of the starting point, I let my eyes follow the path from focal point to focal point. Fuck! Doc is a fuckin' genius. This was no random assortment of objects and people. It was a planned composition in which the eye was led from point to point in a way that brought order out of chaos. "Now draw the path," Doc said. "Don't draw the scene. Draw the path from focal point to focal point. This is what great art is about. It is not simply painting accurately or seeing the chiaroscuro. It is about how the artist controls the viewer. How well can he or she communicate with a viewer that is years—maybe centuries—removed from the artist?" ------- "That was intense," I said, wrapping my arm around Kate's waist as we went to meet Melody after class. "I couldn't believe the path you drew," Kate responded. "It looked exactly like Doc's. I got the starting point, but I couldn't move more than a few inches from it." "That's the way you look at things, though," I said. "Doc was impressed and followed your path like he was seeing the whole composition for the first time." "Hi darlings," Melody called out. "You look beat!" "It was an intense 2-D class," I said. "Eye-opening. I'm exhausted." "Me, too," Kate said. "I hope you're not too tired, sweetie," Melody said, looking mischievously at Kate. "Are you going to do that again?" Kate asked. "Do what?" I chimed in. "They were mean to me yesterday," Kate said. "I made them both come and they just teased me." "I promise more than teasing tonight," Melody said. She hugged Kate and pulled her into a kiss. "I have something new to show you that I learned in Minneapolis. I promise you'll like it," she whispered. "Now?" "No. Now we have to go over to the studio and pack outfits for shipment. Amy says we've got twenty more orders to fulfill." "Do we have that many?" "Just. Fortunately, the second half of our order from Singapore is due this week. Amy changed our site to 'ships this week' instead of 'ships in 24 hours.' We should have stock again by Saturday. Then we've got to decide a time to treat more fabric and figure out if we're switching to US manufacturing." "Well, thankfully, Amy, Sandra, Wendy and I spent most of Saturday ironing the rest of the outfits. At least all we have to do is get them ready for that cute UPS guy to pick them up," Kate said. "Whoa! Who is this that has caught your eye?" I exclaimed. First Wendy and now a UPS guy? What was up with Kate? "Relax, lover," Kate giggled. I noticed Melody's eyes were popped wide open, too. "Just because I let a tiger pet your kitten's pussy doesn't mean I'm interested in a gorilla." She kissed me. I mean—kissed me. "You've really got a thing for zoos, don't you," Melody laughed. Kate got a far-away look in her eye. "Kate?" "That gives me an idea," she said. ------- I met Lissa and the team at the club after I'd had a light dinner with Rio to go over the week's Critical Reading assignments. I felt okay about the material I'd missed in both Human Anatomy and Critical Reading because I'd managed to work ahead before I left for Opens. It was really helpful to catch up on the class discussions from Rio's notes, though. At least Professor Strait wasn't assigning group projects like Delfin did. I still wasn't sure how that was going to work out, but Bree could manage the logistics. I noticed that Rio sat very close to me as we ate dinner and went over the notes and seemed to take every opportunity to lean across me to point something out or to brush against me. I guess I was becoming more aware of my surroundings, or at least I was a little less dense. I could recognize flirting when it was happening right under my nose, so to speak. I just didn't know what to do with it, so I pretended it wasn't happening. Man, what a coward! I was leaving the cafeteria to head for the club when Whitney intercepted me. "Hi. Can I walk to the club with you?" she asked. "Sure! I haven't seen you since I got back. How's the past week been?" "Frustrating." "Oh yeah." "I worked out at the club every day. That nice trainer, John, got me court time. I think that Friday he was afraid I'd jump his bones. You guys were awesome, but we all got really horny," she said. "Nobody here had to participate in that. It was something we were doing to help us focus and pump our game up," I said. "Really, you're free to ... um ... well, you know," I said. "Masturbate?" Whitney declared. There is something about hearing that word spoken by a woman with a deep Louisiana accent that threatened to give me an instant boner. I think Whitney knew exactly what she was doing, too. She threw her gym bag over one shoulder and grabbed my arm with her other hand, dragging me close to her as we walked. Yep, more flirting. "Do you think I could be a real racquetball player? Like Lissa?" she asked. "Well, maybe," I said. "The real test will be how you respond to breaking a fingernail." We laughed and she held out her immaculately manicured nails. "I watched you at dinner this evening. Rio wasn't very subtle, but you didn't respond," Whitney said. "I don't intend to not be noticed. So I'm just telling you right now, I'm going to be flirting with your girlfriend." What? With Whitney hanging onto my arm and walking step-in-step with me, I'd already gotten the message that she was flirting. But she was telling me she was going to be flirting with ... Lissa? "Um ... which one," I asked lamely. "Cute. Listen, Tony," she said and turned me toward her, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "I hear how people talk. Don't panic. I don't mean about you. I mean I listen to how people talk. It's why I want to be a linguist. I know when there are sexual messages in what people say and when there are big red letters that say stay away. I'm studying two different languages this term and I've already mastered two others. Plus English. The way you and Lissa respond to people—I can hear the challenge. And I like it. But Bree and Rio are going about it all wrong. You go along with your girlfriends. You don't manage the show. I think it would be fun to have a roll with you. I've been active for a while and I haven't found any northern boys that do it for me. But the real prize isn't your cock; it's the three pussies that pound it on a regular basis." I just stared at her and she smiled an almost predatory expression. She pulled my arm around her waist and started walking toward the gym again. "I wouldn't reject a pass you make, if you are so inspired," she laughed. "But you are about to watch the world's champion tease turn at least one of your girlfriends into a puddle." This time I laughed. Oh, she thinks she's the world's champion tease. We'll see about that. I felt a lot more comfortable now. ------- "Did you know how hot she is?" Lissa asked as we ate our late dinner after practice. "Of course you did. You're a guy. You've got like radar tuned to find the hottest girls on campus, don't you?" "I have the hottest girl sitting next to me," I laughed. "Besides, she's kind of skinny, don't you think?" I hadn't decided yet how to handle this. Whitney had no idea that we had been teased by Kate until we nearly exploded. And though it was common knowledge that we'd been abstinent, only Kate knew that we'd incorporated teasing into our training routine for setting ourselves on edge before a match. She just thought that she could entice us with her brand of teasing and have some fun. I had no objections to fun. I just wasn't sure if I should warn Lissa, Melody, and Kate in advance. "Oh, if I'd had her when she was five years younger—even three—I could have turned her into the hottest young model on the runway. She's too old for that now," Lissa said. "But still, I could improve her game." "Speaking of which, how was her game?" I asked. "What? Oh! Racquetball." "Yes, that is what you were supposed to be practicing," I laughed. Lissa threw a pillow at me. "We worked very hard. She has potential." "For what?" "I'm her coach, Tony. A coach can't become involved with a student." She held my eyes for almost five seconds before we burst out laughing. "You know she's flirting with you, don't you?" I asked. "Well, yes ... I didn't realize it at first, until we headed for the locker room." "Oh, do tell me what happened." "She waited for me. I mean ... Well, she didn't undress or shower until she knew I was where I could see. I wasn't paying attention at first, which I'm sure irritated her a little. Just when I looked up, she peeled off her sports bra. She didn't wait. As soon as she knew she had my attention she went right into wiggling her ass out of her shorts and panties." "Is she ... uh... ?" " ... shaved? No, but tightly trimmed. Waxed low and shaped above." "Ah. So you noticed." "She made it difficult not to. As soon as she was naked, she walked across the locker room dragging her towel in one hand and then she left the shower curtain open." "And you?" "I didn't. Leave my curtain open. I needed a little privacy." "I bet she knew, though." "Wait a minute," Lissa said as she looked at me intently. "You knew, too. What's she up to?" "Mmm. She thinks she's the world's champion tease," I said. "Oh, does she?" Lissa barked. "Maybe we shouldn't let that challenge be known to certain other members of the family." We laughed. "Speaking of which ... Is our Little One not coming home tonight?" "She said something to Kate about having learned something in Minneapolis that she wanted to show her. I don't know what, but I don't expect her home tonight." "Ohh," Lissa moaned. "Yes, you do know." "I do?" "Picture two very horny girls with their legs locked together and their little clits rubbing against each other." It was my turn to groan. That image of Melody and Allison locked together was seared into my visual cortex. "I might need to fuck you tonight," I whispered. "Finish your homework so we can play." "I've only got one more thing to do. Undress, please." "What?" "It's an art exercise. I want to find out if I can really see it." "I'm sure you'll explain eventually," Lissa sighed. She let her sweats fall to the ground and lay back on the sofa with her book. "Anything special?" I shifted her position slightly so she was lying partially on her left side, propped up with pillows so she could comfortably read. I moved the lamp slightly so she could see the page. I pulled her left knee out slightly and her right foot straight down so her left ankle was under her right knee. I pulled the coffee table closer to her and ran to the kitchen to get a wine glass. What the heck, I thought. I poured a little white wine from the bottle in the fridge. I paused to put a Cleo Laine CD on and set the glass on the table near her hand. "Mmm. Bonbons?" Lissa asked. "Behave. They're just props," I said. I went to my big chair and propped my sketchbook in front of me as I looked at Lissa. This might be harder than I thought. I found it more and more difficult these days to detach myself when Lissa posed for me. I found myself seeing her, my lover, instead of the planes of light and shadow that I wanted to capture in the sketch. She's so incredibly beautiful. I can't find a single flaw and I know that my sketches are all less perfect than she is. I closed my eyes and listened to the music wash over me. "I believe the lies of handsome men..." I opened my eyes and there it was. The focal point was nowhere near where I expected. I'm always drawn to Lissa's breasts, eyes, pussy. But it was obvious. She'd let her left hand drop toward the glass—not quite reaching for it. The hollow space between her thumb and forefinger caught my eye. From the tip of her thumb, the line plunged toward her and in an ellipsis swept back out toward the glass. Reflected in the crystal was the lamp, pulling my eye upward, flinching back from the light and bouncing down to the shadow the book in her hand cast across her right hip. It was amazing. I sketched the path of the movement and as I reached her hip, I was pulled to the center by her breathing. It wasn't the rise and fall of her breasts that drew my attention, but rather the swell and contraction of her abdomen and the way the cleft of her navel pulled me back down the center line of her body. The lack of hair on her pudendum meant there was no artificial shadow to stop the eye. While the line was supported by the cleft of her pussy, it didn't pause there, but shot down the underside of her right leg. And there, under the perfectly painted toes of my lover was the end-point—a stack of unopened mail that we'd carelessly tossed on the end of the sofa thinking we'd deal with it again later. My first sketch wasn't of Lissa. It was only the path from focal point to focal point as Doc had shown us earlier in the day. The second sketch was only the stopping points along the path. I'd done this before, but never understood what was happening as I sketched or painted. I was so excited that I had to move straight to the third sketch. "If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can't I paint you?" This time it was the little side journeys that the eye takes when it repeats the path. The position of Lissa's eyes as she read followed the path of the lamplight. The line from the navel went both down and upward, spreading to encompass the lower curve or her breasts. From my angle, her legs were foreshortened, putting the stack of mail in the extreme foreground, but almost out of focus—a denial of the real world in favor of the fantasy of her novel. "All my sadness, all my joy, came from loving a thieving boy." I realized I was seeing my world in a new way. And now that I'd put it on paper, I faded back into the reality of seeing my beloved, lying on the sofa, sexy as hell. And her eyes were no longer on the book, but on me. ------- I parted her lips with my tongue and was flooded with the spicy flavor. Above me, I heard her moan as I dipped my tongue into her pussy again, drawing the flavors with me as I swirled my tongue around her clit. Each touch, each breath was answered by her gasps and the ripples in her toned muscles. I don't really make love to Lissa; I worship her. She is my goddess. Anything I can do to bring her pleasure, to make her life better, to show my love, I will do. I worship her on the coarse canvas of a painting. I worship her on the Egyptian cotton of our bed sheets. I worship her beneath the falling water of our shower and even on the hardwood of the racquetball court. My reward and satisfaction are in her smile and in the sudden gasp and flood of juices on my tongue as she comes. "Oh, my love!" she said. "You make me feel so wonderful. I want you beside me. Come to me, darling." She held out her arms to me and I crawled up to kiss her. She avidly licked her juices from my face between deep and passionate kisses. "I'm not really that crazy about my own juices," she whispered. "I just love them on your face. Oh, I love you, Tony." She started shivering and I pulled the blanket up around us, but I realized it was not shivers. Lissa was crying. "Lissa, darling," I cooed as I rocked her in my arms. "My goddess. Come back to me." "Oh, Tony. I felt so ... I don't even have a word! I was overflowing with love. You take me to places I never dreamed of. How is it possible? How do we manage to fill each other so completely and still have just as much for our lovers? What kind of creatures are we?" "You, my love, are Aphrodite," I breathed in her ear. "Wherever you go, your beauty inspires love; your love inspires beauty." "Oh, but I'm not, darling. I'm no goddess. I'm a middle-aged mom with three unbelievable lovers and a couple of others who want in my panties. What kind of woman am I?" she complained. "You? Middle-aged? May the heavens hasten old-age. You are more beautiful every day." "I already see it in the mirror," she continued. "I was trained to look for these things. I see circles under my eyes. I see crow's feet at the corners. Smile lines are creasing my lips. They come slowly from your perspective. You don't notice, but one day you will open your eyes and I'll be old and you'll wonder where the beauty went. Just look at Melody and Kate. They could be misshapen and they'd still be young and beautiful. Their skin is perfect. Their tits are high and firm. Even mine are starting to sag. And Kate's never worn a bra!" "Lissa," I said and silenced her with a kiss, which she hungrily drank from my lips. "You don't need to fish for compliments. And you never need to compare yourself with any of our other lovers. We're only seven years apart, darling. I'll be bald and pot-bellied before anyone can tell you've aged. They'll all be accusing me of having a bunch of trophy-wives who are eternally young while I get old." "I want so much to believe you, darling." "Lissa, look at me," I said, turning her face toward me. "You have beautiful tits. Some men wouldn't see anything else about you unless you showed them your cunt." I used harsh words that I seldom used unless we were playing. This was serious. "Even then, that's all they'd see. In fifty years, they'd look at you and think how sad that your tits were sagging. They're idiots. I'm not. No matter how beautiful your body is, your real beauty comes from inside you. You might think that's a cliché, but your beauty is in how you treat your sons and how they love you. Your beauty is in how you care for me and for Melody and for Kate. Your beauty is in your strength, whether you are on the racquetball court competing, or teaching, or facing down someone who would take advantage of you. Your beauty is in the way you love us and manage so many things that we don't have either the time or skill to do." I had her attention. Her eyes were fixed on mine and were wide open. A tiny tear escaped and ran down her cheek to her ear. I chuckled as I dried it with my finger. "You are beautiful, Lissa. There's no doubt about that. Point to any part of your body at all and I'll worship it in any way you like. And I promise that will be true next year, in ten years, in fifty years. Because it's you that's beautiful, Lissa; not just your body. And I love you." The kiss we shared was tender and long. I kissed away all the tears from her face. I kissed down her chin. I kissed her nose and her forehead. I stroked her hair. I felt her hands on my arms and my back. I held her and rocked her and whispered, "I love you," to her over and over again. And finally, we fell asleep in each other's arms. ------- I frequently wake up in the morning with my erection nestled between Lissa's cheeks. For some reason, we often roll into that position during the night with Melody either tucked into Lissa's arms or spooned against my back. I think it is because Melody likes sex at night before she sleeps and Lissa is a lazy morning lover. This morning when I woke up, however, I was flat on my back and Lissa was just sliding onto my hard cock. She faced me, watching for the first sign that I'd gone from dreaming to realizing it was real. I tried to lie still as Lissa seemed to want to do all the work, but I couldn't help little twitches from my hips occasionally rising to meet her as she descended my length. She varied her strokes for depth and sometimes paused to shift side-to-side or to rotate her hips. She kept up a long, agonizingly slow rhythm. She arched her back, thrusting her breasts forward and by lifting my head slightly I was able to capture her right nipple between my lips. It was long and hard, and judging from the noises she was making, very sensitive. I stroked the perfect orb of her left breast with the palm of my right hand as I caressed her hip and waist with my left. It was a long build. I could tell by how easily I was sliding in and out of her that Lissa was powerfully turned on, but she seemed intent on my fulfillment, holding my eyes with hers even as her breathing became shallower and shorter. I wasn't going to last much longer. "Lissa, I'm..." I tried to get the words out but she just nodded her head and caught the left edge of her lower lip between her teeth. The first blast of cum from my cock seemed to almost shock her as her body jolted upright. She sank fully down on me as I continued to shoot into her and her abs contracted with every spurt. The whispered, "Ohh," that issued from her mouth was long and drawn out for as long as I continued my orgasm. It took so much out of me that I felt my body was a lead weight sinking into the bed. Lissa slowly collapsed on top of me. We lay there drifting and hugging until I had to struggle up to go to class. "Shower, darling," Lissa said. "I'll make coffee." It was the second morning in a row that a beautiful naked woman kissed me at my car door and then scampered back inside as the garage door began to rise. Only Lissa stayed in the open door of the house until I backed out of the garage and the door came down again. ------- I didn't go home Wednesday night. I kissed Lissa at the gym after our practice and headed for the studio. I knew what I needed to paint. In fact, the images were coming at me so fast that I needed to stay in the studio for a few days to get some of them on canvas, but that wasn't going to happen with classes. I sketched in two portraits in a smaller size than the big canvases I'd been working on lately. These were only sixteen by twenty inches. I worked hard to make sure they were identical. The flow started the same—in fact there was only one difference. From the fingers to the glass to the lamp, across the eyes to the book casting its shadow next to the navel that drew the eye along the long line to the stack of unopened mail beneath her foot. But with one change in the second drawing, the whole painting took on a different meaning and impact. From the fingers to the glass to the lamp, down to the eyes. At that point the eye was arrested. Everything else was secondary. Instead of continuing to follow down to the book, the eyes looked out at the artist. I painted them side-by-side at the same time. Every stroke was duplicated from one canvas to the other. To the best of my ability, the only difference was the position of the eyes. They were a pair. These would not be sold separately. But something still bugged me about them. ------- By the time Friday came around, I was exhausted. I was studying anatomy with Bree, Amanda, and Justin for an hour every day after class. Coach Fredericks had started me back on more PK conditioning. He was right about one thing—the more of it I did, the more I wanted to do. I studied lit with Rio before practice on Wednesday and before dinner on Thursday. I was hyper-focused on Doc's 2-D class as we continued the exploration of eye-movement and focal points. And I played racquetball with the team Thursday night—complete with Whitney's outrageous flirting—and with Lissa on Friday afternoon. At night I painted. I couldn't pull an all-nighter every night, but I was getting by on less sleep than I could ever remember having. Clarice was thrilled with the progress I'd made. She loved the pair and was already coming up with ideas on how to frame or display them. She also liked both of the paintings I did of the Singhs. She puzzled a long time about the last painting I showed her. "I told you not to show me paintings you wouldn't sell, Tony," she said. "You don't like it?" "I love it. I can't imagine you would part with it." I looked at the image on my screen. Yes. It was lovely. Maybe my best work ever. I'd done it with no sketch or rendering and no model. But it was obvious. Lissa as an old woman. And even more beautiful than she is today. It was the piece I wanted to show the world. ------- When Bree told me to stretch out on the massage table, I was out like a light. I finally woke up to her prodding me gently. "Hey. Tony. You need to wake up now. They're closing the facility. You need to get dressed." "Oh god, Bree," I groaned. "What did you do to me?" "It's what I couldn't do to you. I couldn't wake you up. Not even to roll over. I just kept working on your back and then when it was obvious you weren't going to wake up as soon as it was over, I just let you sleep," she said nudging me off the table. "Wait! Closing the facility? What time is it?" "It's almost seven." "The family!" "Don't panic, baby. I called them. I told them I'd bring you home as soon as you woke up. Go get a shower and get dressed. I'm hungry." ------- "Thanks for inviting me in to dinner, guys. I wasn't looking forward to a TV dinner again tonight and I was starving. This was really good," Bree said as we finished our late dinner. The boys had arrived and were sad that I wasn't there when they got home, but I'd read them a story and they went off to bed before I sat down with Bree to eat. Melody, Kate, and Lissa were sitting with us, but they'd eaten with the boys. "This is one of Melody's specials," I said, savoring the tuna noodle casserole. "And one of my favorites." "Too bad you weren't here to eat it when it came out of the oven," Melody said. "That's one of the great things about this meal," I plunged on, not heeding the warning tone in Melody's voice. "It's just as good when you reheat it. If there's any left, I'll have it for lunch tomorrow." "It is good," Bree sighed. "Thank you, Melody." "Asleep, huh? Are you sure you two weren't just fooling around someplace?" Melody asked. I was stunned. Where did that come from? Lissa had thanked Bree for calling and warning them I was asleep. Bree stood up and headed for the back door. "Mel, could I talk to you alone, please?" She stormed out the door. Melody followed and it looked like she was ready for a fight. "What happened?" I asked. "Melody just can't forgive Bree, or completely trust her," Kate sighed. "It will just take time." "I hope it doesn't eat at her," Lissa said. "I interact with Bree quite a bit now and she is always respectful of our relationship." I looked out the French doors and could see the two girls facing off. Neither one was happy. "Since this concerns me, I think I'd better go out there," I said. "I wouldn't go out there," Lissa said. "You're likely to get your head handed to you on a platter." "Ah yes, Salome. Anything you desire up to half my kingdom," I said melodramatically. "Really. I'm stupid, but I'm not a coward." Okay. I lied about that. I steeled myself and went forward to open the door. "I learned my lesson," Bree almost shouted. "I will never make a move on Tony without your approval and participation." "How can I trust you?" Melody shot back. There was no answer. Bree took one step forward, grabbed Melody on either side of the head and kissed her. I saw Melody reach back and thought she was going to punch Bree, but instead her hands came forward and pulled Bree into a tight embrace. The kiss deepened and I stepped back through the door and closed it quietly. "I have reading to do for lit class," I said to Kate and Lissa as I passed through the kitchen. "I'll be in my chair if I'm needed. For anything." ------- I woke up sometime in the middle of the night. I don't think I'd read a whole page before I went to sleep in my recliner. There was a pleasant, soft, and comfortable weight in my lap. I pushed myself back a little and wrapped my arms around Melody. "Love you," she said through her sleep. "I love you, Little One," I whispered. I pulled the light blanket she'd brought with her up around us. "I'm sorry, Tony," she said into my neck. "No need to be. Looks like you worked it out." "But I'm sorry to you, not just to Bree. I made it sound like I don't trust you. I do. I'm sorry I let my jealousy take control. I do trust you, Tony. I do and I love you." "I know, precious," I said. "It's okay. Snuggle up. Let's spend the rest of the night out here together, shall we?" She kissed my neck and hugged herself to me tightly. ------- Chapter 22 Saturday started early for me when the boys came running to the living room with books and caught Melody and me kissing softly. "Tony? Meddy? Read?" Drew said cautiously. "Sure we will, buddy," I said. "Can you crawl up here with Melody?" One Little Monster book and one Berenstain Bears book later we decided it was time to make coffee. I had Pilates at nine and always looked forward to Saturday as my sleep-in day. It was half-past seven when Melody motioned to me to take coffee to Lissa and Kate while she fixed the boys breakfast. Seeing Lissa and Kate cuddled together never fails to amaze me. They are so beautiful together. The contrasts and similarities are incredible, but the uninhibited and unrestrained love they show each other brings a tear to my eye. "Darlings," I whispered as I put a hand on each of my lovers. "I have coffee. It's time to wake up." "Do we have class?" Kate whimpered. "No. It's Saturday," I said. "Why do we have to get up then," she asked. Good question. "Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, Tony and I make love," Lissa said. "Me too," Kate smiled. Oh yeah! "But he's up already," Lissa continued. "I'm not," Kate said. That was all it took. I figured the coffee would be cold and forgotten by the time I got out of the shower. ------- "I'm home!" I shouted as I walked in from the garage after my Pilates class. "Food in the kitchen," Melody answered. I always come home hungry after a Pilates workout. I walked into the kitchen and found a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of soup waiting for me. This October day had finally turned wet and cold and the steaming bowl of soup was a welcome sight. "Mmm. This looks good," I said as I sat at the breakfast bar. I scooped a spoonful of soup toward my mouth and froze as Melody stood from behind the stove. She had one of our big chef aprons on. And nothing else. The front bib was drawn in so her nipples peaked out on either side of it. While I watched, she untied the apron strings and hung it on a peg. I just stared. "Don't tell me I made you lose your appetite," Melody frowned. "No. Quite the opposite," I said. "It just changed slightly." "Well, eat your soup while it's hot, then you can make me hot and soupy." "This is a little unusual for a Saturday afternoon, isn't it?" I asked. "Where's the rest of the family." I ate, but I never took my eyes off of Melody and she made no attempt to cover herself up. "Errands. They'll probably be gone a while. I know you sometimes have difficulty sleeping during the day and you have the night shift at Tent City tonight. So I thought I'd try to help you relax and go to sleep for a nice nap this afternoon," she said. Something strange was happening, but I finished my soup and sandwich and put the dishes in the dishwasher while Melody watched. She'd stayed on the other side of the breakfast bar from me and we hadn't even kissed yet since I got home. Now that I was finished eating, though, she came into my arms and I wrapped up her gloriously naked body as we kissed. "Come into the bedroom, darling," she whispered and pulled me by the hand toward the big bed. The drapes were pulled and candles provided the only light in the room. The bedding was pulled back and a towel spread in the middle of the bed. Melody undressed me and told me to lie on my back. "We'll see if I can put you to sleep with a massage," she said as she began pouring oil on my chest. "Um ... Melody," I said, "you know my going to sleep yesterday had nothing to do with the massage don't you? I was out before Bree ever started working on me. For all I know she never even touched me." "Yeah. We talked about it," she said. "I was being a jerk. I'm sorry, Tony. But Bree only did your back and so you missed out on half your massage. I'm just finishing things up for her." "You know that neither Bree nor I get naked when she does a massage. It's all very professional." "I have my own methods and there is nothing professional about them at all, lover," Melody said as she descended to touch my lips with her own. I felt her breasts drag across my chest as she moved toward me. She pulled back from me and rose up on her knees. I watched as she squeezed massage oil out of the bottle all over her own chest. When she was dripping, she smoothed the oil out with her hands. Melody is still a surprise to me, every time I see her naked. I always go back to that first time with her in my head. We were both virgins. She'd concocted a scene in which we would model for each other for our final life drawing projects. We both undressed at the same time and then decided painting could wait for a while. To this moment, I remember the awe we both felt when we pressed ourselves together and my cock entered her willing pussy, releasing both of us from our virginity. If for no other reason than that, Melody was burned into my heart. She was glistening as she moved over me, straddling my thighs. She scooted down until she was sitting on my ankles and then leaned forward, lying on my legs with my cock conveniently at her mouth. She gave it a little lick and then began pulling herself forward, the massage oil smoothing the way for her to glide up until she reached my mouth with her lips and kissed me. When I started to wrap my arms around her, she pushed them back to the bed. "I'm the masseuse here," she laughed. "You just lie back and enjoy." With that she began her descent, sliding down my body just as she had slid up. She lifted her hips slightly as she passed my cock—necessary to prevent me from penetrating her and stopping her downward progress abruptly. When she reached my ankles again, she rubbed her cheeks against my cock, getting the oil all over them. Then she began a long slow ascent again. "You're going to have sex with Bree," she announced as she reached my face again. This time she rubbed the oil from her cheeks onto mine. "Melody, you know I'm not going to do that. I know how you feel." "Yes. I've been a jerk about it. And I'm probably not done being a jerk about it." She began her descent, once again preventing me from sliding into her, but letting her slit part around my cock so that her clit dragged as she moved downward. She shuddered. "You don't like her," I said. "That's all the reason I need to never be involved with her. You can trust me, Mel. I love you." "No, that's not enough reason. I'm so sorry I suggested that last night. I was really at my peak of jerkness. You are the most loyal and loving man I have ever met and the women you've been with other than us, we pushed you toward. Tony, you've never given any of us a reason to doubt how much you love us. But one day I'm going to piss you off. Really bad. It's just the way relationships work. You've already pissed me off a couple of times and I don't know how I've been so lucky to have kept from getting to you. But when that time comes, I don't want it to be easy for you to get back at me by fucking Bree. It would kill me." She started forward again and I closed my eyes to feel every inch of her slight body against me. I remembered how I fantasized about Melody long before I knew she was interested. In fact, convinced that she could never be interested in me. "That's why, when the time comes, I'll be there with you," she said. "The time?" "The time to fuck Bree. I'm going to get her ready. Then we are going to get you ready. You are going to be right on the edge of coming down my throat, but you'll know that if you do, you won't be able to fuck her," Melody said. "Just when you can't stand it anymore, I'll push Bree onto her back and plant my pussy in her face. She'll be licking me while I suck you right to the point of no return. Then she'll feel you plunge into her and she'll moan against my clit. You know how I love that, don't you, Tony?" Melody had reached my face again and I was totally wrapped up in the fantasy she was weaving. I didn't for a minute believe we'd ever be in that situation, but Melody can spin a pretty fine tale when she puts her mind to it. This time when she started back down, she didn't lift her hips. My cock caught for a second against her labia and then slid smoothly inside her, causing us both to moan. "You'll be so keyed up when you plunge your big cock into her little cunt that you'll come on the first stroke. That's it," she said as she ground to a halt, our joining stopping her downward process. "One stroke, come, and pull out. Oh, she will cry out when your cock comes sucking out of her cunt. I'll love that. Right against my clitty. And I'll bend my head and suck your cum out of her. Only when she makes me come will I raise my head enough to tongue her clit to orgasm." "Mel, that's cruel," I gasped. She had lifted until only the tip of my cock was still in her pussy and she held there. I don't know if I was talking about her story or what she was doing to me. "Yes. But that's when she'll know. She'll know that no matter when or where she fucks you, I own her orgasm. She won't come without my permission. She won't have your cum without my permission. I'm not going to make a slave of her, Tony. I don't want a slave. I just want her to know that when you put your cock back into her pussy and fuck her to a climax, it's because I'm letting her cum," Melody said as she slid down my cock painfully slowly. "No matter how hard you fuck her cunt after that, she won't dare come unless I've said it's okay. It's the only way it will ever ... ever ... ev-ER..."Melody pushed up away from my body and slammed down on me. I felt her pussy clamp down around my cock as she cried out her orgasm. I responded by shooting my cum deep inside her as she milked me. " ... happen," she whispered. Melody collapsed on me. After a minute she continued to rub her body around on my chest without letting me get soft enough to slide out. "Mmm. I like massaging you, darling. It might not do your muscles any good, but oh god it feels nice." ------- Amazingly, Melody's continued massage eventually put me to sleep after we'd come again. I woke up about five hours later stuck to her. "Thank you for my fantasy, Tony," she whispered when I tried to shift away so I could go piss. She rolled back and looked at me. "Let's take a shower and you can do some studying while I make dinner. ------- When we got out of the shower, Lissa, Kate, and the boys were home and there was a gentle buzz of family activity going on in the kitchen and the boys' room. It was peaceful and didn't prevent me from getting into my reading. I felt good about my class. I was reading my lit first because I figured I'd have time to read anatomy on the job and it would be less likely to put me to sleep. I had to keep notes and draw figures which would keep me entertained most of the night. The lit assignment was an eye-opener. I figured we'd be analyzing some great works of literature and critiquing them, but the class was focused on reading critically. Professor Strait had given us two newspaper articles to read about the same subject. Both articles were journalistic and you couldn't tell the writer had a bias for one side of the issue or another. You'd think that with all the politics, there would be a lot of fodder for contrasting two opinionated newspapers head-to-head with each other, but this wasn't even a political article. It had to do with reporting a fire that had killed four people in an apartment building. It was terrible. There were two follow-up articles from each source as well. From everything I could tell, both were straight-forward objective journalism, but the two articles left completely different impressions of what happened and what was uncovered after the tragedy. Our analysis had to include what facts were reported identically in both papers and what facts were reported in only one or the other paper. I'd jotted down notes and would meet Rio Sunday afternoon to go over what we'd discovered. While I read and made my notes and listened to the sounds of my family in the house, Kate brought me a glass of water and curled up in my lap. She didn't try to kiss or interrupt my study. She just sat there with me as I read, cuddled up so quietly I thought she'd gone to sleep. I finished drinking the water, realizing that I was really thirsty, and Kate took the glass from my hand. She kissed my cheek softly and then left—just like that. I had to smile. It was so sweet. About half an hour later, Lissa brought me a little tray of veggie sticks and dip as an appetizer. She, too, curled up in my lap and just cuddled there quietly while I continued to read and make notes and snack. A few minutes later, she took the empty dish and went back to the kitchen after kissing me on the cheek. Before long, Melody called everyone to the table for dinner. Melody and I sat between Drew and Damon with Kate and Lissa opposite tonight. I looked at the bread and chili we were about to eat and suddenly felt very thankful. "Before we eat," I said, "I'd just like to say how much I love each and every person sitting at this table. I am so happy!" "We love you, Tony," Lissa said as Melody kissed my cheek. We ate a hearty meal. ------- A light rain was falling when I got to Tent City at a quarter till ten. It was all quiet and I reported to the support tent. Andy Parsons had the shift before mine. Most of the daytime shifts were just four to six hours, but since I could only work once a week with my crazy schedule, I took the eight hour Saturday night shift. It did pain me a bit to leave Lissa, Melody, and Kate getting ready for bed while I came to sit in the cold all night. I had a good coat and hat on with a scarf and there was a small space heater in the tent that would keep the chill off as long as I didn't move more than a couple feet away from it. I studied anatomy for a couple of hours, sketching out the various systems that we would be tested on in the near future. Eventually, I found my mind wandering. I sketched things other than human anatomy. Maybe I should say that I sketched human anatomy that we weren't actively studying in class. I was caught up by the memory of the sheen of oil on Melody's body this afternoon as she was giving me a body to body massage. The oil changed the highlights on her skin in the candlelight. As much as I tried to capture it, I wasn't doing it very well, though I was getting a kick out of drawing Melody's naked body over and over again. I glanced up and saw the opening opposite my tent that led into Tent City. The opening was about six feet wide with a thin tarp stretched on eight foot tall fence posts around the perimeter. It didn't really provide much in the way of privacy, but the tents inside all backed up to the tarp, so it was really a double barrier. The only place there was a view into the city was through the entrance, and that wasn't much of a view. The October weather had turned cold and rainy already, so people who went into the city pretty much went directly to a tent and hunkered down trying to stay warm. Blue plastic tarps had been suspended over the tents to provide an extra measure of waterproofing. From my perspective, I could see a portion of the main walkway down the middle of camp. I'd helped move the wooden pallets into place and lay out the city, so I knew what I was looking at. The first tent was a food room, the next was medical supplies. Opposite these two, a tent with the evening's security person on duty faced the opening. We were intentionally positioned so that I couldn't see directly into the security tent inside and vice versa. Once every fifteen minutes, a resident wearing a yellow reflective vest would walk out of the entry gap and make a circuit of the perimeter. Security was their job. My job was to phone emergency help and let the residents into the athletic pavilion if there was severe weather. I could also see the gas heat lamp that was positioned next to the security tent. It had been donated by a local restaurant that had abandoned its plan for a sidewalk café. It gave off a red warmth over a few feet that was in stark contrast to the dull yellows and greens of the camping tents. I was looking through a window into a different world and I began sketching. My light wasn't good enough to add color to the sketch and I didn't dare take a picture because it could be seen as invading the privacy of the residents. So I studied it and memorized it as best I could as I sketched just what I could see through the opening. It was a natural frame against for the muted interior colors. As I sketched this, the thought of a frame became more ingrained in my mind. I did a sketch in which the gap in the tarp that made the entrance was only a few inches wide on my field of view. Everything was dark, yes. But it seemed that I could make out ghostly shadows against the privacy tarp that faded to the wet darkness of the night surrounding it. ------- I guess I eventually nodded off to sleep because the next thing I knew, Eric was shaking my shoulder and calling my name. I came awake slowly. It was still dark. "What time is it?" I asked. "Ten till six," Eric responded. "I'll always try to be here a few minutes before the shift ends." "I didn't mean to fall asleep." "You aren't expected to stay away all night, as long as you are here and can respond. It's more like being on call," Eric explained. "I take it there were no emergencies." "No. All quiet on the Western Front," I joked. Actually, the entrance to the camp faced the athletic pavilion on the west. It was a more appropriate quip than I thought. "You just sit here for eight hours on Sunday, now?" I asked. "Oh no. I get the exciting part. I open the pavilion at six-thirty so folks can go in and use the showers and facilities until ten. Then I lock up again and leave when my relief gets here at noon." "Well, I'm glad they get to go in and use the facilities," I said. "Three times a week. You get any studying done last night?" "Yeah. Worked on my anat course for a while and then did some sketches." He looked over my shoulder at the last sketch I'd done. "Hey. I like that. It seems like such a small place in a large universe. If we ever get a dry day, you should go up to the roof of the pavilion and sketch from there. You'd get a better feel for how the place is laid out." "I can get there?" "Sure. Let me know when you want to do it and I'll show you the way. You should go home and get some real sleep now," Eric said. I agreed and left. ------- I crawled into bed exhausted, but I wasn't able to sleep. About the time I got home, the boys got up. My wives and girlfriend weren't far behind. When I crawled into bed, it was empty. When did I get so addicted to sleeping beside a woman or two or three that I couldn't just relax and pass out after I'd been up most of the night at the camp? As I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot in the big empty bed, the bedroom door opened. I didn't turn quickly enough to see who came through before it closed and left the room in darkness again, but a moment later the covers were shifted and a delightfully warm and naked Lissa slid up next to me. "Mel and Kate are taking the boys to the Aquarium this morning," she said. "You got the short straw of comforting Tony?" I asked with a chuckle that was only partly forced. "I won the draw," Lissa said, kissing me. "Melody had you yesterday and Kate said she'd wait until Tuesday, whatever that means. I'd guess, though, that you won't be home for dinner." "It's so much better holding my lover in my arms when I go to sleep," I whispered. "Mmm. I'll help you sleep better if you get me past my morning ... uh..." "Horniness?" I asked. Lissa giggled. "We don't have to make love before you sleep, darling," she whispered. "I just wanted you to know that I'm here. I love it when you are awake with me and I love it when we sleep together." "Much as I want to..." I yawned, suddenly wiped out, "I don't think I can ... maybe after?" "Cuddle me, darling. Let me feel your skin against my skin." I gladly did that and in seconds was asleep, spooned beside Lissa. ------- "I'm glad you are up," Kate said. They got back from the Aquarium at one o'clock and the boys were bouncing off the walls. Lissa and I had awakened at noon and after pleasuring each other had gotten up to have our coffee. I wasn't feeling too bad, but I knew that after my three o'clock study session with Rio, I'd probably be too exhausted to make it to bed again. At least, I would have company in a nice warm bed tonight. I had a little pang of sorrow for the folks who would continue to spend every night alone in a tent. "Come here, Kitten," I said, standing up from the table. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her soundly. "I love you," I said into her ear. "Ooo. You gave me goosebumps. Look at my arm!" Indeed, blowing in her ear as I whispered to her had raised little bumps all down her arm. "Just stay here and ... No. Go into the living room and I'll be right back!" She was off to the garage. "What was that about?" I asked as Melody flowed into my arms. "I don't know, but she's been giddy all day," Melody said. "In fact, it started yesterday, but you two were otherwise engaged," Lissa answered. "What on earth is she up to?" We moved into the living room and sat down to wait. "Damon? Drew?" Kate called. "Come help me, please." The rest of us waited with odd expressions on our faces. At last, Kate and the boys tugged and lugged a large box into the living room. It was nearly three feet wide and cube-shaped. They dragged the thing over to me at my chair. "This came Friday for you," Kate said. "Well, it came to me to give to you. I got a letter, too. It's a birthday present from my family for us." "What on earth did they send us?" I asked, looking at the label. It was addressed to Kate with a message under the address label that said, "Do not open. Read the letter." "Okay," Kate said. She was out of breath from dragging the thing in. "According to the letter, I have to go out of the room while you open the present. You have to follow the instructions inside and then I'll come back out. Okay?" I nodded dumbly and Kate ran out to the bedroom. I looked at Melody, Lissa, and the boys and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, should we find out what's in here?" I asked. The boys were beside themselves with excitement. Lissa and Melody nodded. I tore into the packing material. On the top inside the box was a big sheet of paper that that said DON'T HIT IT YET! Underneath was an envelope that said OPEN ME FIRST! "What is it?" Melody asked. Drew and Damon had their heads almost all the way inside the box. "It's a drum," I answered. This wasn't a little drum. It was almost as big as the one the guys were beating the night we were at Kate's parents. Tucked down beside it were two big mallets. "Here's what the letter says. 'Tony, Happy birthday! Sorry this is late, but it takes time to build one this size. I know you are going to say you don't know how to play it, but Kate says you pay a lot of attention to music. So here is what you do. Set it on the wooden blocks that are at the bottom of the box. Then think of your favorite song. You don't have to sing it, just think the melody. When you've got it in your mind, just tap out the words on the drum head with the mallets. It's like Professor Hill's Think Method. Only you won't reproduce the melody, you'll have a great rhythm going instead. Once you start, don't stop. The second part of the present only comes when you've got the rhythm going.' Wow!" I said. We pulled the drum the rest of the way out of the box and found the blocks to set it on. "Oh, I see," Melody said. "The blocks will let the sound out the bottom. Otherwise it would be muffled against the carpet!" "Smart!" I said. "But what song?" "Something you know, obviously," Lissa said. "I've got an idea." I reached for my music player and headset. I scrolled through my music list and let the song run once in the headset. "What is it?" Lissa asked. "It's not important. I'm going to lay in a drum track that was never in the piece and you don't need to know what the music is. You just need to hear the rhythm. Damn! This is fun! Ready?" Everyone nodded. Melody and Lissa each had one of the boys in her lap. I started the music through my earphones and hit the drum with the mallet. Man! It made a big sound. The whole house seemed to shake. The boys put their hands over their ears in shock. I moderated exactly how hard I hit the drum. I'd followed the tempo for only about thirty seconds when I heard a chime from nearby. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see Kate entering the room to my beat, clinking together finger cymbals. I almost dropped the mallet. God, she's gorgeous. Especially when she's dressed in a gypsy outfit like I saw at her home. As I continued to play the rhythm, she began to dance around the living room. With Kate's movement and the cymbals, I didn't need the music in my ears to keep the cadence and rhythm going. I shook my headset off and just kept drumming. I was blown away by how easy it was once I had a tempo and rhythm firmly in mind. Mostly, Kate was following my lead, but then she'd claim the lead with the cymbals and her dance and I'd just follow along. Melody and Lissa were rocking back and forth to the rhythm and the boys started clapping their hands. Kate faced the four of them on the sofa and beckoned to them with her hands. Soon all three women and the two boys were dancing in a circle. Melody and Lissa quickly started to follow Kate's moves. The boys were just shaking their booties to the music and seemed lost in their own world. While Kate led the dancing, I kept up the rhythm. We shifted subtly from one pattern to another, and I just matched what she was doing to a song in my head. It was wild; it was carefree. Our whole family was dancing. We kept it up for about fifteen minutes when I began to lose the rhythm. No matter how enthusiastic you are, you have to build up some endurance. The girls collapsed onto each other on the floor and the boys spun themselves silly and fell on top. We were all laughing like crazy. "That was so fun!" Melody shouted. "I didn't know you could dance!" "We never told you that part of the story," I said, "but you saw the picture I drew of Kate and Gypsy and Sunday." "I thought they just posed that!" Lissa laughed. "Oh, Kate, darling, you are wonderful!" "Back home we dance almost every weekend," Kate said. "It's one of the things I've missed. But it's not the same without the big drums. Grandpa Ken said he was going to make sure that Tony knew the secret to making me dance." "Now that I know it, you'll never get any rest!" I said. "You are going to be sore," Lissa said. "I bet drumming will improve your forehand in the game." "Oh man! Just what I need is another style to toss in to the mix." "You know, it's not dumb, though," Kate said. "You saw what it was like with three men beating the drum. The rhythms are incredible. I'll bet you and Lissa would make a great pair. And I know there's a smaller box still in my room with at least one more pair of mallets." "You didn't bring them over?" I asked. "Well, the instructions in my letter were pretty explicit. Grandpa said that we could learn the rhythm of life together by playing together, but we'd learn just as much when I danced to your playing. Oh, I'm so happy he sent you a drum!" "I'm not very good at it, but I'll get better. I promise." ------- My study session with Rio went all right, though it turned out that we had completely different opinions about what was fact and what was opinion in the pieces we read. The big question we came up with was how to find out what was real and what was bias. I was happy to get home, but sad to find Kate had already returned to her dorm. There was a point where I wanted to drop the mallets and let my fingers strum the tune on her body earlier. The boys, of course, were enthralled with having a big drum in the house, but we decided that the mallets would live on the mantel and not on the drum. I showed them how they could play it with their hands, and joined them as we drummed a little before bedtime. "I haven't decided yet if I like this Grandpa Ken because he brought sensual dance into our home, or to hate him because he brought a drum into a home with a six- and an eight-year-old boy," Lissa laughed. That may have been the last thing I heard before I crashed into a deep sleep. ------- Doc Henredden's class on Tuesday was torturous. It wasn't the project so much as the anxiety I was feeling over asking him his opinion of my newest work. Of all the people at PCAD, I'd learned the most from Doc. I guess I had a little hero-worship going on. Lissa had pressed me to bring the two new drawings to him to get his assessment. Kate stayed with me after class. "Okay. Let's see it," he said abruptly as the class filed out. There was a legitimate reason for me to want to show him this. I wasn't just looking for praise. I was wondering about how the pattern from focal-point to focal-point shifted with such a simple thing as the eyes and how to draw the attention back from the artist to the stack of unopened mail. He looked at the two paintings intently. I hadn't asked him a question yet. I just wanted his opinion first. Kate reached over and took my hand to stop me from fidgeting. "This," Doc said, pointing to the stack of mail. "You need to get back to this." "Yes!" I exclaimed. He looked at me strangely. "I'm sorry," I continued, "but that's what I thought needed to happen, but I can't figure out how to get there." "It's tricky," he said. "You've done a good job with these, by the way. I'm not denigrating what you've accomplished. This one follows a classic pattern and the eye is immediately caught by the first focal point and passed from point to point smoothly until you see the insouciance of the model in her deliberate ignoring of the unopened mail. Now this second piece requires more subtlety. You are passing the focus to the viewer and there needs to be a way to move it back into the picture. You can handle this any way you see fit, but I would suggest a slight change in the expression on your model's face." "How would that affect the pattern?" I asked. "I really want the model to look up in the second painting." "Yes, but the expression is one of pleasure and love. You follow the line and there she is, looking at you with love. No one wants to leave that point. You bring them to a halt. If it were a solo piece, it would be fine. Warm feelings wash over the viewer. But as a companion piece, you don't want the viewer to stop here. You want them to search further. Harden the expression as if the model had just heard some criticism, and the viewer will throw himself back into the painting to find the cause of the censure. Then your previous pattern is picked up and we are led inexorably to the pile of mail. Do you see?" "Wow!" Kate and I exclaimed together. "Yes, I see," I said. "I couldn't figure out how to throw the viewer back into the painting, but that would work." "Try it in some sketches before you repaint, Tony," Doc advised. "Not because you can't paint the expression and achieve that, but because you should test the knowledge to see if that is what you want to do. You might prefer to leave the painting with her looking lovingly at you and sell them separately, or simply hide one until some date far in the future." ------- It was too late to meet Melody for coffee, but Kate and I went out for a light dinner before I headed for practice. I was a little confused when Kate took my portfolio and art supplies from me. "I'll just keep these until you finish practice," she said. "They'll be in my room with me if you want them back." She grinned and I watched her head to her dorm as I turned toward the club. ------- Chapter 23 Our Tuesday night team practice started out as an exercise in chaos and frustration. Whitney was at her peak as a tease and she was fawning all over Lissa. She was wearing tight shorts and a t-shirt that was barely legal in the club. She made sure she was in Lissa's line of sight at all times and frequently touched her when they talked. Lissa set her up to train with Tonya and hoped working against a woman even taller and more powerful than she was would cool her down. Bree sidled up next to me as I watched our men's pair working. "Enjoying the show?" "These guys? You know I don't swing that way." "I meant the one on the next court. That bitch is just bleeding pheromones." "Oh yeah. Whitney," I said dismissively. "She thinks she's a big tease, but she's really just being annoying." "She's decided the best way to get to you is through Lissa," Bree said. "If you don't do something, she'll disrupt the team, and we don't have many people to disrupt. I can't believe there are only six of us and I don't count." "You could play." "It would interfere with my laundry duties. Besides, I'm nowhere big enough to play against you guys. Look at them. All five-ten or more. I'm a shrimp." "Paola is only two inches taller than you, and a couple of years older. You could do it," I suggested. "I'll scrimmage, but I don't think you'll get me in a competition," Bree said. "I think I'll get a bucket of cold water and see if I can cool her down." "Don't go overboard," I laughed. "I think Lissa's got an idea." ------- "Okay, everyone," Lissa called after we'd had a ten minute break. We all gathered around to listen to our coach. "There's two competitions coming up and we've got permission to play if you are all in. The first one is in three weeks up in Bellingham. Second one is a pre-holiday event in Mountlake Terrace. These are local tournaments with a wide variety of talent playing. There aren't any official college club meets in Washington, even though there are some other college clubs that want to play. We'll hold our own invitational next year." "Are we ready for competition?" Tonya asked. "Not really," Lissa answered. "But at the same time, you need a taste of it so that you know what to look forward to. Remember, when we get to the intercollegiate championships next year, there are several levels of play. You don't have to be competing at an Elite level to be in the tournament. And I've got a secret ingredient that will help you all along." That was news to me. "What's that, Lissa?" I asked. "You all have seen how well Brent and Franklin are doing as a doubles team. I think I'd like to try Tonya and Whitney out as a doubles team as well. We might even field two mixed doubles teams so you get a chance to play in several matches. That keeps you out of the spotlight as individuals in the first couple of competitions, but gives you good practice on the court," Lissa said. "I want you to think of this as a little team building. So far you've all played against each other. You are going to start playing with each other. And we're going to start with a demonstration. Tony and I are going to volley. Remember, when you are playing against each other, you try to prevent your opponent from hitting the ball. But when you play with each other, you want them to return it. If you know where to place the ball so your partner can return it, then you can place the ball so your opponent can't return it. Clear as mud?" "Um ... yeah," Brent said. "Sometimes Frank and I just try to see how long we can keep a rally going." "Exactly," Lissa said. "That's what Tony and I are going to do in this demo. We'll start slowly, but you have to consider the person on court with you to be your dance partner. Some of you saw what we did in Minneapolis. We not only danced together, our opponents danced with us. So watch us as we rally for a few minutes, and then we'll let you play. Ready, Tony?" "Sure," I said. I knew what we were going to be doing on the court. Whitney thought she could tease. When Lissa and I were done, Whitney would have a hard time keeping her hands out of her panties. If she was wearing any. ------- It worked like a charm. Lissa and I just smiled at each other and let all the day's cares and worries slip away. Then we started to dance. We began with a couple of easy lobs to each other. We didn't even bother to enter the service area, just started the ball flying. We kept it slow and easy while we adjusted to each other, just letting the ball connect us. We didn't really need any music to set the pace. In a minute we were back in the zone we'd found in Minneapolis. And like all zones, time started to disappear. All there was were the two of us and where the ball would be. At one point, I returned a volley and found myself planted right behind Lissa. We touched and held ourselves together as she returned the ball with a backhand, straight to my forehand. It went back to her backhand and she spun around so that I was in front and returned the ball with my backhand. She kept her turn going until we were both facing the wall again and she met the ball with a forehand into the left corner so that my forehand was called into action again. I immediately flattened myself on the floor as Lissa stepped over me to take the next return. I was sure no one could tell how well in synch we were with each other. People who watch racquetball just see the serves and missed returns. But what they were really seeing with Lissa and me were two people making love on the racquetball court. Don't ask me how we ever got to this point. Someplace, racquetball became like sex to us. We met each other's thrusts. We rolled over each other without hesitation—without breaking the rhythm. We went through foreplay, even sneaking a kiss during one long, slow volley. We built the tempo, reading each other's wants and needs—knowing where to stimulate our partner for just the right response. We touched as we each slid around our partner and touched softly when we passed. Our fingers touched as we switched places. And the pace increased. Soon—or not so soon; who was keeping track?—we were pummeling the ball back and forth to each other. It was a constant rhythm of floor-racquet-wall-floor-racquet-wall. When we were both near our peak, we changed the rhythm up slightly. Racquet-wall-racquet-wall. Sometimes we were playing high on the wall and sometimes low. But the speed continued to increase. I had no idea how long we could keep it going at this rate, but I knew that we would both explode at the same time. Lissa solved the problem. "Now!" she screamed as she sent the ball high on the end wall so that it would hit the back wall before the floor. She dropped her racquet on the floor and I fell into her arms in a deep kiss, still flicking the ball forward as it passed me and dropped to the floor. Lissa and I sank to our knees in the middle of the court, still locked in a kiss, panting and coming down as if we had just had a simultaneous orgasm. "I love you, baby." We exited the court and looked at our five teammates. Bree was sitting behind the others and I could see a tear on her cheek. Everyone else looked at us in stunned silence. Lissa took a deep breath. She was our coach. "We have four doubles teams here," she said. "One men's, one women's, and two mixed. We don't know who is going to click on the mixed side, so let's start with Whitney and Franklin on court 1 and Tonya and Brent on court 2. Now get this. You need to court each other first. Expect some fumbling around. Maybe even an offense. Get through it. You can do it. Now go." They entered the courts and started hitting the ball back and forth to each other while Lissa and I got a drink. When I turned around, Bree was standing next to us. She took each of our hands in hers and looked up at us. "I'm so proud of you ... and so jealous," she whispered. "You can always play, Bree," I said. "That's not what I'm jealous of," she answered. "Don't worry. I'll get through it. I can do it." ------- "You tormented your team!" Kate exclaimed after I'd finished telling her about practice. I'd showered and soaked and showered again before I went to her dorm room. I'd also had a couple liters of water to drink and an energy bar. "Well, not exactly the team," I said. "We were targeting Whitney. I almost think it was harder on Bree, though. Brent, Franklin, and Tonya just took it in stride like they understood what was going on. When I left, though, Lissa said Whitney was still in the shower." "She's going to be fun when we finally have sex with her." "What? I'm not planning to have sex with Whitney. I'm happy right where I am. She's just decided that she's the biggest tease in the world and we had to show her what teasing was all about. After all, we learned from an expert," I laughed. "That's why I brought you here tonight," Kate said. We were lying naked on her bed—a tight fit—and Kate had been softly massaging my arm and chest muscles. She knelt beside me—a tantalizing sight. I lifted a hand to caress the breasts that I loved so much. She pushed it back down. "You brought me here to tease me?" I asked, pouting. "Sort of. Have you read the book?" "It's been crazy. I'm only two chapters in. I think Lissa has read it cover to cover, though." When I visited Kate's home in Oregon over Labor Day, she'd given me two books to read. One was about Tantric sex. "I'll keep that in mind next time I'm with her. But tonight, I just want to take care of you. You don't have to do a thing. In fact, you must do nothing." "I don't know how to do nothing," I said. "Just lie still. Don't twitch or thrust. Don't touch. Hands behind your head. Relax completely." I tried to do exactly what she was saying, but as her hands moved down to my growing prick, my hips bumped forward automatically. She pulled her hands away. "If you want me to touch you, you have to be still," she said. I moaned. "Do you want me to touch you, Tony? Do you want me to run my fingers up the side of your penis? Do you want me to hold your testicles in my hands?" "Yes. Oh yes," I gasped as she demonstrated. "And I want to touch your beautiful breasts and taste your pussy," I continued. "That's what you have to work on not doing," she said. "You have to focus all your attention on what I'm doing." "I'm all yours, Kitten." "You are beautiful, did you know that?" she asked. I don't think I'd been called beautiful before. "So symmetrical, but not perfectly so. Like the little bend, right here." She traced a line on my cock and I almost jumped. It took all my will power to lie still. "What do you call your penis?" "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, the book always says penis, but that seems so clinical. What do you call it?" "I guess cock or dick," I answered. "Cock. I can't call it dick," Kate laughed. "I'd keep thinking of that guy in our fundamentals class, Dick Strange. Then I'd think 'oh, it's a strange dick.' I'd never be able to make love to it." "Then by all means, call it a cock." "Cock. Tony's cock. I love you, Tony's cock. Lie still," she commanded. My hips had started to move forward and I could feel myself getting near the edge. "You have to stay absolutely passive or I'll stop." "But, Kitten, I'm so close." I could feel the cum bubbling up and my balls jerk, then a moment of excruciating pain as Kate pinched down at the base of my cock and I could feel the fluids forced back into my prostate. "Shit!" "I'd like to paint you, cock," Kate continued as if nothing had happened. "I'd start at this little slit on top and work my way down the underside so I could show how the heart is here. You can even feel its beat." I could feel the beat, now, as well. My cock was throbbing beneath her sometimes gentle, sometimes forceful ministrations. If I got too close, she would pinch it off, keeping me so close to the edge I was ready to weep. At the same time, I was becoming detached in a way. The rest of my body was relaxing and my entire consciousness was sinking into my cock. "I wish I could paint you just as you are entering my ... Tony? What do you call my vagina?" "Um ... I guess I call it your pussy. I suppose I could call it Kate's kitty, but I kind of like calling you my Kitten and sometimes even Kit." "Mmm. Pussy. That's what Melody says. Do you know what Lissa says when it's just us? She always talks about her pussy, just like you do to Melody and me, but when I was exploring her with my tongue last week, she suddenly yelled, 'lick my little cunny!' Isn't that funny?" Kate asked. "I've heard Lissa yell that, but she's the only one I know that uses the term. Oh, Kitten, I'm lost to your touch. You're making me feel things I never felt. I just want to pour my heart out to you. I love you, Kate." I was really almost crying. I could feel my eyes getting watery. I was so near the breaking point I could hardly stand it, holding myself rigid then forcing myself to relax and not move a muscle as she played with my cock. "Are you truly ready, Tony?" Kate whispered. "Are you ready to show me how much I've done to you?" "I'm ready, Kitten. I'm so ready." She let go of my cock and crawled up beside me. "What?" "Okay, lover," she whispered in my ear. Her hand was on my chest as I lay on my back, her lips against my cheek. "When you're truly ready, let it come. I'm right here with you. Show me you are really ready." She lifted her head slightly so I could turn to look into her eyes. I was lost. I stared into her hazel eyes, so dark, but not quite brown. So on fire. I let her have me. I fell into her gaze and just as I was near to oblivion, my cock started spurting. Neither of us was touching it. I was lying perfectly still, yet the first jet from the tip arced up between our faces to land on the pillow. She turned her head slightly and caught the second spurt on her chin and lips. There was a third, a fourth, and a fifth jet that each fell a little shorter. Then my cock continued to pulse and dribble for minutes afterward. I was fucking the empty air. With nothing touching me, no movement of my hips, I had just had one of the most powerful orgasms of my life. There was a soft squeal from across the room. I turned my head to see Kate's roommate, Amber, arching her back on her bed with her hand buried in her panties, which was all she was wearing. "How long has she been there?" I whispered. "The whole time," Kate said. "She was in the bathroom when we got into bed. From that point, you just didn't notice anything." "You just displayed me to your roommate." "I just wasn't cognizant of her, any more than you were," Kate said. My god! My girlfriend was more adventurous, more erotic, more unafraid, than anyone I'd ever met. "That was so hot," whispered Amber. "I've never seen anything like it. Thank you. Thank you both." She turned her back to us and in a moment we could hear her breath even out into sleep. I turned back to Kate to find her licking my cum off her face and fingers. She had her own eyes closed and the flush she had on her chest told me she was experiencing her own sexual high, though maybe not an orgasm. When her breathing returned to normal, she kissed me and then snuggled down next to me. The last thought I had as I lay on my back, just fading into sleep, was that my cock was still hard. ------- "Yes, I've got the details, Daddy," Melody was saying on the phone when I found her at home. Lissa and I had no more than walked in the door after practice when Kate grabbed Lissa's hand and dragged her off to the bedroom. What's that all about? "Okay," Melody continued. "You can't invest in the partnership. That's our domestic relationship and it just wouldn't work. But Ice Queen Sportswear is a corporation.— No, not an S-Corporation. We were advised against that.— Yeah, I think he's a very good lawyer and he works well with our accountant.— Well, we had to get good at that really fast. So here's what he says. The corporation will acquire 100 shares of common stock from the partnership. That's one percent of what is outstanding. At that point, you can buy the hundred shares at the ask price of $3,000 per share. That's what you wanted to invest, right? $300,000?" There was a long pause as Melody listened to her father. I took the opportunity to kiss her cheek and she held my hand. "Daddy, Tony is here. Let me put you on speaker so we can both hear you." "Hi, Tony," he said once Melody had touched the button. "Hello, Mr. Anderson," I answered automatically. "Really, Tony. I'm over that. Please call me Harold." "Sure, Harold. Sorry I forgot." "So common stock in the corporation could be negotiated or sold couldn't it?" "Not technically. In any case in which a corporation is privately held, there are inherent restrictions or the corporation becomes public and is saddled with all kinds of SEC restrictions. That's why we can't just sell you stock of our own. The corporation has to issue it." "I see," he paused. "I hate to bring this up, but what about the disposition of the stock when I ... when I'm gone?" "Don't talk like that, Dad," Melody jumped in. "The treatment is going to work and you'll be around for a long time. Maybe even see grandchildren someday." "I'd love that, sweetheart, but I need to be practical and keep my will updated. Can I just leave the stock to you?" "Part of the reason you wanted to invest was so Melody would receive a share of your estate up front without the hassles of inheritance taxes and such. If you willed the stock back, it would likely look like you were giving her a gift instead of investing," I said. "We should make the shares out to you and Lexi as joint tenants with right of survival. If she wanted to sell the stock back to the corporation, she'd take a capital loss that would offset any estate taxes. If we make the stock a joint ownership with right of survival, there isn't even a need to have it in the will." "You're a smart man, Tony," Harold said. "I'm afraid my mind just isn't functioning as fast as it used to. This treatment just takes it out of me." "Can you come out for Thanksgiving?" Melody asked. "I don't think so, sweetie. Your mom is coming and even though we're talking and have stopped the divorce proceeding, she's still pretty mad at me. I don't blame her," Harold sighed. "Just fax the papers to my attorney. I gave you the number. We'll have the money deposited in your accounts by the end of the week." ------- After Melody hung up, she sat there quietly and I could see a tear beginning to form in her eye. I reached down and picked her up in my arms and settled into the big chair. She cuddled up to me and cried quietly for a couple minutes. "He just doesn't sound good," she whispered. "Do you think I should go out to see him again?" "Yes." "Really?" "If I thought my dad was dying, I wouldn't hesitate to take another opportunity to be with him, Little One. You don't need permission to go, but if you want it, you've got it. Can you work out your schedule?" I asked. It seemed there was a long weekend coming up when PCAD classes would be out for a faculty conference. "Mid-terms are Monday and Tuesday. I could take the rest of the week," she said thoughtfully. "But wait! Then I'll miss our Halloween party." "Think, lover," I said. "What's more important, a Halloween party or seeing your dad while you can?" "You're right. Thank you, darling; thank you." "He's your father, Melody. Nothing is more important than family," I said. "Speaking of which, where is the rest of our family?" "Oh god! The boys will be home anytime now and Kate's got Lissa in the bedroom. Molly will be here soon. What did you do to Kate this morning?" "Hmm? What do you mean?" "She grabbed me twice today and ... well ... we played with each other between classes. She actually dragged me into a janitor's closet and fingered me until I screamed. Then when you got here she dragged Lissa off to the bedroom. She's acting wild." "Oh." "Come on. That's not something you say 'oh' about and leave it. What did you do?" "Well, it got started when she gave me a hand-job last night and then we went to sleep. I woke up this morning with her riding me. I came but she didn't. She said she wanted to stay on edge today. Did she come when you fingered her?" "Well, if she did, it was a really small one. How did this get started." "You wouldn't believe what she did to me last night," I started. I told her about the delayed response and how I came so hard after she'd stopped touching me. I left out the part about her roommate watching. At least Amber was gone when we made love this morning. "So she said she wanted to see how long she could stay on edge before she came today. I take it she's rocking all her lovers on her way to a big one tonight. Who are you calling?" "Molly. I think we'd better go meet her at Red Robin instead of bringing the boys right home. We'll bring back food for Kate and Lissa if they ever come up for air," Melody laughed. In two minutes we were out the door. ------- Kate was moaning in the middle of the bed. Lissa had gone to sleep and Melody hid behind her, too exhausted to enjoy any more sex. I lay down on the opposite side of Kate. I wondered where her mind was just now. She stared glassy-eyed at the ceiling and her body was wracked by little convulsions. As soon as I lay down beside her she turned to look at me and reached for my cock. I finally got it. Damn! I can be so dense sometimes. I pulled her hand away and placed it firmly at her side. Her eyes never left mine as I moved above so I could look down at her. I lightly drew a figure eight around her breasts and repeated it several times until I was only circling her nipples. I planted my hands on the mattress on either side of her to lift myself up. Kate's mouth was open slightly and her eyes never wavered from mine as I bent to kiss her lips softly. I pulled back and kept eye contact. "It's okay, love," I said. "You've had a fun day. It's time now. Come for me, darling." It took about thirty seconds. Her breathing got ragged and her eyes began to flutter. I used our old gesture and pointed two fingers to my eyes. She locked on them like they were her salvation and without moving her hands from the bed her back arched and she screamed. This was no ordinary high-pitched whine nor the sudden holding of breath that sometimes caused Kate to black out in orgasm. Nor was it a short screech as she peaked. The scream emptied every corner of her lungs as her entire body vibrated. At one point only her head and heels were touching the mattress, and I wasn't sure about those. But in the whole time her eyes never left mine. It was so intense that I felt a surprising spurt from my cock in response. Kate wrapped her arms around my neck and dragged me to her lips for a long and hungry kiss. She turned to Lissa and Melody who were both staring in disbelief and possibly shaking from their own aftershocks. Kate kissed them each and then settled back down into my arms to sleep. "Thank you, lovers. Oh, thank you. I don't think I'll do that very often. That was ... oh wow. I hope you can go back to sleep now. Oh wow. 'Night." Kate drifted off to sleep in my arms and I glanced up into the bemused faces of my other lovers. They shook their heads and snuggled under the covers next to us. I don't remember what came next. ------- "I got the key. Let's go," Eric said as we entered the athletic pavilion. I'd just come from my Pilate's workout on Saturday morning. There was still a pretty heavy cloud-cover and threat of more rain, but for the moment it was dry. I was carrying a portable easel and two good-sized sketchpads as well as assorted drawing media. Eric had convinced me that I needed to sketch Tent City from the roof. He dragged a stool from the sports therapy room as we headed to the back of the building and the roof access stairs. His key worked fine and we were soon on the roof. It was a little breezier up here and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep the paper on the easel while I drew. I had a couple big binder clips with me that I hoped would keep it stable if the whole easel didn't blow over. There was a two-foot high wall around the roof. I set the easel against it and the stool slightly to one side so I could see over the edge while I worked, propping my feet up on the wall. Eric kindly stabilized the easel in the breeze. At last I took a look down at the camp. There is a running track around the sports field that is just eight feet away from the building. The monitor's tent was set up against the building spanning the paved lip between the building and the track. We weren't set up for sleeping nor was there a platform to keep us up off the cold, wet concrete. But beyond the track was the encampment. Looking at it from this angle, it reminded me of Kate's family back in Oregon—a sort of haphazard arrangement of living spaces. The tents weren't laid out in neat even rows or avenues. In the first place, there were several different sizes of tents. Some were even smaller than the tent Melody, Lissa, and I had used when we traveled cross-country last summer. I tried to imagine what it would be like for the three of us to actually live in that one room and shuddered. I sketched out the randomness then identified the pattern. The tents were in blocks of four, each facing a different direction. Because they were different sizes, the blocks were irregular. Since they all faced different directions, no one had a next door neighbor with a tent entrance beside them or across from them. With the varied colors of the tents—mostly greens and yellows—there was a gently chaotic look to the camp, especially since many of the tents were also draped with blue tarps. At two stations, the gas heat lamps warmed a space of a few feet around them where people huddled. Of course, no space heaters were allowed inside any of the tents because of the threat of fire or asphyxiation. At the end of the encampment, separated from the last row of tents by a good ten feet, was a row of Honey Buckets. I sketched like mad, tearing through a couple of quick layout sketches and then trying to focus on specific aspects. What were the focal points in this setting? Three guys in army surplus coats, huddled under the heat lamp. The row of portable toilets. A loose corner of a tarp that was flapping in the breeze. Two people embracing in the corner of the camp. A line of a dozen people waiting to get into the kitchen tent. The wisp of smoke from a guy's cigarette. I worked for an hour and a half with Eric keeping my stuff from flying away as I drew. I used colored pencils to rough in the chaos and a heavy 8B graphite to deepen the shadows. Working from this angle, I couldn't put detail into people. I couldn't see into any tents. I kept trying to see what it would look like without the canvas wall that surrounded it—what it would look like if I could get something between the flat, on-the-ground view that I could see from the monitor's tent and the bird's eye view from the rooftop. If the building had a window half-way down the wall, it would be perfect, but alas, there was none. I was exhausted and Eric was nearly frozen when we packed everything up and went inside. "Man! I don't remember October being this cold last year," I said. "No. It didn't get really cold until December last year," Eric said, "but at least we weren't snowed in like two years ago." "Snow? Here?" I'd only lived in Seattle a year and hadn't seen any snow in that time. "Severe. Knocked out the power to half the county. Suburbs were hit worst, but winter quarter started a week late here at SCU." "Sounds more like Nebraska." "Probably worse. Nobody here knows how to drive on snow and the city only has like one snowplow and a Zamboni. There were busses jackknifed at the foot of every hill, even on snow routes," Eric laughed. "A week later it was sixty and everything was flooded." "What do they do in weather like that?" I asked, looking at my drawing. "If it's below freezing, we open up the building and those who want to come in for the night. Most won't, though. As long as they are outside, they feel like they are meeting their own needs in the best way they can. Once they come inside, they're taking charity," Eric sighed. "We've just got to find a more permanent solution to the problem." "Oh man, I've got to get going!" I said, glancing at my phone. "I was hoping to get a nap before my shift tonight, but there's a damn football game this afternoon and we all promised Sandra that we'd come and cheer for her boyfriend." "Oh yeah. That's your friend who's dating Walt Rosenberg, isn't it. Well, go get your crimson and gold on and cheer for the team. And thanks for letting me be a part of your arting today. It was cool." "Damn cold, in fact," I joked. "But I really appreciate you helping and getting me up here. I'm excited to create a painting." ------- Chapter 24 The football game was fun. I don't think I'd ever been to a college football game, and even though SCU is Division III, it was a good game. The fact that we were playing Pacific Lutheran University meant that it was an inter-city rivalry down in Tacoma, so there were a couple thousand people at the stadium. We loaded both our cars—the boys were thrilled to be going to a football game and wanted to know if anyone would hit a homerun—and Sandra had her car loaded as well. Since Bree is no longer a cheerleader, she rode with Sandra and Melody surprised me by riding with them. Thor rode on the back of Amy's bike. By the time we were all together at the stadium, we made a sizable cheering block for SCU and waved at Sonia as we filed in to get seats together. Okay. I admit I was hoarse from yelling by the time we ended the afternoon and headed for the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. I barely got home in time to get a shower so I could warm up and then head over to campus for my overnight in the monitor's tent. Oh, and we lost. ------- With no sleep during the day, I was already nodding off in the chair they had for us at the tent by ten-thirty. There was no way I'd be studying. Except I forgot my Anatomy team. They all showed up at midnight and neither Amanda nor Justin was hoarse. They hadn't gone to the game. Bree looked a little sleepy, but we got down to scoping out our project. "So, why can't you just draw the things that we need for the presentation and then we'll put together the script?" Justin asked. "I don't have anything to draw," I answered. "There's tons of pictures," Amanda argued. "Why would I draw a picture of a picture?" I asked. "That's just busy work. Photocopy it and let's work on the presentation from there." "Are you saying you drew all these from dead bodies?" Justin asked, pointing at one of my portfolios. It had about forty anatomical drawings that I'd done last winter. "Um ... yeah, actually." There was a lot of emotional impact to what I was about to say and I didn't know where any of my teammates stood on the issue. "During the holiday break last year, the exhibition called 'Bodies' was in St. Louis. I convinced my folks to let me spend two days there. I spent the entire twelve hours each day sketching what I saw. I know a lot of people think it's disrespectful to the people who died and were preserved, but ... well, I was really interested." "I don't know that I could have done that," Bree said. "I love the body, but I don't know if I could detach myself enough to see it as art." "It's not art. It's science," Justin said firmly. "Med students have been dissecting human bodies for hundreds of years. If we didn't, medicine would still be back in the dark ages." "Hmm," Amanda said. "So are you saying that you could do the drawings for our project if you actually saw a subject? I mean, like if we did an autopsy, for example, you could draw what we saw?" "Well, yeah. But, don't go killing anyone for my sake, okay?" "Of course not," she snapped. No sense of humor. "But there's a program that we can participate in that allows us to watch at the Med School. First year med students will be dissecting cadavers the middle of November. Would you pass out in the presence of an unpreserved dead body?" she asked. "Well ... no. Not unless it was fresh." Amanda rolled her eyes. "I'll see if I can get us into it and you can do the sketches of a real body. That will put us way ahead of the rest of the class." ------- Amanda and Justin left about two. My eyes were crossing, I was so tired. Bree hung around like she wanted to say something. "Aren't you going home to bed, Bree?" I asked. "I was wondering ... um ... oh god ... if..." Uh-oh, I thought. "I asked Melody and she said if you were willing that it would be okay to just hold me for a while," Bree managed to get out at last. "No kissing, no making out, no ... um ... fondling. Just ... would you hold me, Tony?" I opened my arms and the little redhead bounced into my lap. The office-type chair that I had wasn't that conducive to having two people in it, but I rolled it back so that I was against the side of the building and hoped that would keep it from tipping over, at least. For her part, Bree did her best to curl up into the smallest ball possible as I wrapped my arms around her. As soon as she felt me hug her, she relaxed. We just sat there for a while as my eyes got steadily heavier. I couldn't let it go, though. "Why are you doing this, Bree? You don't have to try to be with me. I'm your friend." "That's what I'm trying to learn about," she said. "I only know two ways to interact with guys. They are either my father or I have sex. Well, used to. I've been talking to Melody and Kate a lot lately." "That's an improvement," I chuckled. "No one has a single bruise yet," Bree responded in kind. "But they are teaching me stuff that I never figured out. I need to learn how to be with a man and not be sexual or be his good little girl. But, god! It gets so lonely sometimes. I just want to have someone who will hold me." "Anytime, Bree," I said. And I meant it. It felt like we'd turned a corner and with that thought, I drifted off to sleep. ------- On Wednesday, after midterms at PCAD, I kissed Melody goodbye and Lissa took her to the airport. I went through my normal daily routine, including a workout with Lissa at the club when she got back from the airport. We got home just in time to meet Molly and the boys. I whipped up a meatloaf and mashed potatoes and while it was cooking, sat to read. "Is Meddy's daddy okay?" Damon asked out of the blue. "Hey there. Meddy's dad is very sick, so she wanted to go visit him. It's nothing for you guys to worry about. Melody will be back on Sunday." "Is Meddy's dad our grandpa?" Damon continued. "Well ... I guess you could say that, but like my mom and dad and Gramma Lexi, they aren't regular grandparents, they're special grandparents. You'll get to meet them at Thanksgiving next month. They are coming here for a visit." "And Gramma Lexi," Drew chimed in. He'd taken an instant liking to Lexi last spring, just as he had to Melody before that. "That's right, kiddo. Gramma Lexi will be here and so will Grandpa Saul and Grandma Deb—my mommy and daddy." "I like grammas and grampas," Drew affirmed. "So do I." ------- Lissa and I got the boys to bed, the kitchen cleaned up, and sat to listen to the silence in the house. By some miracle, I'd managed to stay ahead of my homework since we got home from Minneapolis and was feeling pretty good about where I was, so the two of us had a chance to just get to know each other again. We sat in the big chair at first, but Lissa was a little antsy and we agreed a bath was what we needed. "You know, I love Kate," Lissa said. "But?" I asked. "Don't even mention butt until mine's bare," she giggled. I quickly helped remedy the situation and gave her butt a light pat. "Butt?" I asked again. We stepped into the tub and decided not to run the jets in case the boys needed us. "But she completely exhausted me Wednesday. I thought Melody was insatiable, but she was wrung out, too. I don't know how many times I came after she dragged me to the bedroom, and nothing I could do would get her off. Then that scream when she did go off—and no one even touching her. I nearly went through the ceiling at first, but then when I saw her, I think I came again! What got into her?" Lissa asked. "Were you upset? Unhappy? Unwilling?" "No. Just surprised. And a little overwhelmed, I guess. It was just so unlike the sweet innocent girl we fell in love with," Lissa sighed. "Well, it's true," I said. "I mean, I still think she's sweet, but not so innocent anymore. I mean, let's face it; she was a virgin who had never had an orgasm until our birthday just over a month ago. None of us came into our relationship that uh ... naïve. Melody and I were virgins, but we'd practiced a lot. Kate didn't even really believe you when you told her it would hurt. So ... that sweet and innocent girl gives up her virginity, not to one person, but to three on the same night. Again, even the way we've played in the past few months, none of us had quite an equivalent introduction to sex. I think she feels like she has a lot to catch up on." "But she's still teaching us!" Lissa said. "Now I want to know if I could spend the whole day on edge and then come like that. She took us way beyond teasing before a tournament." "What's worrying you, darling?" "I'm afraid that ... well, that once she's tried everything she can think of, she'll want to try everyone." "Yeah. That's a danger, isn't it." "How can you be so calm about it?" "Lissa, you were married to Jack and then celibate until you met Melody and me, right?" She nodded her head. "How many people have you made love to this year?" "Three, but..." I shook my head. "Five," she sighed. "And Kate wasn't with us for Ally or Beth, yet she fully approved, even though I don't think she'd go to bed with Ally. Maybe with Beth. And she's played around with Wendy. I don't think Wendy actually wants to be in our communal bed. But you know what?" Lissa looked at me plaintively. "Kate loves us. She loves us so much she'd do anything for us, but more than that. She loves us so much that she trusts us to let her experiment." "You're so smart. Are you my much younger lover or my older wiser mentor?" she asked. She was shaking her head. "I'm the man who loves you like no other and always will," I said. That settled it. We didn't really talk much the rest of the night. With words. ------- "Oh, god, that feels good. A little to the left. Yes! Oh, oh, oh!" "My god, you certainly are vocal tonight," Bree laughed. "Keep it down or I'll have the entire football team lined up outside." She'd just hit the exact spot beneath my left shoulder blade that had been driving me crazy all week. As she pressed her thumbs into the muscle I could feel the knot finally relaxing. "Oh, that felt good," I moaned. "That spot's been giving me fits all week." "Well, I'm glad I got it. What are you even doing here today? Don't you have a party to get ready for tonight?" "Yeah. But we're not starting till eight. There's plenty of time. And you do not know what it's like with three women in the kitchen." "I thought Melody was in Boston." "Yes, but Wendy took the night off work to come and help. She really loves to prepare for a party." "Well, don't you have to go put on a costume or something? I've got my sexy pirate outfit hanging in my room." I grinned. "Oh, didn't you know? This isn't a dress-up party; it's a dress-off party." "What! Are we having another naked posing party? Melody didn't say anything about that." "No. That's not what's planned. Unless Kate gets her way. She'd love to draw some men other than me." "Yeah. Draw them. Right." "Hey! Who's dragging me off to draw a corpse next week?" "That wasn't my idea. Fucking Amanda thinks she's the queen," Bree said disgustedly. "Hmm. Think we could get her and Justin to pose naked?" I asked. "You don't think they're—" "Just savor that image and go put on your sexy pirate costume," I laughed. "If you want to come over early, you're welcome to." "Thanks. Get your ass to the shower. I'll see you in a couple hours." ------- "Hey, Little One. How's it going, love?" I asked as soon as Melody's call rang through. She'd been gone two days and even in the busy week, I missed her like crazy. "I wish I was home with you," Melody whined. "I'm horny." "Already, sweetheart?" Lissa asked as she huddled over the phone with me. "I miss you," Melody said. "I love you." "We love you too. How's your dad doing?" I asked. "It's sad. He's really thin and completely bald. He was really glad to see me, though." "Oh, sweetie, I should have come with you," Lissa said. "Give him a kiss from me, okay?" "Oh, he'll like that," Melody laughed. "Every time he mentions you, he calls you my beautiful wife." "He really came around, didn't he?" I asked. "Yeah. He's still pigheaded and stubborn about some things, but he's accepted us being together." "What's he resisting?" I asked. "He still won't move back home. He says that he chose his course and he won't subject Mom to living with a man that is of no use and just a burden," Melody said. "That's just harsh," Lissa said. "If you ever get sick, don't you even think about running away from us. I will chase you down and drag you back home." "I love you, Lissa," Melody cried. "Thank you for being my lover and my wife." "You know that goes for the rest of us, too," I said. "I'm going to call Kate in to say hi. She's in the kitchen with Wendy and Bree." I left the phone with Lissa as I ran out to get Kate. Bree said, "Say hi for me." We went back into the bedroom. "Kate's here, darling," I called as we entered. "Hi, love," Melody said. "I love you, Mel," Kate answered. "How's your mom doing?" I almost corrected her. It was Melody's father that was sick. Then I kicked myself mentally. We hadn't asked about her mother at all. That has to be just as hard on her as seeing her father sick. "Oh, sweetie, she's really sad. She comes over to visit dad every day. I'm headed over there in a few minutes. Dad just went to bed and it's still only ten. I need to hold my mommy and let her know that I love her." "I'm glad you're going over there," Kate said, "but remember that she gets to comfort you, too. You're her little girl and your father is holding her away while he's sick. She just has to take care of someone and you get to be the one." "God! How'd you get so smart, Kate?" Melody asked. "Well, there's going to be a lot of mutual comfort going on," Kate said. "I watched Grandpa Ken when my grandma died. Even after she was gone, he felt like he needed to take care of someone. It was as much a part of his healing as grieving was. He took care of the twins and me and taught us all day long, even though Momma was right there." "I love you, Kitten," Melody said. "You always know just how people are feeling." I had to agree with her there and we started talking about the party and who all was coming. Bree and Wendy were still in the kitchen putting together the snacks. "Did you say Bree was there helping?" Melody asked. "Yes. She got here a few minutes before you called," I answered. "Would you call her in?" Melody asked. I stepped into the hall and called for Bree. She approached with a curious look on her face. "Hi Melody," Bree said. "I hope you're having a good visit with your father. Is he getting better?" "About the same, miss," Melody answered. "I wish I was there with you guys for the party, though. I intended to be." "Believe it or not, I was looking forward to seeing you," Bree said. "Right. Now, Tony, please describe for me what Bree's costume is," Melody said. "Um ... you want me to take a picture and send it to you?" I asked. "No. I want to see it through your eyes. Be honest and don't skip anything." "Okay. Well, it's a sexy pirate outfit. She's wearing a green bandana with her red hair sticking out all over everyplace. She's got a kind of leather vest—Is that real or fake?—fake leather, like ultrasuede or something, that's ragged at the bottom. She has a kind of peasant blouse on under it that's pulled off both shoulders with long flowing sleeves. The vest is laced under her boobs, so they really ... um ... stand out." Bree was blushing and you could see every freckle on her skin just brighten. "Wait. Laced? Like a bustier?" I looked at Kate and Lissa with a raised eyebrow. "It's too short for a bustier," Lissa said. "Her tummy is bare and she's got a cute innie navel with a big diamond cluster in it." "Yow!" Melody said. "Sounds hot. Keep going, Tony." "Oh! Wait a minute," I said. "Did you know she has a dragon tattooed on her left shoulder blade? That wasn't there at the party last spring." "I got it on my birthday this summer." "Our own girl with a dragon tattoo," Melody giggled. "Okay. Well, that gets down to the skirt. It's kind of a two-layer thing. The under part is short, of course, and green to match her bandana. It's got a ragged fringe like the vest does. The over part is kind of like the sashes we were wearing for the posing party last spring. It's cut at a diagonal, so it's longer on the left than the right and she's got a sword stuck through it. Then she's got these knee-high laced up boots with heels so high she's almost as tall as Kate." "Oh, Bree! Fuck-me boots?" Melody laughed. "Melody!" Bree shouted. "It's just sexy." "Well listen, sexy," Mel said. "Just so you know, it's okay with me if you give Tony a nice goodnight kiss tonight. Just don't go trying to get him into your pants, okay?" "Um ... I don't think so," Bree stammered looking at Kate and Lissa. They were both smiling at her. "It's ... uh ... not tonight. Mel, even if it's okay ... um ... I'm not going to unless you're here. I promised, remember?" "Hey, I love you all and you have to get this party started!" Melody exclaimed. "And I have to get over to my mom's. Before you all take off, would you take me off speaker and let me talk to Bree a minute?" We all said goodnight and that we loved her and then I took the phone off speaker and handed it to Bree. After she said "hi" she just listened for a minute. "Thank you, Melody," Bree answered. "Yeah. I'm really sure. Just come back soon, okay?—See you Sunday or Monday." She disconnected and handed the phone back to me and left the bedroom without saying anything to anyone. "What was that all about?" I asked Lissa and Kate. "Got me beat," Lissa said, "but whether she kisses you or not, I'm going to get a much closer look at that diamond cluster in her navel." "Mmm. Dippin' Dots," Kate laughed. She kissed Lissa then turned to me. "Don't worry, Tony. Bree and Melody are working it out. Melody gave an inch and Bree was honored her by giving it back. It's not about you." "Well that's comforting," I said, giving each of my partners a deep kiss. It threatened to keep us in the bedroom a long time. Bree wasn't the only one in a sexy costume. We broke the kiss, panting a little. "Let's get this party started," Lissa said. ------- I greeted guests at the door as they arrived, and each one was just as sexy as the one before. I suppose I should start with my own get-up. I was dressed as Spartacus. I really didn't have any choice in the matter. My women had presented the costume to me before Melody left for Boston and made me try it on. Then they proceeded to try to get me to act like the character and "take them all" like slave girls. Make me suffer some more! They decided I needed to be oiled in order to make it look right and Lissa had done the honors before I came out of the bedroom. She followed soon after and was almost unrecognizable. She had a black, waist-length wig on and a black dress that fit her like a glove. The plunging front neckline went all the way to her navel. Her tits must have been glued inside so they didn't pop out. If Gomez had ever seen this Morticia, it would have been a different kind of TV show. Kate and Wendy were both adorable and sexy as hell in matching French maid costumes, complete with garters, stockings, and French-cut bikini panties. The first couple to arrive was Patrick and Noelle James dressed as Batman and Catwoman. Okay. They pulled off the sexy couple routine, even though Patrick needed the padded suit and Noelle filled out the Catwoman outfit a little more than I remember from the movie. But that was, like, Anne Hathaway. Nonetheless, they were barely in the door when Princess Leia showed up. Not the demure Princess, but the one where she's dressed like a slave-girl for Jabba the Hut. And she was a lot taller than I remembered from the movie. Whitney could sure make that outfit look good, though. Right behind her, Rio seemed to be wearing just a dressing gown—a really elegant one that you might think of as from the 40s or 50s. But she wouldn't tell me who she was supposed to be, so I spent a good share of the night guessing. Eric showed up with a total fox beside him. He was dressed in an Elizabethan outfit, complete with rapier and codpiece. It was evident from the tall, elegant Elizabethan girl that accompanied him that they were Romeo and Juliet. "Wow, Eric. These are great costumes. Where did you get them?" "Oh, we borrowed them from the theater. I should say my lovely date did," Eric grinned. Eric with a woman? And this girl was a knock-out. She was slender and sexy, and about the same height as Eric. She let her eyes drift down as if she was shy—or maybe she was checking me out. "And who is this unbelievably beautiful woman with you?" I asked. "Sorry, I don't recognize you." "Oh, you would if you really saw me." I almost passed out. That voice wasn't a woman's voice. "Um ... uh ... you sound familiar," I said. "You've just never seen me in drag. Usually I'm trying to look all macho so Amy doesn't get upset with me." "Kevin?" One of Amy's best friends was a gay guy she went out with so they could both pick up dates last year. "Yeah. Amy introduced me to Eric at your birthday party last month. We kind of hit it off." "I had no idea," I said. "And god! You look beautiful. Sorry, Eric. I don't mean to be ogling your date. It's just, until you spoke I'd have never known." "It's okay, Tony," Eric said. "You can just think of Kevin as one of the girls. He happens to have the deluxe package, though." "You're going to get hit on by straight guys all night, Kev," I said. "Mmm. Sounds like it could be fun," he said with a little wiggle that I swear was a girl under his dress. They laughed and moved on into the party. ------- We were having a great time. We played all those silly party games that you play as a kid, but we did the grown-up version. We had a great time divided into two teams and standing boy-girl-boy-girl in a line then passing an apple from person to person without touching it with our hands. Things got real interesting when Rio let the apple slip out from under her chin and leaned backwards to keep it cradled in her prodigious cleavage. "Um ... Rio?" I said as I tried to figure out how I was going to trap the apple between my chin and neck as it was nestled in her cleavage. "I'm not sure ... um ... how I can ... um ... dig it out of there with my chin." "Come on, Tony. You've got to try. The other team is getting ahead," she laughed. "Just get your face down in there and let nature take its course." It took a while, but I managed to get my chin between her tits and roll the apple upward until I could trap it. I had to support her back with my hand, though while I wedged the apple against my chin. I couldn't feel any straps and up front things were moving around like they had a life of their own. I couldn't help myself. Before I lifted away, I kissed the top of each of her boobs. Her eyes were big as saucers when I finally pulled the apple out and turned away. By that time, the other team had already won, but we kept going until everyone on our side had managed to pass the apple. "Let's play that again," Rio suggested. Everyone laughed. ------- "Damn it! It's your fault, Tony!" Amy spat at me. She'd grabbed my hand and dragged me out to the deck. It was pretty chilly out there and we stood under the shelter of the eaves so we'd be out of the rain. With me in my Spartacus outfit and Amy doing an incredible impression of Xena, neither of us were really dressed for this weather. "What's my fault, Amy?" "Everything. You make it look so easy," she said. I could feel her shudder and I pulled her close to me as the flood-gates opened and Amy started crying. Shit. I couldn't say I warned her. Now what could I do? "I'm sorry, Amy. God, I'm so sorry." It was really all I could say. I was sorry. I tried to warn her that having a three-way relationship wasn't as easy as it looked. But mostly it wasn't as easy because we all loved each other and would do anything for each other. I just didn't think that was what her relationship with Thor and Sonia was like. They were inside—Sonia dressed as Aphrodite and Thor as ... well ... Thor. "Tell me about it, Ames." I said softly. She was quiet for a long moment before she choked out the words. "He wants me." Ouch. "That was never part of the deal. We were both going to share Sonia. But how can he want me? I'm a lesbian. He's got Sonia. How perverted is that?" "Hey, Amy," I comforted. "It's okay. Look, it's not about you being a lesbian. How could he not want you? You're beautiful, sexy, smart, playful. What's not to want?" "But I'm a lesbian!" "That governs what you want, not what other people want. Shit, Amy. I still get a boner every time I think about the kiss you gave me at the pajama party. And, yeah, I know you're a lesbian and I'd never think of crossing the line with you, but I still get turned on by you." "You do?" She started to pull away from me but I held on. "It's just a male anatomy thing. He's not pushing you to actually do anything, is he?" "Um ... actually ... yes. That's what pisses me off. He wants me to trade places with Sonia when we're teamed up on her. He wants his hands on me. He wants his fucking cock in me," Amy said. "Shit. The idiot." "Why doesn't it work for us like it works for you?" "Well, because that was never an issue with us. Lissa and Melody are both admittedly bi. They love each other and they both want me. And Kate ... well, it's different with Kate. She simply doesn't distinguish between men and women. It's all about the connection with her," I said. "You mean if I want it to work, I have to let him fuck me?" "Ames, letting a man—any man—fuck you would destroy you. That's not making it work." "But I love them." "Them?" "Yes. I love Thor. He's nice, funny, talented, considerate, handsome. I just don't want his boy-parts." "Amy, you've really got to talk this out with them. Tell them they have to listen while you explain about you. If Thor can't accept you for who you are in the way you need to be accepted, he can't love you," I said. I just hoped I was right. If one of my women—any one of them—said she loved me but we couldn't ever have sex, would I be able to respect that? Shit. "Thank you, Tony," she said, giving me a big squeeze. "I wish you had a pussy." "Some days I wish so, too. Maybe I can borrow one." ------- I was in the kitchen refilling the bowls of dip when arms slipped around my waist and I could feel a pair of big soft tits pressed into my back. I looked down and saw that the hands caressing my stomach and chest wore black gloves, but they weren't Lissa's. "Uh ... excuse me," I said, lifting the hand that was headed for my waistband and turning around. Catwoman was facing me. "Meow," Noelle said. "I bet you could make my kitty purr." "I don't ... just don't play like that," I said. "Thanks for the offer, but no." I pushed her back away from me and took the dip to the dining room. ------- "Okay, I give up," I said. We were sitting in the living room. There were only about a dozen of us left, among whom were several of my SCU friends. All of a sudden I felt like I'd really wasted my first year in school. I had lots more friends at SCU than I did at PCAD. Whitney, Rick, June, Amanda, Justin, Sandra, Walt, Bree, Wendy, Kate, Lissa, and I were all trying to guess what Rio's dressing gown costume was supposed to represent. "So who or what are you supposed to be. Not that just showing up in a dressing gown and not much else isn't sexy and all," I added. But she had told us that she had a specific character in mind and none of us had come up with an answer that worked. Rio stood up and stepped in front of me. She struck a sexy pose that looked a little familiar. A painting. Which was it? Her robe began to slide down off her shoulders and was barely kept from falling to her waist because it caught on her nipples. "I'm Hélène Fourment," she said, waiting for us to get it. I didn't. "Some artists. She married Rubens in 1630 and was the model for The Feast of Venus and The Three Graces. I'm your next model," Rio said. "Like she did for Rubens." Now I recognized the pose. Of course. "You know that won't work," Bree said. "I tried the same move in a hotel in Tempe." "I tried it in his dorm room last spring," Sandra added. "I tried it at the posing party," Kate added. "I tried it downstairs in September," Wendy said, giggling. "Lissa tried it in front of an entire classroom," I laughed, getting what was going on. "As far as we know, the only one it ever worked for was Melody," Lissa said. "Wait!" Walt said. "Women just stand up in front of you and take their clothes off? How cool is that?" "It does happen," I said. "I'm an artist." "Well, go ahead, Rio," Walt said. "Let's see if it works this time." Rio was sufficiently deflated that she pulled the robe closed and sat back down. "Well, how was I supposed to know," she said. "It was worth a try. And I thought all you artists would know." "You go, girl," Whitney said. "I wish I'd thought of it." "I tell you what," I laughed. "We'll have another posing party after everybody is back from the holiday. I remember that scene you were posing. We could work something out like that. Why'd you choose Rubens?" "Oh. Because he painted ... um ... full-figured women ... um ... like me. And if they were nude—which it looks like they usually were—it looked like their clothes had just accidentally fallen off," Rio explained. "You're right," I said. "How'd you figure all that out. Did you take a class?" "No. I just went to the art section of the library and looked through every book on the shelf till I found something I thought would work and then looked up everything I could find on it." "Good choice. Unlike Bree or Allison or Kate or Lissa or Sandra or whoever else, I think you are the first to have researched your subject. Uh ... You know that scene has men in it, too, though." "Oh!" "I'm in," Walt said. "Sandra gave me a play-by-play of what happened last spring and showed me the pictures. I want in one of them." Rick and June just sat there with their mouths open. "Yeah. I'd do it," Justin said. "I always wondered what it would be like. I don't look like much, but if Rio is willing, I'm willing." "Can you use the rest of us women in the scene, too?" Amanda asked. "If we can keep things from getting out of control, I'll put together a scene that is reminiscent of the Rubens piece, but that is completely our own. But you'll all have to sign model releases so I can exhibit it at our show in February," I said. ------- They were gone at last. I was flopped out on the bed and Lissa was in the bathroom removing her wig when Kate came in. "Can I join you tonight?" Kate asked. "When did you ever need to ask that, Kitten?" I responded. "Well, I wasn't sure if you had something ... um ... planned." "What time is it, lover?" "Two in the morning," Kate said. "Did you have something planned, Lissa?" I asked. "No," came her answer from the bathroom. "I'm way too tired to plan anything," I said. "Then could Wendy join us?" Kate asked. "In bed?" I squeaked. Lissa came out to join the conversation. "Is it a good idea, Kitten?" Lissa asked. "She's so lonely. I could just cuddle her in the other bedroom if you prefer." "No," I said. I really didn't want Kate to not be in our bed, even if it meant a visitor. "You okay with it, Liss?" "Yeah, but do we need to put pajamas on?" Kate shook her head. "Just get in bed when you are ready and we'll come in," she said before leaving the room. I finished undressing and brushed my teeth then slid into bed beside Lissa. "What do you think?" I whispered. "We'll just wait and see. You know how sensitive Kate is to other people's needs," Lissa whispered back. "I'm so sleepy I'm about to collapse anyway," I said. Lissa kissed me. There are kisses that put all your senses on alert. They arouse you sexually; they transmit love and depth of emotion. They involve the lips, the tongue, and the heart. And there are kisses that are so peaceful that no matter how long they last and whether your tongues touch or not, they just draw you into the other person and let you float on her dreams. That was the kiss Lissa gave me, and before we had parted, I was floating on that dream. ------- I was vaguely aware of Kate and Wendy slipping into bed beside me. The soft caress of my arm and gentle kiss of my shoulder were enough to let me know all was well and to go back to sleep. We snuggled together in the big bed and slept. ------- I woke on my back with Lissa snuggled against my right side. My left side was being shaken slightly by soft sobs from a tiger-striped head up against me and my arm was being gripped fiercely. I turned my head slightly and could see Kate spooned behind Wendy. I extracted my arm from between our bodies and wrapped it around the shoulders of the crying girl. Kate snuggled up closer and laid her hand on my wrist, just making contact. Wendy buried her face in my chest and the sobs quieted slowly. We all drifted back to sleep. ------- I was vaguely aware that it was morning the next time I woke up. Lissa and I were in our frequent morning spoon and my hard cock was snug between her ass-cheeks. I moved a little then remembered Wendy. I turned my head and Kate smiled at me. Wendy was no longer there. "Go ahead, lover," Kate said, reaching up to kiss me softly. I felt Lissa press herself back against me and responded by pushing my hips forward. Kate sat up a little so that she could continue to kiss me without my losing contact with Lissa. My right arm was under Lissa's neck and my hand cupped her breast. Lissa and I wake up in this position so often that it's just natural for us, whether Melody and/or Kate are in bed with us or not. I let my left hand drift down across her smooth flat stomach into her hairless slit. She lifted her left leg to give me better access and I stroked some of her morning dew up across her clit. Lissa turned her head so she could kiss me and found Kate occupying my lips. "Mmm. Me too," Lissa moaned. Kate rolled over the top of us while I kissed Lissa and then took up the task from the other side. Lissa's hand slipped behind her to direct my shaft toward her opening, pausing a moment to rub it against her anus. She moaned, enjoying the stimulation, then slotted the head of my cock against her pussy and pushed against me. It's funny, I never get as deep in this position as I do in others, but it never fails to drive me crazy. I love the feeling of just those few inches stroking into Lissa's "little cunny," as she calls it when she's really turned on, and the beautiful globes of her ass pressing against my stomach. My hand on her clit was displaced by Kate's, and as soon as Lissa had me inside, her hand disappeared to the front. I raised my left hand and found Kate's breast almost tight against Lissa's. We all moved slowly together. Kate kissed Lissa then raised her lips to kiss me. Then Lissa turned her head and we all three joined in a sweet good morning kiss. Some orgasms let you know they are coming and some sneak up on you. This one seemed to take all three of us by surprise. ------- We were too lethargic to get up. After the late night and the quiet love-making in the morning, we just lay there in bed. Lissa rolled toward me and I rolled over her to get between the two women. They liked me in the middle because they could both lie on top of me, at least partially. That's the position we were in when Wendy walked in. "May I bring you coffee now?" she asked softly. There was a glint of mischief in her eye and I understood that she knew exactly what had been going on. "Bring the coffee and come get in bed with us, Tiger," Kate said. Wendy set the coffee on the end table and slipped in behind Lissa. Lissa shifted off me and turned toward Wendy. She held her tightly. "Did you sleep well, Tiger?" she asked, using Kate's pet name. "Yes, thank you," Wendy said. "Thank you all so much. I get so lonely." "You can cuddle with us any time," I said. "Really?" "You know if Tony said it, it's true," Kate said. Since Lissa had turned toward Wendy, Kate had inched her way further on top of me. "Thank you. Thank you so much!" Wendy said. I managed to get my left arm around both Lissa and Wendy and pull them closer to me. "Melody won't be mad will she?" "No, Tiger," Lissa said, making it all three of us using her pet name. "Melody will only be sad she wasn't here with us." I saw her kiss Wendy on the forehead. "Didn't you say there was coffee?" Lissa asked as she started to leverage herself into a sitting position. "I don't like it cold." "Here you are, Miss," Wendy said as she rushed to get Lissa's coffee. "Wendy!" Kate snapped. "You are not a servant. These are your friends." Wendy caught her breath. The next words were in a totally non-subservient voice. "I hope I got your coffee right, Lissa. I almost forgot which was yours and which was Melody's," Wendy said. "Here, Tony. Yours is easy. Kate's the difficult one." "Hey, I only drink one cup a day," Kate complained. "I've seen Tony make it. It's not that hard." "Of course not. I was teasing you," Wendy giggled. She reached for the last cup on the table. "Hey! How do you take your morning coffee, Tiger?" I asked. She giggled again. "Same as you. Hot, strong, and black." "Mmm. Like Tonya," I said. I glanced at Lissa and Kate to make sure I hadn't said something inappropriate. "Yeah," Lissa said. "Too bad she's off-limits to you." "But she's really giving Whitney something to think about," I laughed. "Did you see the two of them practice their doubles warm-up?" "Geez, Tonya looked hot as a Pandoran Na'vi last night," Kate said. "Did she have a costume on or just paint her body?" "Um ... it felt like fabric to me," They all three looked at me. "Well, she hugged me before she left." We all broke up laughing with that. It was morning, more or less, and we were just four naked friends having coffee together and laughing about the party last night. ------- Chapter 25 It was a pretty non-eventful week. Melody got home on Sunday night, but all we found out was that Harold appeared to be getting stronger and our investment had been deposited. We officially recorded a unanimous vote to issue one hundred shares of common stock to him. Then we went down and paid off the mortgage. I was feeling secure. Wednesday night, Melody disappeared again and just told us that she was visiting Bree for the night and that she'd probably crash there as they weren't meeting until late. It was beginning to feel like Lissa and I were spending a lot of time without our lovers. There was seldom a kiss or a stroke that wasn't accompanied by "I wish Melody..." or "I wish Kate..." but, of course, we really didn't mind being together, either. ------- "We have hair appointments tomorrow," Kate said on Friday night. "Tony, you could stand a trim, too. Could you drop us off at the hairdresser before you go to Pilates tomorrow morning? We'll meet you at the barber after you've gotten your trim and then we could go to lunch." "We?" I asked. "Kate and me," Melody confirmed. "Oh. And Bree." Hmm. Bree was going with the girls to get her hair done? I was beginning to wonder what they were all planning. "Not Lissa?" "We've got the boys and we can't all be sitting in a hair salon all day. We'll come and meet you for lunch, though," Lissa said through her smile. "Besides, I just had mine done last week before the party. Do you think I need a trim?" Lissa's hair was as short as I'd ever seen it. She loved the very classy cut that never seemed to need any tending. I loved the fact that her neck was always bare and I loved kissing and nibbling on it in the morning. I agreed and Saturday morning, we swung by and picked up Bree. I dropped the three at the mall. Before Kate got out of the car she leaned over to kiss me and pulled my hands up to her hair. I'd just washed it this morning in the shower and I loved running my fingers through the silky tresses. She hadn't pulled it into a ponytail this morning and it fell loosely below her shoulder blades. She kissed me fiercely and told me she'd see me in a couple hours. Melody practically crawled over the seat to repeat the gesture. Bree was already out of the car. ------- After Pilates, I ate a light snack and then headed for the mall and Quick-Cuts. I declined the first barber and waited for Donna. I figured, why change a good thing? I waved at Howard when Donna took me back to her chair and Howard grinned. "You marry that other girlfriend yet?" Howard asked. "No," I answered. "She wants to take it slow. But, she's sure something else." "How about naked parties?" Donna asked. Apparently my major use to the salon was stories of my sex life. "We had a sexy costume party for Halloween," I said. "That's worth a shave," Howard said. "Tell us." While Howard worked his magic with a hot towel and razor, I described each costume at the party, spending a little extra time talking about Rio's near nude display as an artist's model. That seemed to satisfy the prurient interests enough to let Donna clip my hair. I hadn't realized that my birthday was the last time I had a haircut. I forget. "So, who's picking you up today?" Donna asked. "Wife one, wife two, or girlfriend?" "Um ... all of the above, I think ... and another friend," I said. "They went to have their hair done at the other place where they go. Oh. And the kids." "You've got kids?" Donna said with enthusiasm. "Two boys, six and eight," I said, reaching for my wallet to show her a picture. "Aren't they the cutest," she said as she spun me to look at myself in the mirror. I didn't thing she'd actually looked. "Oh my, oh my. Howard?" I looked up at Howard, whose eyes were glued to the front of the shop. Donna spun my chair around so I could see my lovers enter the store. My mouth dropped open. ------- I was still hyperventilating when the four sexy ladies and two children finally reached me and stopped in front of me, hips all thrust to the left with one hand on them. Even the boys copied the pose while they were giggling. "What happened?" I gasped out. "We got our hair cut," Bree said, graciously leaving out the "duh" that I could hear in her voice. I looked at my red-headed friend and shook my head to clear it. Bree's hair was mostly gone. She had the wildest red hair I'd ever seen, a little more than shoulder length when it was down. Now it was tightly cropped around her head in a boy-cut. It was about the same length as mine now that I'd been barbered. Melody stepped forward and gave me a little kiss as soon as Donna had the apron off of me. Her mahogany tresses were gone. The hair was not quite as short as Bree's, but almost. It was slicked down in a pixie cut that was swept behind her ears. I kept touching and stroking it as she kissed me. Well, here was another neck that I would be having instant access to. Kate's hair was unbelievable. Her ponytail was gone. GONE! In its place was a short spiky mass that sported a purple streak through it. I stood and she kissed me soundly. I turned and Lissa came into my arms. "It's okay, Tony," she said. "It's just hair." "It's just a shock," I said. Lissa kissed me. I turned again and Bree raised her cheek to me for a light peck and a broad grin. Then I scooped up the boys in my arms. "Guys, you should come in and get a haircut from Donna sometime," I said turning to introduce them. "I know these boys," Donna said. "I cut their hair once a month. Hi Drew. Hi Damon. But they're always with..." " ... Jack, their father," Lissa supplied. "I wondered where he took them for their haircuts. I've always left it up to him." "You're the mom?" Lissa nodded. "Hey, Damon," I broke in. "Has Howard ever given you a shave?" "We don't shave, Tony. Didn't you know?" Damon giggled. "Oh I forgot. You're growing your beard out, aren't you?" That just got more giggles and some good-natured ribbing from Donna and Howard. I paid my bill and we headed out to a late lunch at Carmine's. ------- "Wow! Look at you!" Wendy screamed when she saw us walk into the restaurant. "Bree, how cute. Melody, you look amazing." Then she looked at Kate. I could see her look soften and her smile broaden. "Oh, Kate." Wendy pressed her lips to my girlfriend's lips and held them there as she stroked Kate's new hairdo. The kiss wasn't deep, but lingering. Wendy had a serious crush. Kate broke the kiss then took Melody and Bree's hands and led them to a booth, all three sliding in on one side while Lissa got in first, then Damon, then me. By that time, Wendy had a booster seat pulled up to the big booth for Drew. "At last," Wendy said. "At last what?" I asked. "At last I can wait on you all and no one can complain that it's not my place. It's my job!" She seemed genuinely happy about the fact. We managed to get food and drinks ordered and Wendy scampered off to get things started. I could finally just sit and stare at the three beautifully shorn women facing me. "You aren't mad, are you?" Kate said. "No, but I was so surprised. Nobody told me." "Don't blame them," Bree said. "It's all my fault and I'd never have had the courage to do it if it weren't for Melody and Kate." "I'm sorry I reacted so poorly," I said. I'd just stood there and stared at them with my mouth open. "I was so shocked. I shampooed those lovely locks this morning in the shower," I said reaching across to Melody and Kate. "If I had known, I'd have taken more time." "You took extra time this morning, remember?" Melody asked. In fact, I did remember. Both girls had seemed to luxuriate in my attentions this morning and I spent much more time than I normally did shampooing them. Lissa had gotten up with the boys and shooed the three of us into the shower to get squeaky clean for our hairdressers. Melody had asked for a third lather before I conditioned it and then spent several minutes on her knees with my cock in her mouth while I shampooed Kate. "And some little girl is really going to appreciate it." "Well, two girls already do," Kate giggled. "What do you mean, little girls?" I asked. "That's what was my fault, actually," Bree said. "I've been trying to do things that were more positive in my life since ... well ... since I've tried to turn myself around, I guess. I read about this organization called Locks of Love. They take your hair if it's more than ten inches long and make custom wigs for girls with long-term or permanent hair loss." "You mean like cancer patients with chemo?" "No. Chemo causes temporary hair loss, but it takes a long time to make a molded wig. These girls usually have some long-term illness or disease like alopecia that means they're never going to have hair," Bree explained. "I thought, 'I have more than ten inches of hair, ' and decided to investigate. They just send you a bag and box to mail it to them. You go to your hairdresser and she puts it in a ponytail and cuts it off. Then you have to decide on your new hairstyle. I've always liked Lissa's hair, so I decided I'd go really short." "Same here," Melody responded. "When Bree told me about her idea, I talked to Kate about it and we all agreed. I didn't know she was going to be so wild and punk, though. Purple?" "Don't you like it?" Kate moaned. "The purple is beautiful, Kitten," I jumped in. "I really love it now that the shock has worn off. You look so ... daring!" "And these two look more like twins than ever," Lissa joined in. "With it short like this, Bree's hair looks darker and less orange. You two could be sisters, at least." I wasn't sure that was what Melody would want to hear, but she smiled at it. "Don't forget though," Melody said, turning to Bree, "you only have Tony until midnight tonight." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Bree asked. "Two hours each," Melody said. "Tony knows the rules. No making out." "Wait a minute. Rules of what?" I asked. "Rules of staying warm while camped out from ten till six," Melody answered. "It seems there are some girls you've been teasing who are getting pretty lonely and homesick. I know you'll hold them and make them feel better." "You're renting me out?" I asked. "No. Feel free to send any one of them home if you don't want to hold her for two hours. But if you can find it in your heart to share a little human kindness, they'll make sure you stay warm overnight. It's a fair trade," Melody answered. You know what? Whatever Melody wants, I told myself firmly. This girl has been the beginning and source of my life since we got together last February. She's devious and a little more adventurous than I could ever claim to be, but Melody knows me and she knows more about the life around me than I ever will. It sounded like I wasn't going to get any studying done tonight, though. ------- I slept a good bit of the afternoon until Melody came in to wake me up for dinner. She woke me up with a kiss and I reached to run my fingers through her hair. It was short. I opened my eyes. Damn! She was cute. "Are you mad that we cut our hair?" "It's your hair, Little One. If you'd asked me I probably would have objected for a few minutes before you convinced me. This little bob is really very sexy," I said. "I know you like Lissa's hair and it's short," Melody said. "You know why?" I asked. "Why?" "Spoon with me." Melody rolled into the bed and snuggled up in front of me. I started kissing her neck. A shiver went through her. "I'm supposed to be getting you up," she moaned. "Oh, you are, hot stuff," I moaned right back at her as she pushed her butt against my hard-on. "You know you aren't supposed to make out with anyone tonight, right?" Melody asked. "Why would I make out with anyone when everything I want is right here at home?" I asked. "But why are you setting this up? Is it some kind of test for someone? Me?" "No. Darling, I know I never have to test you. Even if you decided to go out and sleep with someone I don't know, I wouldn't hold it against you. We are who we are because we are free to be that person. I know the guy that I love," she said as I continued to nuzzle her neck and push against her ass. "Let's eat dinner first and I'll take care of that before you go, okay? After all, I'm going to bed with two short-haired hotties tonight and I don't expect to go without." I moaned. ------- "Hey, this is new," I said to Andy when I got to my station at Tent City. He was sitting, cranked back in a recliner under the tent. "Would you believe Derrick had this in his room?" Andy asked. "It took us a little persuading, but he decided he could do without it for a couple of months after we talked to him." "We?" "His frat brothers. Now if he wants to sit in his chair, he has to take a shift in the tent. We signed him up for two a week. It's getting a little tough on some of the guys who are filling in three or four shifts." Andy got out of the easy chair and we went through the ritual of signing in and out and transferring the keys. As soon as Andy was out of sight, Bree stepped around the corner of the tent and rushed to me. I hugged her. "Oh, that looks more comfortable than the office chair was," she said, looking at the chair. It was a lot smaller than the one in my living room, but it did look comfortable. "Go ahead and try it out," I said. "I have to check in with Tent City security." I walked over and chatted for a few minutes with Gerald, the guy who was at the desk just inside the gate. I'd seen him pretty much every time I was here, so we both knew the routine. "Zack is doing the patrol tonight," he said. I shook hands with the short guy in the yellow vest that would walk slowly around the perimeter of the encampment every fifteen minutes tonight. "Well, you know me," I said. "I'll probably be asleep. It doesn't look bad tonight, but let me know if you need anything." I walked back to the tent and saw Bree curled up in the recliner. "It's better than the office chair," she said, "but it's still cold. Will you hold me?" Well, of course. That's what she came here for, wasn't it? She got out of the recliner and I settled in. Bree sat in my lap and I reclined the chair. It took her a minute to find the right position. I explored her hair a little bit with my fingers. It was a very different texture than Melody's. "Not mad are you?" she whispered. We learned quickly that we had to keep our voices down to a whisper so not to disturb anyone on the other side of the canvas wall. I actually had to threaten Amanda two weeks ago in order to get her to keep her voice down while we studied. "Not in the least. You're even cuter." "You just say that because I'm sitting on your lap," she giggled quietly. "It is warmer this way," I said. "My skinny butt doesn't generate much heat," Bree said. "But I brought you a blanket. It's getting cold out here at night." She reached over the edge of the chair and pulled a fleece blanket out of her bag. It was barely big enough to cover us, but we did start to warm up pretty quickly. "Why are you doing this, Bree?" "To keep you warm and spend some time just being with you." "I know you and Melody haven't gotten along too well in the past, but you don't have to do penance like this," I said. "You think this is penance? I think it's a reward," she laughed quietly. "You know what I mean." "Yeah. But really, Melody and I have been working things out. It's part of something bigger, though. I've been spending some quality time with my therapist. She agrees that I need to learn to relate to guys in a generally non-sexual way. And it's not that I don't think of you sexually, but ... I trust you," she said. "I trust you to let me maintain boundaries and to ... well ... to help teach me. And..." "What is it?" I asked. She buried her head down under the blanket before lifting her eyes back to mine. "I really crave being held. Dad never was comfortable just holding me after I reached puberty and after Mom died, he just couldn't do it at all. The only way I could figure out to get a guy to hold me was to have sex with him. I don't want to do that. I just want to be held." Tears were streaking down Bree's cheeks, but she wasn't sobbing. She was just looking at me hopefully. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her to me. "Do you mind if I fall asleep while I'm holding you?" I asked, stifling a yawn. "You know I don't mind sleeping with you," she grinned. In a few minutes, I was gone into a warm comfortable world of sleep. ------- I could feel the faint buzzing under my hand and realized I held it over Bree's hand. She pushed herself up and stopped the alarm on her cell phone. "Mmm. My time is up. I have to go home," Bree mumbled. She pushed herself off my lap and stood up stretching. I stood up, too. "Thanks for keeping me warm," I said. "Thank you. Thank you for still being my friend," Bree said. "I want to be out of here before your next blanket arrives. I really don't even want to know who it is." I bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Bree. Drive carefully getting home." She left without another word, but nodded as she walked away. Now that I was awake, I also realized that I had to pee. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was almost midnight. We have a Honey Bucket behind the admin tent, against the side of the building. If we went inside to use the bathroom, we'd be out of touch with the encampment for longer than our agreed-upon rules. I used the facility and spritzed my hands with the sanitizer we kept there. When I got back into the tent, there was a person huddled in a little ball in my chair under the blanket Bree left. "Umm ... hi?" I said softly. "Oh!" I quickly held a finger to my lips. Whitney unfolded from the chair. It was like watching this impossibly tall person get out of a little clown car or something. I opened my arms and she gave me a hug. "We can only whisper," I said. "People are sleeping and voices carry. What would you like to do? Just sit and talk, cuddle, or sleep?" "Definitely cuddle, but don't blame me if I go to sleep. I had to set an alarm to get here on time and I think I'm right in the middle of my REM." I laughed and went to sit in the chair. I'd hardly gotten myself positioned before she was trying to fold up on my lap. She kicked her shoes off and stuck her feet down between me and the arm of the chair. For a tall girl, she sure could fold up compact. I pulled the blanket up around us and we were pretty warm in a minute. "This feels so nice," Whitney said. Then she leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away from her. "Hey. You know the rules. I'll hold you, but we're not making out." "You mean you're going to follow the rules?" she asked, chasing my lips. "Seriously, Whitney. You want to be here, behave. Otherwise leave." She pulled back and looked at me in disbelief. "Really?" "Really." She hesitated a minute and then unfolded herself to get up. I think she was a little surprised that I let her. I even reached down and handed her the shoes. "It's not that ... I want ... I just ... shit," she said. At least she was still whispering and not shouting at me. "I'd like to do that, but I don't think I can trust myself right now. You'd really let me leave?" I nodded. She bit her lip and turned her head. "I'd like to. I can't right now. I need to rethink everything. I'm sorry, Tony. I was supposed to keep you warm. I hope you can stand to be alone for a while." Whitney turned and left. It was only a quarter after midnight. Damn! If Bree knew there were two extra hours available, she'd never have left. Oh well. The thing is, as I replayed what Whitney had said, it sounded more like what you'd hear a girl say if her boyfriend was being overly aggressive. "I'd like to, but I can't right now," she'd said. Wasn't doing nothing the easy thing to do? I flopped back into the chair, pulled the blanket up and went back to sleep. ------- I felt a chilly breeze hit me when the blanket was lifted, then let out a quiet "oof" as a new body slid onto my lap. "I'm not too heavy for this, am I?" a worried voice said. "You're not really heavy at all, Rio," I answered. "Don't even talk that way." "But I know I'm ... Rubenesque ... isn't that the word?" "Rio, are you happy with who you are?" "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" "There's your answer then. You probably don't weigh much more than Lissa. You're just more compact." "You mean short and wide," Rio giggled. "I don't really care if I'm a little flabby. I was just afraid you might not like me on your lap." "You are, by all appearances, one of the happiest people I've ever met," I said truthfully. She wiggled a little in my lap trying to get comfortable and felt my slight rise in attention under her butt. She giggled and squirmed once more before settling down. "You do know the rules, right?" I asked. "Yeah. And I know you are serious. Whitney came to find me an hour-and-a-half ago and kept me awake until it was my turn to come over." "Well, I'm not sure what was going on with her, but I'm afraid she didn't get her cuddle." "And does she ever regret it," Rio said. "But she'll figure it out. Unfortunately, though, that means I haven't been to sleep yet tonight, so if you're comfortable, please hold me and shut up." I did as the lady asked and it took her only a minute or two to fall asleep. I suppose I lied when I said she didn't weigh more than Lissa, but Lissa weighs more than she looks like. She's solid muscle and ten inches taller than Rio. Rio probably had a couple pounds on her though. She was possibly the softest woman I'd ever held. Except Beth. Yeah. In the old days, Beth was pretty round. Then she decided to go away and seriously lose weight. I loved the new Beth, but I missed the old one. I guess Rio reminded me of her. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and settled in for my own snooze. I dreamed about painting Rubens-style nudes. ------- "Psst ... Rio. Your butt is buzzing." "Huh? Oh! Goosey! That's my alarm. My shift is over," she answered. She remembered to keep her voice down, but reaching the vibrating phone in her back pocket proved interesting for both of us. She shrugged her shoulders a little. "Sorry. Didn't mean to, like, apply a vibrator to anything sensitive." "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little pressure against my bladder." "Didn't feel like nothing to me," she giggled. She stood on her tiptoes and I bent to receive the little kiss she placed on my cheek. "Thanks, Tony. I've been feeling really homesick lately and it was nice of you to hold me for a while. I'll see you Monday." She was off. I lied about the pressure on my bladder. There wasn't any really. I settled back into the chair to wait for my next "blanket," as Bree called the girls tonight. I figured Wendy would be showing up soon, as I couldn't think of any other girl that might be interested in a night on my lap. I was really surprised when I saw who showed up. "Ames?" "Hey, Ames," she replied. Sometime over the past few weeks I'd shortened Amy's name to Ames and she'd started calling me by my last name, Ames. It was pretty funny. To us. "I sure wasn't expecting you tonight," I said as she came into the tent. "If you'd rather it wasn't me, I'll go," she said softly. "I understand." "Amy, why wouldn't I want you here?" "I don't exactly fit the profile." "What profile?" "Girls who want to sleep with Tony," she answered. "Come on, goofball," I said, holding out my arms. "You fit perfectly the profile of friends of Tony that he doesn't mind cuddling." "Okay, but no funny-stuff, okay?" "You know the rules," I said. She sat on my lap rather stiffly. "You don't seem very relaxed, Ames." "I know, Tony. Melody convinced me I should do this, but I'm not that sure it's a good idea." "Hey, we swapped tears last weekend. How could friends hugging each other be a bad idea?" "I was doing all the crying," she whispered, but she leaned back against me. Thank heavens my boner had subsided. "Did you really think that I had dry eyes when one of my best friends was in pain?" I asked. "I miss our Friday lunches," I said. "I feel like I hardly see my friends." "Oh god, Tony," she whimpered. This time she drew her feet up and leaned into me, hanging on fiercely. It had gotten pretty cold by this hour of the morning, so I pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and just held her while she cried quietly. In a few minutes her breathing evened out and I realized she was asleep. My poor friend was really hurting and I didn't have an idea what to do about it. ------- It was my phone that woke us up at a quarter till six. I managed to get it out of my pocket and mumble a sleepy "hello" into it. "Tony, it's Eric. Sorry I'm not there, but I've got car trouble. I knew I should have taken it to the shop this week but I was so damned busy that I didn't make it. Now it won't start at all. I've called Triple-A, but god knows how soon they'll get here on a Sunday morning. Can you stay on a bit till I get there?" "Sure, Eric," I answered. "Look. Sunday morning the camp gets to use the locker rooms, showers, hot tubs and everything. I open the doors at six-thirty and there's a bin of towels in the attendant's room to roll out in the hall so they can grab one on the way in. Just monitor so that anyone who goes in is from Tent City. Okay?" "Yeah. I can handle that. Let me know if you aren't going to be here by seven-thirty so I can call home and tell them not to worry, okay?" "Will do." Eric hung up and Amy snuggled against me a little tighter. "Hey, sleepy-head. Your shift is over and I've got work to do. My replacement isn't going to be here for a while." She pulled herself up and struggled off my lap. "Oh man! That's the best sleep I've had in two weeks. Thanks, Ames." "You're welcome, Ames." We chuckled a little. Amy was about to walk away, but she turned around suddenly and gave me a really ferocious hug. "I really mean it, Tony. Thank you." "Any time, Amy. And I mean it, too." ------- Man, what a night. I used the Honey Bucket and then unlocked the pavilion. I went to the locker rooms and rolled the bin of towels out into the hall between the doors to the men's and women's. I checked quickly to make sure the showers were stocked with shampoo and conditioner and that the hot tubs were up to temperature and that there were razors, shaving cream, and combs at the sinks. I turned the sauna and steam room thermostats up in both locker rooms for good measure. Then I headed down to prop the door open just at six-thirty. Three guys were already waiting at the door for me when I propped it open. I recognized all three of them and said "good morning," as they went in. Then I just sat behind the desk and monitored the number of people who went in so I could tell if everyone left by ten. It was just a little sheet on the clipboard that I put tickmarks on. As long as the person came from the Tent City entrance, they were allowed into pavilion. I saw a couple of students approach, but I waved them away and told them it would be open to students at ten, just like usual. One of them grumbled a bit, but they didn't challenge me. I was sitting at the table in my tent when I did a double-take. I'd almost missed the tiger-striped hair. "Wendy?" I called. She froze and turned to look at me. There was a panicked look on her face and she turned to rush back into the encampment. "Wendy, stop!" ------- Chapter 26 My voice almost echoed as I restrained myself from shouting the command for Wendy to stop, but it had the desired effect. She stopped and I ran to her. She turned to look at me and tears began streak down her face. "Don't hate me. Please, don't hate me," she cried into my chest as I held her. "Hate you? Tiger, I could never hate you. I just worry about you. Are you all right?" I asked. "Y-yes," she said. She looked at me with longing. "It's hard to always have to make all my own decisions. I ... I get ... lonely sometimes." "Oh, baby, you have us anytime you want." "There's rules here. Tony, I have to go shower." "When you are done, we're going out to breakfast. Understand?" She nodded against my chest and then pulled away and ran into the building. Two guys from the encampment came up to me and they didn't look friendly. "You Rafe?" the first one asked. "You mean that scumbag who beat her?" I snarled. "No, and if I ever get my hands on him..." "Don't throw around threats out here," the second one said. "How do we know you aren't here to hurt her, too?" the first one asked. "Ask her," I said. "I'm her friend. I had no idea she was living here." "Later," the first said. "Just don't touch anybody from our camp." He pushed by me and headed for the showers. ------- Eric got there about seven. Triple-A had replaced his battery on the spot and his car worked fine now. He was surprised that I kept hanging around, though. "I'm meeting a friend," I said. I turned away from Eric and called home. A sleepy Lissa answered. "Hey. Why aren't you home?" she asked. I could hear the boys yelling in the background. "Eric had problems with his car and just got here. I had to open the locker rooms," I said. "So are you on your way now? I could start coffee," she said. "Um ... actually, I'm going to be a while yet," I said. "Lissa, Wendy is living here. I'm taking her to breakfast." "She's what? In a tent?" "That was just my response. But, sweetie, I think Kate knew she was here," I said. "That makes sense," Lissa said, having become more alert as we talked. "She sometimes takes Wendy home or meets her for coffee. Tony, bring her home. We have room." "No!" I heard Kate's voice in the background. Lissa switched to speaker phone. "Speak of the little devil," I said. I wasn't sure if I should be angry with Kate about keeping this information from us or glad she was keeping tabs on Wendy. Either way, I could feel myself being a little irritable. "Listen," Kate said, "Wendy needs this. If you order her to come back here, she'll come and believe she can't make it on her own. She really wants this and was afraid that if you found out you'd make her come back. She needs friends, not charity." "But we care about her, Kate," I complained. "Then listen to her. But don't give her any orders. Please, Tony." "Okay, Kitten. It just hurts to see her here," I said. "I have to go now. Love you all." ------- "Are you going to make me leave my tent?" Wendy asked as we sat in Denny's with coffee and a couple of Slams. "Do you want to leave your tent?" I asked. She shook her head. "Not yet." "Then no, Tiger," I said. "I'll never make you do anything. I just want to be sure you're all right and let you know you've got friends." "I know. I see Kate every week and sometimes I see you at the restaurant. I eat pretty well because Carma feeds me. And I've been saving. I'll have enough to rent a room in January," she said proudly. "I feel like I've been out of touch with you since you moved out." "I touched you all night last weekend," she giggled. Oh yeah. Wendy slept in our bed between Kate and me after the Halloween party. "Maybe you should join my blanket brigade on Saturday nights," I laughed. I told her about the girls coming to keep me warm during the night while I was on duty. "I'd have to sneak out," Wendy said. "This is really like a closed community. They'd frown on me leaving in the middle of the night to sit on your lap. We're not allowed to have overnight guests." "Well, when you have such close quarters and thin walls, I guess I can understand that. Wendy, you're really all right, though? Nobody's like, ordering you around in there, are they?" "It was a little tense the first few days. But we're all in the same boat. Nobody gets to be king," she said. "Nobody makes me do anything I don't want to do except what is on the list of rules and duties. I have to take my shift on security and clean-up, but the women all have daytime shifts. We all have to keep the place clean and abide by the quiet times. But otherwise, we're pretty independent. It's not like I'm making a bunch of close life-long friends while I'm living there. People care about each other, but they aren't the way we think of friends. We don't sit around and play checkers at night. Or sit in bed naked drinking coffee," she giggled. What a relief to see her laugh a little. "Why did you decide to do this?" I asked. "You know we all care about you and would help." "All my life I've been ordered around and told how worthless and helpless I am. I have to help myself, Tony," she said looking at me. "Sometime I've got to grow a pair of balls like Allison." We laughed at that. "You know, I've examined her pretty closely and there was no evidence, no matter what Melody says." "There's good news, though. I've been to the financial aid office and they've given me a tuition waiver for the next two quarters," she said. "It's weird. It's not like a scholarship, exactly. I'm not even sure it's an official financial aid package. It's not on any of the lists. But I'm going to take it. I've been saving all my money so if I don't have to pay tuition, I can move into a room in January when Tent City moves off campus." "Would you consider renting a room from us?" I asked. "You know we've got two bedrooms and a bath downstairs." "Um ... maybe. Let's not get too far ahead yet," she said. "Tony, you and Kate and Lissa and Melody are the sweetest most loving friends I could ever have. I just have so much baggage right now that I have to get my head straight before I risk becoming dependent on anyone. I've had too much bad experience with Rafe and my father." "Do they know where you are living now?" I asked. "I don't think so. I tried to keep it a secret from everyone but Kate. I don't want them to find me at your house, either. They scare me," she said. "I understand, Tiger," I said, even though I wasn't sure that I did. "As long as you know you've got friends and don't try to hide from us." "I won't." "Speaking of which, we're having a huge family gathering for Thanksgiving. We'd like you to come, too. As family—not a servant." ------- Wednesday my anatomy team kidnapped me after practice. They took me to the med school and led me to an amphitheater. I was introduced to a doctor who looked at some of my sketches from the Bodies exhibition while the four of us pulled on what he called "scrubs." We were each given gloves and a mask. "It's different seeing a real body than it is seeing one of these that have been preserved," Doctor Smith said. "Are you sure you are up to it?" "Well, I'm glad my team didn't give me a chance to eat before we came over," I said, "but the only way I'm going to know if I can do it is to do it." "Okay," he said. "How close do you need to be?" "When I draw, I'm usually just a few feet away. I'll have to deal with an angle, so if I'm within about six or seven feet it would be preferable." Doctor Smith wheeled a tall stool to the foot the operating table and pointed at Justin. "Lie down on the table," he said. Justin stared back with his eyes wide, but he did as the doctor instructed. "I sometimes use this while I'm monitoring students. Now, perch up here and tell me if you have a good enough angle," he told me. I sat on the stool and it wasn't bad. I could almost imagine what it would be like to look inside Justin's body from this angle. "This will work," I said. "Fine. You can get up now, Justin. We actually have a different subject to dissect today." Justin scrambled off the table. "Now I expect the four of you to maintain decorum. This is a teaching session and I won't have you interrupting my class. Should any one of you feel faint, it is up to the other three to take care of him or her. Class will be here in ten minutes." We walked out into the hall and I spotted a coffee machine. I walked over and slotted a dollar bill into the machine. It spit out a short Americano. "You sure you want to drink that now?" Amanda said. "My stomach got a little queasy just seeing Justin on the table." "I thought you were into this big time," I said. "I've never actually seen one from this close," she said. "It looks different from the amphitheater seats." "I can imagine," I said. "Actually, coffee settles my stomach when I'm nervous. I hope the whole thing doesn't throw me too much." "By the way," Amanda said, "I'm in." "Huh?" "For the nude modeling party. It's a year of doing new things for me, and I have this urge to get naked in front of a bunch of strangers." I looked at her in shock. "There. Anytime the view of a dead body starts getting to you, call that image to mind." She winked at me. Damn! A sense of humor? I didn't even think Amanda was completely human. ------- I have a hardboard drawing palette that I take when I can't have an easel. It has huge clips that I can attach paper or a whole pad to, and an oblong hole on two sides that I can use to hang on to it. We marched into the operating theater again with the rest of the class after we'd put on our gloves and masks. I immediately realized it was going to be a different experience to draw with latex gloves on. I mounted the stool and got ready as Doctor Smith explained the lesson and what our team was doing. Then he nodded to two of the students and told them to bring "Ralph" in. They rolled in a cart with a sheet-covered body on it and positioned it right in front of my stool. "Listen up, class. This is your first time with a cadaver. It's not unusual to feel faint. If you need to back up and sit down for a minute, do so. We talk about cadavers as though they are inanimate objects. But remember that this was once a living, breathing, human being who decided in death to help advance your education by donating his body. Be respectful of that memory and honor him by learning all you can." There were specific instructions given and the sheet was pulled back. There were six students, Doctor Smith, and the four of us. I glanced up and saw there was another dozen or so in the seats that surrounded the operating theater. As soon as the sheet was pulled back, I started drawing. Fortunately, the work went slowly enough that I could keep up with what was happening. It was also helpful that Doctor Smith pointed to and had the class identify each thing that we saw as they cut further and further into the once living person. I had to change drawing pads after about an hour. Bree handed me the new pad and took the full one. She also had extra pencils and sharpeners that she handed to me as if I was the surgeon and she a nurse assisting. I noticed, though, that she mostly watched what I was drawing and only occasionally snuck peeks at the body as it was dissected. For my part, I was lost in what was happening and in what I was seeing. I didn't have music on, but there was some soft music playing through the speakers, just audible. I was in a different world, following the paths of the neuromuscular system as Doctor Smith pointed them out. It was all a series of interconnected focal points leading from one to the next. "Connections," I murmured two hours later. "It's all a series of connections." I was exhausted. They wheeled "Ralph" into the cooler and I stretched to get the kinks out of my neck. Has it really been three hours? Doctor Smith came over and started looking through my sketches. After he'd seen half a dozen, he flipped through the three books quickly. "Next week we'll work on the anterior," he said. "I'll see you then." He turned on his heel and left. "Next week?" I croaked. "Apparently he's invited us back," Amanda said. ------- We had our first official competition as a racquetball team Friday and Saturday. Lissa made the arrangements and the team traveled up to Bellingham for the Fall Classic. It wasn't a huge tournament, and technically it wasn't an intercollegiate event. There just aren't enough Washington college teams. But the team played in both singles and doubles competitions and did well. The trophies were all food items and Lissa and I took home a turkey. Brent and Franklin won a pie. The athletic club that sponsors the event was a club like ours where all the viewing was from the end, and the bleachers weren't very deep. But our tiny fan club made the trip on Saturday and cheered for us. None of our players but Lissa and me are Elite division players, so the odds were pretty much stacked against them. I was too focused on the team to focus on my playing and didn't do any better than the rest of them in my individual event. It was humbling to get my ass handed to me on a platter by a guy who was at least twice my age. The dude was a mean player. The team came back from the event feeling positive and anxious for our next outing. ------- By Monday, the euphoria of the weekend tournament was long-gone and the end-of-term panic set in. I wasn't used to SCU's quarters since PCAD was a semester school. I suddenly realized we were just three weeks from the end of quarter. Next week was Thanksgiving and our Anatomy project was due the following Wednesday. Monday afternoon my anatomy team sat down with the sketches from our first cadaver dissection. I still couldn't believe that I'd sat and drawn through three hours of having a guy's body cut up in front of me. But now that it was done, I felt like I'd really made a connection between the mechanics of how the body worked and the electronics of how it worked. When Doctor Smith attached a wire to a nerve ending and sent a low voltage shock into it, we saw the muscle contract. It was awesome. After our review of the drawings, Justin took the ones we selected to have high res photos made of them. Then the rest of the team would set to work labeling and writing our summary analysis of the project. Unless they needed more drawings, my work on the project was done until I wrote my conclusions paper. Except that I really wanted to do a painting based on what I'd seen. There were connections in the human body just like I'd seen focal points in art. I was anxious to see if I could take the project one step further. I showed the sketch I wanted to develop to Doc Henredden after class on Tuesday. "I see your point, Tony," Doc said as he looked the sketch over. His finger traced the line from focal point to focal point just as my eye had. "But you know how I feel about drawing from photographs. I was under the impression that you felt the same way. Too bad you can't actually see into a person's body." I looked at him in disbelief. Kate was waiting for me and she broke out laughing. "Um ... maybe you should see the rest of the project," I said, hauling out the portfolio of sketchbooks that I'd compiled. He leafed quickly through the first two and then went back to the first one. "Tony, these are ... You actually saw this?" "Yes sir. It was part of a human anatomy project I did at SCU. I spent several hours watching them dissect a cadaver over at the med school." "Do you know how many artists have actually looked inside the human body?" Doc asked. "Not many. This is extraordinary. Oh, I wish I'd been there!" "It is pretty amazing. I'm going back tomorrow night to sketch the anterior dissection. I guess that's the difference between taking human anatomy as an art course and as a biology course. It's a whole different view," I said. "And there is a difference between illustrating a science textbook and painting a work of art, as well," Doc said. "Yes, I think you should paint it. But you need to understand that the vast majority of viewers will believe you painted a picture from a book. They will discount your other work. Of those who believe you painted this from an actual model, the majority will be appalled. Read the reviews of 'Bodies, the Exhibition.' You will create a controversy. Finally, there will be a few people who recognize the artistry and they will look at your portraiture and figure studies in a new light. You should discuss this thoroughly with your agent before you exhibit it." "Wow." It seemed like a lot of things I was encountering this year were just too big for me to put any other words around them. ------- There was a final paper due in Critical Reading as well, and I ran to meet Rio after my meeting with Doc for our Tuesday study session. Oddly enough, I was more stressed about my English course than my anatomy course. It was more—I guess creative is a good word. In anatomy, you really only have to learn the facts and recite them. Using my art to make the recitation look better still just leaves it as a recitation. No one would care if I forgot every word next year. But with English—especially critical reading—it wasn't enough to know the facts. Memorizing what other critics say about a piece of literature and reciting it just makes you sound dumb at best, or pretentious at worst. It would be like painting from a photograph. Life has already been reduced to two dimensions for you and all you are doing is copying. Rio and I discussed our concepts for the final paper and she kept challenging my ideas with valid arguments from other critics as well as her own. It was exhausting and fun. We had a light dinner together and she decided to walk over to the club with me for our team practice. "I'll walk back with Whitney tonight," she said. "There are several people there who would walk back with you, I think, though I'm not exactly sure where everyone lives." "That's why I chose Whitney. She lives in the dorm." We walked on in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "I really do want to pose for you, Tony." "Why, Rio? I mean, I'd love to have you model and even after I paint, I've got to confess I wouldn't mind seeing you naked, but why do you want me to paint you?" "Mmm. I've been researching your painting." "It's not a very big body of work," I laughed. "I asked Kate to help me." That was news. I didn't know that Kate was hanging out with any of my SCU friends, but, of course, if anyone could see a need for sympathy it was Kate. "And?" "She took me to see the mural you painted. We stood in front of it for over an hour and she told about how you painted it. Tony, do you have any concept of how much that girl loves you? Every word was like she worshipped you." "And I worship her," I said. "There is only one Kate." "Then why are you with—?" She broke off suddenly. "Rio, did you look at the mural? Did you only listen to Kate or did you look at what she was talking about?" "Wait. Was she... ? Is that... ? Oh!" Rio turned her head and looked at me. "I love Melody and Lissa. There is absolutely no escaping that." "I didn't realize. I was drawn to it, but Kate's words actually diverted my attention from what I was seeing. She talked about how you loved the subject, but I was abstracting it. I thought of the subject as nudes or a setting. She meant you literally love the women you were painting. I didn't even realize who they were!" "Isn't that like one of the dangers of criticism? We were just talking about it over dinner. This whole thing of what did the critics say about Ulysses?" I asked. "Oh my god! I have to go back to the library," Rio said. "I'm changing my paper. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned to rush back the way we'd come but came back before she was three steps away. She planted a kiss on my cheek. "I know I'm going to make love to you one day, but the time isn't right. That's Whitney's problem. She just expects her time to be the right time. I still want to pose though." She hugged me and hurried away. Shit! ------- Wednesday night my anatomy team returned to the med school to watch the other side of Ralph opened and analyzed. It was a different group of students, the first group now watching from the amphitheater. I had three more pads of paper and Bree kept handing me whatever supplies I needed. Justin and Amanda had switched places on my right so that she was standing next to me, often watching what I was drawing more closely than the actual dissection. It was much harder. It's not that the subject was more difficult to draw, but ... I could see the guy's face. I tried to ignore it and just focus on the cutting and exposure of the guy's chest. But even that was more intense than the examination of the back. There are fewer muscles in the chest and abdomen than in the back, dominated by the pecs and abs. But unlike the back, Doctor Smith did not leave the ribcage intact. He proceeded to cut through the breastbone and lay the organs bare. I hope to god I never have heart surgery! I didn't draw as many pictures. I took my time and didn't rush through any of them. I tried to focus, but my eyes kept being pulled up toward his face. He was young. All the time we were working on his back last week, I kept thinking that this was an old guy who donated his body to science, but the face that I saw was not old. It was relaxed in a way that I guess only death will show—almost, but not quite smiling. The flaccid muscles and skin pulled the features down slightly. When rigor mortis sets in on a dead body, all the muscles stiffen within four to six hours. But in two to three days after death, they all relax again. I didn't know how long Ralph had been dead, but it had been a week since we cut his back and I had a feeling cadavers weren't always cut as soon as they were available. It wasn't like I looked at his face and expected him to wake up at any moment. You could tell just by looking that he was dead. There was no life in this body. And he hadn't been made up like a body in a funeral parlor. I still remembered my great aunt's body at her funeral when I was thirteen. She wore more makeup in death than she ever would have alive. With no blood in his veins and capillaries, Ralph was pale, slightly gray. His lips barely had a color difference from the rest of his face. At the end of the class, they were covering the body again when I looked up. "Doctor Smith, may I have five more minutes?" I asked. He looked at me a little strangely, but pulled the sheet back down to the waist and motioned everyone back away from the table. It didn't make any difference to me where the sheet was. I drew Ralph's face. ------- I left my team on Wednesday night and went directly to the library. As much as I wanted to go paint in my studio, I was really worried about my critical reading paper. I called home before I got to the library and told them I'd probably be there until it closed at 1:00 a.m. The library had extended hours during the last three weeks of the term. How nice. "I worry about you driving after such a long day, Tony," Lissa said. "I'll be careful." "Wait a minute." There was silence on the phone, then Kate came on. "Hi, Tony. Melody was just about to drive me home. Why don't you just walk over to the dorm tonight. I'll be up and you don't have to drive that way." "Um ... I'll need a shower and fresh clothes," I said. "These clothes ... well ... after I've been there, they smell like a hospital." "I'll bring clothes and I'll wait to take my shower until you get there. Please say you'll be there," Kate pled. Well, it was a pretty easy decision. "Okay, Kitten. Let everybody know for me, will you? I've got to get to work on this paper." "Mel and Lissa are right here and they're nodding their heads. I'll see you in a few hours." ------- It was legal to have coffee in the library when you were using a carrel. It even had a cup holder. I had the two references that I wanted to use. Professor Strait had provided a selection of topics for our final papers from which each student was to choose one. There was an analytical paper on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) that I think she provided specifically for me, so I felt obligated to do my ten-page analysis on that article. It was a subject that I knew about from last year's art history course, so I grabbed some of the resources that I'd used then and set about the analysis process. It would take me most of the time before Thanksgiving to get the paper done, but I didn't want it hanging over my head when company started arriving on Sunday. The most exhausting part about writing papers for this class was making sure my research was documented, my bibliography was complete, and each point taken from the source was appropriately footnoted. Last year, I'd made the mistake of writing my papers for art history and then going back to try to fill in the references. What a disaster! This year I was keeping meticulous track of my sources, and was footnoting as I worked. I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to write research papers before computers! The library flashed the lights three times and a soft voice came over the intercom announcing that it would close in fifteen minutes. Students were asked to bring materials to be checked out to the desk immediately and to close out of their computers to leave the library. There was the additional request to please remove paper cups and bottles from the area and deposit them in the appropriate recycle bins on our way out. I closed things up and left the building, texting Kate to let her know I was on my way. She met me at the front door of the dorm to let me in when I got there. ------- I pretty much collapsed into Kate's arms in the shower and let her soap me up. I was thankful for the fresh scent and the meticulous attention Kate paid to every part of my body. I reciprocated and rubbed her beautiful breasts with my soapy hands before I shampooed her hair. It was the first time I'd washed her hair since she got it cut and it was a different experience. In order to get it to stand up in spikes, she used some kind of mousse that was sticky and stubborn to get out of her hair. Once it was gone, though, the strands were just as silky as I remembered—just shorter. "How does Melody get this down her throat?" Kate asked as she fondled my soapy cock. "It just seems so long!" "Mmm. I think she did a lot of practice before she tried it. You really have to learn to relax your throat muscles and just think about swallowing. It's not as easy as it looks," I said sleepily. "How do you know that?" "Um..." Oh shit. Better the truth. "Well, Melody told me and I sort of experimented a little." "You sucked a boy?" There was no recrimination in her voice or shock, but that wasn't the point. "No. You see, Lissa has a ... a dildo. Melody told me that before she tried to take me in her throat, she practiced with the dildo until she could do it without gagging. It always bothers me when I think I'm not reciprocating adequately or that my lovers are doing something painful just for my benefit. So I kind of used the dildo myself to see what it was like. I figured if I couldn't stand it, I wouldn't ever ask Melody to do it." "Do you know how many guys would even consider that?" Kate asked incredulously as we dried each other off. "I'm not very experienced, but I've never heard of a guy who wouldn't ask a girl to suck him if he couldn't tolerate it himself. What did you find out?" "That it's hard to do, but it is possible to control it and isn't unpleasant if you want to do it. There are certain spots in your mouth that trigger your gag reflex. Surprisingly, they aren't all at the back of your throat. I'm fine as long as I don't let it touch the roof of my mouth next to my teeth," I said. "I asked Melody and she said that once she figured out the trick she really liked it—not as a steady diet, but for something special. I'd never do that face-fucking thing that I've heard about. That's a guy forcing himself down a girl's throat and is a stupid act of dominance. It's not making love." "I love you, Tony," Kate said as we got into bed. "Maybe sometime I can catch you when you aren't hard and just hold you in my mouth and let you grow into me. That might work, too." "Kitten, how am I ever going to not be hard when you are in the same room with me?" I cuddled up spooned behind my lover and we went to sleep. ------- I heard Kate's roommate, Amber, leave in the morning, but I was so exhausted that I didn't want to wake up. When Kate stirred and headed for the bathroom, I let myself drift back into the half-waking zone of consciousness. I'd have to get up and go to class soon. I felt Kate's warm lips and tongue engulf my little cock and came fully awake. I must have been really exhausted because I wasn't erect when I woke up. Kate didn't try to do a lot, just keeping my cock in her mouth as I became aroused. She'd caught me and was trying her little experiment. For my part, I tried not to get aroused too quickly, practicing some of the deep breathing exercises I'd learned in Pilates. It was only the motion of my breathing and the rush of blood to my penis that provided movement in her mouth. I slowed my breathing so I didn't move too much. It took about five minutes before I was definitely a mouthful. I could feel Kate swallowing and was reminded of the last time I visited a dentist—you know the way you have your mouth propped open and still reflexively swallow. Kate's position at least didn't have a risk of drowning herself as I could feel her saliva running down my balls. It tickled a little as it trickled out of her mouth. I wondered idly if that was her uvula I was feeling against the end of my cock and then whether she had ever had her tonsils out and if that would make things easier. Maybe that kept my growth to a full erection at a slower pace. I could feel Kate's breathing getting deeper and deeper as she kept swallowing. Finally, she popped off my cock with a gasp. "That is so cool," she panted. "I can't do any more right now. I'm sorry." "Don't be sorry, Kate," I said. "I've never felt anything like just getting hard in my lover's mouth. It was amazing." I pulled her head to me and kissed her deeply. "Mmm," she responded. "I'm ... um ... kind of drippy ... you know ... down there. Will you make love to me?" "Of course, Kitten. I'd make love to you anytime." I pulled her down to me and started to move my hips around, but she rolled off of me and returned to our spoon position. She bent her left leg slightly and reached through her legs to guide my cock into her from behind. "Like you do with Lissa, please?" she asked. "We never do it this way." "I'm still finding out what you like, sweetheart," I answered. "Lissa likes to wake up this way. Melody doesn't. I didn't know if you'd like it or not." "Neither do I. I've only been making love for less than two months and I just don't know what else is available. Is this so special with you and Lissa that you don't want to do it with me?" "Oh no. It's not like that. I think we all want to do everything, but we don't know if we like something unless we try it." "I remember when we were like this over Labor Day and I felt you poking at me. I kept thinking how easy it would be to just open my legs and let you in. I wanted to so much." "We both wanted it, but we had the good sense to wait until it was right," I said. My hands caressed her breasts and I dipped a finger into her slit to press against her nubbin. "Don't rub," she said. "I just want the feeling of your cock. There's something about this angle that really feels good. But you could still play with my nipples." I did exactly that as we moved against each other gently. "I'm getting awfully close, Kitten," I said. "After that incredible blow job, being in you doesn't leave me with much self-control." "Don't control too much," she answered. "Remember the way we were on edge a couple of weeks ago? Just keep up the same pressure and speed and let's see what happens." What happened was that I heard Kate suck in her breath and that high-pitched whine that she emits during orgasm. She struggled to keep her pussy from clamping down during her orgasm, but her butt cheeks were quivering against my abdomen. On the next stroke, the semen flew from my cock into her, all the time continuing the same speed and motion. I thought I was going to die. It seemed to last so long that I couldn't stand the rub against my frenulum any longer and just froze. I just held my precious jewel against me as we drifted back into half-sleep while we were still connected to each other. I ended up missing my first class. ------- Friday morning I met Clarice for my weekly appointment with my agent at Carmine's. The coffee bar at the restaurant is open with pastries available until the lunch crowd starts in at about eleven. I glanced around, but Wendy doesn't usually come in on Friday mornings in time for me to see her. It's all counter service for breakfast. Clarice looked at my painting of Tent City and was very pleased. "See, this is what people will want more of when they see what you do with simple shapes. I love it. What else do you have for me?" "Well, I'm working on a series of sketches and would like to turn at least one of them into a painting, but Doc warned me I should talk to you about it first. Or at least to decide if I should exhibit it." "I'm not sure what subject you could paint that would be offensive," Clarice said, "but let me see. Not pornographic is it?" I handed the open body sketch to her. Clarice has been a fan of my work from the first piece she saw and has also been a willing critic if she thinks something won't sell or that I need to move to a new subject. I'd never seen her just stare at a piece and then get up and leave the table. In the drawing, the right side of the figure shows all the back muscles as they appear after the skin is laid back. On the left side, the muscles have been carefully pulled away so the skeletal structure of the back is visible. It was my favorite drawing of the first night's work. If Clarice couldn't stand to look at it, then it was unlikely that she was going to be impressed with the frontal view or the sketch of the man's face that I'd done Wednesday night. "Please put it away, Tony," Clarice said. I returned the drawing to my portfolio. "There are more, I presume." I nodded. "Don't get them out. What I'm going to tell you now is strictly as a friend. As an agent, I want everything you can produce with the biggest controversial splash that we can make. I can sell it. You'll become famous. But that's just it. I can sell anything and you will become famous regardless. Your fame doesn't hinge on that painting. But people's opinion of you as a person will. Even though it was obvious to me that this drawing was made with respect and deep emotion, our society would punish you for it." "That's roughly what Doc said might happen," I said. "He told me to talk to you." "Doc Henredden is a smart man as well as a talented artist. Did he talk to you about vaulting some of your paintings?" "No. I'm not familiar with the term." "There are facilities that have specialized services for storing artwork. At one time, the surviving members of an artist's family might stumble upon a few dozen canvasses in the studio that no one knew about. They might be pristine, but were often just piled against each other. They might be old rejects that suddenly seemed valuable, or new material the artist simply hadn't shown yet. Rarely, there would be a piece identifiable as from a specific period of an artist that was previously unknown and would be worth millions. Over the past twenty-five years, the concept of putting something away for a rainy day has taken hold." "You mean saving some art for my estate?" I asked. Damn! I'm only twenty years old! "Yes, but more than that. The world is an uncertain place. We don't know which of your artistic periods will be the famous one yet. We don't know how people's tastes will change. And we don't know how life will treat you in the future. Putting select paintings in a vault on a regular basis is simply a good back-up plan, and it keeps the paintings safe. In twenty years, that drawing could be the centerpiece of a new movement where today it would only be a controversy. So paint it. Pour your soul into it. Name it. Write about it. Whatever is necessary. Then when it is cured and you've shown it to your closest friends and family, we'll crate it and put it in the vault. In the future, you should take as many as half a dozen pieces a year and vault them." I reached for my Coke and saw it was empty. "Where is Wendy when you need her?" Clarice asked. She grabbed my glass and her coffee cup and set them on the counter to be refilled. The barista handed them back. "Um ... speaking of Wendy," I said. Clarice was suddenly focused on me. "Yes?" I wasn't sure if I should broach the subject with her or not, but Clarice had a unique perspective on things and I knew she genuinely liked Wendy. "Do you know about her current living arrangement?" I asked. "She says she has a temporary place of her own and will be moving to a new room after the first of the year," Clarice said. "That girl has had a difficult time of things. She hasn't moved back with the so-called boyfriend, has she?" "No. Nothing like that. I can't really tell you where she's living. I know she's sensitive about it. But I worry about her. She's safe as far as I can tell. I try to talk to her every week and I know Kate sees her more often. But we've got a room in our house with a semi-private bath that we could give her. I mean rent to her. I'd just like to know that she's safe and taken care of. I don't know what there is about her, but she makes me feel like a mother hen." "You've got a big heart, Tony. I'll do some investigating to see what rooms cost these days. It would be best for Wendy to live among people who respect her and care for her. If she asks my opinion, I'll be inclined to agree that you have a good alternative." "Thanks, Clarice." ------- Chapter 27 The weekend flew by. Before I knew it, I was parked in front of Tent City in the chair donated by a frat brother and Bree was curled up in my lap. "Thank you for the massage yesterday," I whispered. "That one was the best ever. Your technique has really progressed." "Why thank you," she whispered back. "Part of my success is due to having a weekly massage dummy to practice on." "Who are you calling a dummy?" We giggled quietly together. "Really, so far everything I know is from my physical therapy class. Next term I'm enrolling in the massage certification class in the Kinesiology Department. Fortunately, Human Physiology is part of the program, so we'll still have that god-awful seven-thirty class together. First term Human Anatomy is a pre-req." "So how many days a week are you going to need me to ... uh ... help with your homework?" "Well, it seems that there is suddenly a line of volunteers to help me with my homework," Bree laughed softly. "It sounds like I might even have a studio set up in your house temporarily. I've been in touch with the club, too, and I can do one massage after each team practice in one of their therapy rooms. And SCU will pay for them! It's just a modest stipend, but I've been getting it for doing you since school started." "Oh, you're doing me, now?" "You know what I mean." "Yeah, I do. And I really appreciate it, Bree." "Mmm. Someday you can pay me back in kind," she mumbled. We let the conversation drift and eventually fell asleep. ------- "May I try again?" Whitney whispered when I got back from my bathroom break after Bree left. "I guess it depends on what you want to try, Whitney," I said. She was standing in front of the table at the tent, not even being so bold as to have sat down. "I'd like to try following the rules for a change," she said. I went over to the chair and sat down, holding my arms out to her. Whitney slipped off her shoes and curled up in my lap. For a girl who is so tall, she sure is flexible. And, as thin as she is, she didn't feel boney when her rump settled down on my lap. I decided a long time ago that one of my favorite outfits for cuddling in was sweats, and apparently Whitney was of like mind. We pulled the blanket up and she settled down and laid her head on my shoulder. "Thank you. I'm sorry I misbehaved last time. I guess I'm a spoiled brat." "I don't have enough information to make that judgment," I said. "Tell me a little more about yourself." "Really? Um ... well, I'm a Louisiana girl from the Bayou. I'm the first in my family to go to college. In fact, there's only two of us from my school who went to college out of sixty-five." "You're graduating class only had sixty-five people in it?" "Um ... my whole school only had sixty-five people in it. And that's pre-kindergarten through 12th grade." "Wow! You sound a lot like Kate. Only her little community home schooled everyone." "Really? I'd like to get to know her better. We used to be bigger, but the hurricanes drove a lot of people away." "Katrina?" "Mmm. That, too. Katrina was first and got most of the press because it did so much damage to New Orleans. But our little Bayou is almost in Texas. Rita hit us hard and wasted everything in the West Louisana Bayou. It was the most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record. We went from a community of 2,500 to under a thousand. Then when Ike came through four years later, we were in its way as it headed to Texas. There wasn't much left. All the inhabitants now are less than 400 souls." "Well, it's a major accomplishment to get into a school like this with such limited resources during high school." "I guess that's why I'm spoiled," Whitney sighed. "I'm pretty and smart and fast. Every teacher did his or her best to make me successful. I could just about have anything or anyone I wanted." "Pretty and smart and fast, huh? I guess that about sums it up." "You ain't seen nothing. When spring comes, I'm in serious training." "Serious training for what?" "Track. I was the Louisiana State Champion in hundred- and three hundred-meter hurdles and hold the Louisiana High School record in women's long jump at 6.01 meters," she said frankly. "Holy shit. You are pretty, smart, and fast." "And easy," she whispered. "Hmm?" "There weren't that many boys to choose from in high school and I was a bit precocious. I kind of chose whoever I wanted to sleep with and just did it," she whispered. "I just came to realize last week that's not how it works here, or with you and your lovers. I just figured if I wanted you I could have you. Or Lissa. She seriously revs my engines." "I know our arrangement could lead you to believe we're pretty loose, but really, we're very selective about what we do with whom. I'm sorry we misled you." "Enough about this depressing stuff. Just thank you for letting me stay with you a while tonight," she whispered. "By the way, I'm in." I'd heard that phrase before. "In?" I asked. "For the group pose that you're going to paint after holiday break. And I've got an idea." We didn't get any sleep in that two hour stretch, but we managed to keep our voices down soft as she explained her art concept to me. Smart, pretty, and fast. ------- Rio was half asleep when she crawled into my lap at two. She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and in minutes we were both asleep. ------- "Hey! I wasn't expecting to see you here," I said. "Expecting Amy again?" "Didn't know what to expect, but I'm delighted." I settled into the chair and Kate sat on my lap. She kissed me warmly and deeply. It was four o'clock in the morning and my cock was more than willing to come out to play. She wiggled a little, feeling the stiffness beneath her butt. "We're not supposed to make out," she whispered. "That's the rules." "Even with my lovers?" I asked. "Especially." She laid her on my shoulder and pulled my left hand to her waist. With a few adjustments, she soon had it under her sweatshirt and cupping her soft breast. I kissed the top of her head and squeezed gently, eliciting a murmured hum. "Now we can just nap until it's time to get up," she said. I was happy with that. ------- When we got up, just before Eric arrived, Kate told me she was staying to go have brunch with Wendy. I warned her about the guys being touchy about us meeting her. "I know. I had to go through that the first couple of times, too. Now, they've even let me come in to visit her. I'll be okay," she said. I kissed her. "Give my love to Wendy," I said and headed home to my family. ------- The boys were going crazy already and Lissa was looking at me with bleary eyes. "Help?" she said as I walked into the kitchen. I kissed her soundly and held her before turning to get the boys' breakfast on the table. "Better?" I asked. "Much. Coffee?" "You mean you haven't had a cup of coffee yet? Poor baby. Is that what you want or do you want to go crawl back in bed with our little Miss Sweet Cheeks for a while?" "An hour? Then coffee?" "You've got it lover. I'll read to the boys for a while." Lissa retreated back to the bedroom and I gathered up the boys' dishes. After they were in the dishwasher, we went to the living room and each boy brought half a dozen books with him. "Wow! We're really going to read a lot today, aren't we?" "We want to know which book Grandma and Grandpa should read to us when they get here. Do they read as good as Gramma Lexi does?" Damon asked. "Well, you know what we say about things like that, remember?" I asked. "It's diff'rent," Drew offered. "That's right. It's not better, it's different. I'll tell you a secret, though. Grandpa Saul won't read to you," I whispered. They boys looked brokenhearted. "Why?" Damon asked. His opinion of a person's humanity and worth was based on how many stories that person would read to him. "Well, Grandpa Saul has something better. He'll tell you a story." "Tell it? Without a book?" "That's right," I said. "When I was your age, every night my daddy would come into my room to tuck me in and tell me a story." "What kind of story?" Drew asked. "Dragons?" I don't think Drew had ever actually read a story about a dragon, but he'd seen a kids' movie and thought dragons were the be-all and end-all of fantasy creatures. I sort of had to agree. "You never know," I said. "But a story from Grandpa Saul is very special." "What about Grandma Deb?" Damon asked. "Oh she'll read whole books to you," I said. "She read all the Harry Potter books to me starting when I was just four years old. Even though I could read the last ones myself, she read them to me first. And I was a big boy in high school!" "Wow!" "I'll bet she brings a book to read to you guys." The boys were crazy excited to have my folks come for a visit. I sure hoped they wouldn't turn all shy once my parents got here. Mom and Dad were looking forward to meeting Damon and Drew as much as they were looking forward to seeing the rest of us. After we read and the boys started to settle down, I made coffee for Lissa and Melody and went in to wake them up. They looked so cute cuddled together. Lissa was spooned behind Mel and cupped her breast in one hand. I noticed slight movements, though and realized that Lissa was humping forward into Melody's butt. Melody must have her hand back there, I thought. It made me smile. I supposed that I could have gotten behind Lissa and completed the chain, but with the boys up, someone had to be alert. As if on cue, Damon burst through the door behind me. "Tony, can we watch cartoons?" "Is your show on now?" I asked. "Uh-huh." "You can watch for one hour, Damon. Then TV goes off and we find something fun to do, got it?" "Okay. Thank you, Tony!" As quickly as he'd arrived, he was gone. "That was very sweet of you, Tony," Lissa murmured. "You handled that just like a dad should." That made my heart swell. "Well, a husband has just brought his wives some coffee," I said. "And then he's going to collapse for a couple of hours." "Didn't get any sleep last night?" Melody asked, yawning. "Let's just say that it's never uninterrupted, no matter how nice and snuggly," I laughed. "It was sweet to send Kate for the last shift." "She was begging. Where is she now?" "She stayed to have breakfast with Wendy." "Was Whitney well-behaved?" Melody asked, snickering. "She was," I affirmed. "But we didn't get any sleep. She told me about her life in the Bayou. You know what? She's pretty amazing. I don't think she's showing us anything near what she could be doing on the racquetball court. She had an intriguing idea about what to do at the next posing party featuring Rio, too." "Whoa, whoa!" Melody complained. "Too much enthusiasm too early in the morning." "Yeah, well move over. I'm going to show you some enthusiastic sleeping in about thirty seconds." I was undressed and Melody and Lissa scooted over a little as they sipped their coffee. I moved next to Melody and felt her smooth warm skin against my hip and back. She wrapped an arm around me and gently stroked my chest. There was a quick whispered conversation between the two women and I felt the bed move as Lissa went to enforce my one hour rule on the TV with the boys. "I think I'll just sit here and watch you sleep for a while, okay?" Melody asked. "Mmm-hmm," I breathed. I really didn't want to lose contact with her skin. It was like sleeping the last shift with my hand under Kate's shirt. So nice. ------- "Lover," she whispered in my ear. "Darling-most boy whom I adore." I kept my eyes closed and pulled her closer to me. "Taker of my virginity. Lover of my soul. Painter of my innermost feelings." She was blowing in my ear with each endearment, punctuating them with nibbles on the back of my neck. I wondered how long she could go on. "True love. Lover of my lovers. Faithful companion. Boy who makes my pussy drip when he puts his tongue on my clit." That broke it. We both started giggling and I rolled toward Melody and wrapped her in my arms. "I had this wonderful sexy dream," I whispered as I kissed her. "I was in heaven. Then I woke up and discovered it wasn't a dream." "I love you, Tony," Melody said between kisses. It was suddenly a contest to see who could land the most kisses on our lover's face. We fell back giggling again. "Oh do I have to get up?" I moaned. "It really wouldn't do to leave your parents at the airport, silly," she said. "Mmm. You and Lissa should go pick them up. You're who they're coming to see." "Stop that." "I know," I said. "I should say that you're who I want to show off." "Yes, but we don't want to overwhelm them with all of us showing up at the airport. We'd have to take two cars. And I'm going to meet Mom when she gets in on Tuesday," Melody said. "I wish your dad would reconsider coming," I said. "Why don't you try calling him again tonight?" "I will, but you know he's going to say he doesn't feel up to traveling and doesn't want to be a burden on Mom. If I ever get that stubborn, shoot me." "How about if I just goose you?" I said, fitting action to words. We rolled over laughing and tickling each other. "How about if boy who makes my pussy drip puts his tongue on my clit?" she said. Who was I to argue? ------- I saw them come up the escalator to baggage claim and as I stepped forward Mom saw me and rushed to give me a hug. Dad was right behind her. "Mom. Dad. Wow! I'm glad you could come out for Thanksgiving!" "Oh Tony! So are we! Where are those lovely women of yours?" Mom asked. "We decided not to overwhelm you and everyone else at the airport. They're fixing a late lunch for us when we get back. We'll all be there." "The boys, too?" "Absolutely. They are so wired about having a grandma and grandpa," I laughed. We got to the baggage carousel and waited for their bags to come out the chute. "Oh yeah, Dad. I sort of told them that you told bedtime stories. They can't wait." "Oh boy. I'll have to dredge my memory for some good ones." "What do you mean, remember them?" I laughed. "I thought you made them all up on the spot." "Well, it takes a little practice to get in the swing of things. I remember once upon a bicycle..." "Dad!" We laughed. He'd always start out a story "Once upon a..." and then substitute some other nonsense word instead of "time." Geez! I was picking my parents up at the airport and taking them to my home and my family. The feeling of being an adult and having parents who were proud of me was overwhelming. We got home and Dad and I brought their bags in with us. Melody and Lissa were waiting for us at the door, but true to expectations, Drew was hanging onto Melody's legs and peeking around and Damon was nowhere to be seen. "Where are my new grandchildren?" Mom asked. Melody picked up Drew who hid his face against her shoulder with just one eye looking at Mom. "Oh, this handsome young man must be Drew," Mom said. A big smile crossed Drew's face and before long he was looking straight at Mom. "I'll see if I can find Damon," I said. "He might be having a case of nerves." I saw Lissa look at me and mouth the word kitchen. I went into the house as everyone else moved toward the living room. I could hear voices as I approached the kitchen so I paused in the doorway and looked. Kate was on her knees in front of Damon having a serious talk. "I understand," Kate said. "I'm nervous, too. They've never met me and I want them to like me." "You're pretty," Damon said. "And smart and you can paint. Everybody likes you, Kate. What if they don't like me?" "Oh, they'll like you, sugar. Grandma Deb and Grandpa Saul can't wait to meet you. They love Tony, so they'll love you 'cause Tony loves you like crazy." "Then they'll love you, too, Kate. Tony loves you like crazier." I laughed and the two looked up. I walked in and knelt down beside them. "You are both right. My mom and dad are going to love you both. Why don't we all hold hands as we go into the living room? That way they'll know I love you." I took Kate in my right hand and Damon in my left and we went to join the others. Melody had conquered any hesitation that Drew had by simply sitting in my dad's lap while she held Drew. He and Dad were in an intense conversation and I could tell a lifelong bond had already begun. Mom and Lissa looked up as we came in. "Grandma Deb," I said, "may I present to you my best buddy, Mr. Damon Wade? Damon, this is Grandma Deb." "Hi, Grandma," he said softly. "Oh my goodness, Damon! I'm so happy to meet you at last. You are so tall! Are you in second grade?" Of course, Mom knew all the facts and had seen pictures of all of us, but she played the situation just right. Damon walked over to her and the offered handshake turned into a big hug. I felt Kate squeeze my hand and thought I saw a tear forming in Lissa's eye. I wrapped my arm around Kate and hugged her. "Saul, look who's here," Mom said to Dad. "It's our grandson Damon. He is the handsomest and politest young man I think I've ever met." I could see Damon swelling with pride. "Well I am so happy to meet you, Damon," Dad said, leaning around Melody and Drew. They shook hands. "I feel like I have a whole new family." Mom looked at me curiously as I held an arm around Kate. Lissa came over to stand on the other side of her. Melody saw her move and carefully set Drew down to come and join us. He immediately crawled up on Dad's knee. "And who is this lovely young woman you are surrounding?" Mom asked. She knew Kate's name, but we'd never really explained our relationship yet. "Mom, Dad," I said. "This is Kate Holsinger." "She's our girlfriend," Damon interjected. Kate blushed. "That's exactly what she is," Lissa said, kissing her on the cheek. "Kate is our girlfriend." Mom was in front of Kate in two steps, reached out and wrapped her up in a big hug. As soon as she let go, Dad was there with Drew still in one arm. He pulled Kate to him in just as warm a hug. "You'll be like another one of our daughters, Kate," Dad said. "We hope so," Melody said. "Someday," Kate concluded. ------- I was pretty much overwhelmed with good feelings with my family visiting. The boys were out of school for the week—a smart move on the part of their school, I think. They were so excited to have grandparents around that they could hardly sit down. Kate and Melody and I all had classes through Wednesday, of course, but Melody cut Tuesday afternoon to pick Lexi up at the airport. No amount of cajoling would get Harold to come, too. Jack, however, came over at our invitation Tuesday night and was obviously pleased to see Lexi. Things had changed for Lexi, though. She was no longer looking at divorce, even though she and her husband were separated. I don't think the idea of being with another man while she was married was in her character. Still, she liked Jack and adored the boys, so we all had a very pleasant evening. Thursday morning, we were all going crazy. I have no idea where Lissa found the twenty-two pound turkey that she insisted I was going to cook on the grill. The one we won in the racquetball tournament was nowhere near that size. Lissa found a recipe for the turkey that required that we press most of a bulb of garlic in slivers through slits in the skin then baste the bird with melted butter, orange juice, and whiskey. I had to get it in the oven before nine o'clock in the morning because it was going to cook there for three hours before I put it on the grill for another three—assuming I could keep the heat in the grill pretty constant. We'd gone out to buy an extra gas tank yesterday to make sure we didn't run out in the middle of cooking. The bird barely fit in the grill and the oven would be in use for pies and casseroles. Wendy came over about ten and immediately took charge of the kitchen. She really gets into organizing a party. And I was pleased to see that she did it with quiet, calm authority, and not as if we were her bosses and she was our servant. Lissa was making pies, Mom had her scalloped potatoes underway, Lexi was doing something with mashed yams and carrots, and Melody was putting together appetizer trays and condiments. Kate was putting salads together and when Bree and Sam arrived, Bree joined in setting the table and making drinks while "us men" were sent to the deck to mind the bird. Dad, Jack, Sam, and I took Drew and Damon to the back yard and played a game of touch football with the boys. It was hilarious, even though I had to run back to the deck every fifteen minutes to make sure everything was still at the right temperature, that the gas hadn't run out, and that the turkey was properly basted. By two o'clock, all the food was in its "almost ready" stage and the women came out to play as well. That was when I decided to show off. I took the ball and charted all the obstacles in the yard. I ran toward the house and everyone thought they had me boxed in. They were really surprised when I took two steps up a support post for the deck, grabbed the railing, swung to my left and slid down the hand rail for the stairs. I dove through the swing-set, took one bounce on the mini-trampoline, landed on the edge of a flower planter and did a forward roll across the goal line. By that time, everybody was just looking at me, not even trying to chase me down anymore. I was laughing so hard that my side hurt. "We need a running back on the football team, Tony," Sam said. "Well, if we played on the street or in the middle of Pike Place Market, maybe," I laughed. "A football field doesn't have enough stationary obstacles." "Where did you learn that, son?" Dad asked. "Coach Fredericks has been training me in Parkour. We've gotten to the point where we meet outside and I just chase him wherever he goes. There are some pretty wild places to run around campus." I was panting a little as I ran back up to the deck to check on the turkey. It looked like the temperature needle was finally rising. ------- "I'm thankful for my families—both the one I was born into and the one I've chosen," I said as we all held hands around the table. "I'm thankful for people who understand me and help me to grow," Wendy said quietly. "I'm thankful for my father," Bree said. "I'm thankful for Grandmas and Grandpa," Damon said. And so it went around the table. It wasn't religious or anything, but it was Thanksgiving and we'd decided to all just say one sentence about what we were thankful for on this day. Then we fell to the food and there was a lot of conversation. You couldn't hold a single conversation at a table with thirteen people at it, but I caught snatches of what was said by everyone. We'd really mixed up the places so none of the couples (or more) was actually sitting next to each other. I was between Damon and Bree. Next to Bree was Jack, then Drew, Wendy, and Lexi. Kate was on the other side of Lexi which kept her close enough to Wendy to relax our friend. Then there was Sam, Lissa, Dad, Melody, Mom, and back to Damon. We really filled that dining room. "How's the business going?" Dad asked Lissa and Melody. "Sales are solid. We have only fifteen percent of our total first season stock remaining and sales for Christmas look like they are going to wipe out the remainder. Lissa manages the day-to-day operation and we had to hire a part-timer to handle ironing and shipping. With Amy still keeping the website operating flawlessly, it feels good," Melody said. "We're going to need more stock for the spring season tournaments, though," Lissa said. "That's not going to be easy. Melody will be spending her holiday dying fabric, I'm afraid." "After Christmas," Melody added. "Tony has to go back to school on the first day after New Year, but we have another two weeks before PCAD starts. If we can get all the fabric dyed, we've located a stateside manufacturer who has said they can do the work as cheaply as Singapore and we won't have to pay shipping and tariffs. That means better profit per item." "You've really done a remarkable job with this," Jack said. "As an occasional board consultant, may I pass on my congratulations?" "Your father couldn't stop talking about it when he got back from Minneapolis," Lexi said. "He called me that night to tell me about his illness and spent the entire time talking about your successes, both on the court and on the sales floor." "So Bree, you still live at home with your dad, right?" Mom asked. Bree nodded. "And Kate, you live in a dorm—most of the time?" Kate grinned at her and nodded. "Where do you live, Wendy?" I choked on my drink, but didn't make a scene. It prevented me from butting in, though. "I have a place near campus with some other people," Wendy said softly. She didn't mention which campus or what kind of place and I breathed a little easier when Lissa jumped back into the conversation. "Are you ready for all of us to invade Boston for the holiday?" Lissa asked Lexi. "Oh yes. You know, for all my good intentions, I still don't have the house on the market. There is so much to sort and decide what to do with. But that means there will be plenty of room for everyone." "Well, we're only there for a week, Mom," Melody said. "Tony gets out of school the seventh, but Kate and I don't get out until the sixteenth. Then we're all flying to Nebraska on Christmas day." "And on that end, I have to be back for classes on the third, so we're coming back here and Kate's family is coming for New Year's Eve," I said. "It's going to be a wild holiday." ------- We all got up and cleared the table. It's funny, but with thirteen people all helping, it didn't take long to get all the dishes done and have all the food put away. There were going to be plenty of left-overs. We decided to wait until evening for dessert, even though the boys thought they wanted pumpkin pie right away. We headed for the living room, and I think Dad thought he'd be in time to catch the Cornhuskers game, but he made an off-hand comment as we entered the room. "You seem to have quite a collection of drums in here. Who plays?" We'd added a Conga drum and a set of bongos to the big drum that Kate's grandfather sent me for my birthday. There were a couple smaller drums for the boys and a few other rhythm instruments. We tried to play for a while each Sunday afternoon before Kate went back to the dorm. "Well, Dad," I said, "those are magic drums." I looked up and caught Kate's eye. Her mouth was open. I nodded to her and she left. She caught Melody as she left and whispered in her ear. Melody grabbed Wendy and Bree and took them out of the room. I handed the Conga drum to Dad, the bongos to Jack and gave Mom and Lexi woodblocks. Damon and Drew knew what was coming next and already had their drums in hand. I called Sam over and handed a pair of mallets to him and sat opposite the big drum with my own mallets. I started a smooth steady beat quietly as I narrated. Lissa looked into the room, saw none of the younger women were there and left immediately. "We've discovered that there's music everywhere. You know I listen to music when I paint. I've seen you tapping along with the beat when you listen to music." By this time the boys had already begun to join me and Sam and Jack were hitting the drums experimentally. "Just join the rhythm. Last month, Lissa and I inadvertently planted a song in our opponent's heads as we entered the court for our last doubles match. The four of us danced through that game." Dad had gotten into the rhythm and I was surprised that he was no slouch when it came to beating that drum. Mom and Lexi had joined in on their woodblocks. "You see," I continued with the drum getting louder. "When people feel the rhythm, they just have to dance!" I sent out three loud bangs and then swept my hands to the side. There was one more stray beat before everyone was silent. Then we heard the cymbals. Kate led Lissa and Melody in their gypsy outfits into the room clinking their finger cymbals together. We had a little scramble as we moved a chair back and the coffee table over to the fireplace and then I hit the rhythm again. My lovely ladies had done this enough times over the past few weeks that they had coordinated a few of their moves, but it was pretty freeform. I saw Wendy and Bree in the doorway and motioned them in to join. It was a little comical at first, but both girls quickly blended into the rhythm, copied some of Kate's moves, and tossed in a few new ones of their own. Lissa dragged Dad up away from his drum and Mom smoothly slid over to take his place. Lissa spun him around a few times before depositing him back onto the sofa where Mom had been. He picked up the woodblock and continued the rhythm. Kate actually curtsied to Jack and invited him into the dance with a swirling motion of her hands. He stood and followed her around. He was like a shadow puppet and Kate controlled every move he made, drawing him forward or pushing him back, all in perfect rhythm. Melody got her mom up when Jack sat down. I'd seen Lexi dance at Carmine's last spring and knew she could hold her own out there. She had her hands in the air clapping in time with the drums as the two circled each other and then Lexi collapsed back onto the sofa. Bree and Wendy understood what was expected next, but both moved at the same time, so both Sam and Mom were up dancing with them at the same time. The boys, of course, picked their drums up and kept beating them as they danced around the room with everyone else. I was bringing the drums up to a dramatic conclusion with the five women taking the center of the room to dance together. God! What a beautiful sight. We were almost at the peak when I heard Melody's phone ring. I knew the ring, so I did three quick beats and then cut everyone off. "It's Daddy!" Melody yelled as she scrambled for her phone. "She grabbed it and pressed it to her ear. "Happy Thanksgiving, Daddy!" She was silent as she listened. I could see her lip trembling and started scrambling to get to her. Lissa was already beside her. The phone fell to the floor and Melody wailed. "No!" ------- Chapter 28 The wail echoed through the whole house. There was only one thing it could be. Lissa was already supporting Melody so, though it pained me not to go to her, I spun and caught Lexi just as she was crumpling to the floor. Before I got her stretched out on the sofa, Wendy was beside me with a glass of water. What a sweet, thoughtful girl. What really surprised me though was that Bree had picked up Melody, almost as easily as I'd caught Lexi. She brought her to the sofa and laid her down next to her mother so the two could cling to each other. "He's dead, mommy. He's gone," Melody whimpered as she and her mother wept. I turned to thank Bree and saw a look of sorrow so deep it shook me to the core. She turned to her father and wrapped her arms around him holding him tightly. "Don't ever leave me, Daddy," she cried into his chest. "Please, don't ever leave me." Harsh, reserved, maybe even critical—Sam finally figured out what to do and wrapped his arms around his daughter. Mom and Dad had turned to where they were most needed almost as if this was rehearsed. They had Damon and Drew in their arms and suggested that maybe they could take the boys to their room for a little bit until Melody and Gramma Lexi were feeling better. "Are they sick?" Drew asked in his innocent voice. "Will they throw up?" "Their hearts are sick, sweetie," Mom said. "They'll get better soon." "We got sick last year," Damon said. "It spoiled our date." "I remember," Dad said. "But you got better, right?" The boys nodded their heads. ------- Lissa and Kate needed to get close enough to touch Melody and her mother. I understood. Jack followed Mom and Dad with the boys. I wanted to thank Wendy for getting water so quickly—something that both Melody and her mother were gulping down. She was standing next to the fireplace, almost invisible, she was so still. Tears were streaming silently down her cheeks. I went to her and she fell into my arms. I stroked her hair and patted her back as the tears continued to fall. "Hey, Tiger," I said. "It's okay. There now. Thank you for thinking so quickly and bringing water. You are just the best friend. It's okay now. We'll survive." She looked up at me with those light eyes and I saw all the gold flecks in them. She really looked like a tiger. She whispered to me, tears still flowing. "When I stood up to him, he kicked me out. He said never to come back home. I wasn't fit to be a slave. He was ... my father was ... is ... I wish my father died instead of Melody's!" ------- Is there a limit to the number of tears one person can shed? The news of Harold's death wreaked havoc on our household. We finally got through to the hospice nurse by calling Harold's cell phone back. I talked to her and explained that I was Harold's son-in-law and his daughter and wife were with me. "I'm so sorry I was the one who had to break the news to you," she said. "I'm Nora Caldwell. I was with Harold when he left and it was a peaceful passing." "We're glad to hear that, but it came as a real shock. Lexi said that he looked stronger over the weekend before she left to come out here. We had no idea that death was imminent." "I'm sorry to say that it wasn't obvious to anyone, though Harold knew that it was only a matter of time. He's known that since late September and has been receiving hospice care ever since." "But when we talked to him the first week of October, he told us about these radioactive particles that had been implanted and all," I complained. "I thought hospice was only pain medicine." "Oh," Nora said. "The particles were implanted several months ago, but didn't work. They were removed after the diagnosis in order to spare Harold the pain of radiation. The cancer had metastasized into the testicles and bladder." "He didn't want any of us to know, did he?" I asked. "No. He was always very careful about our visits, as well. He never wanted a hospice nurse with him when his family was visiting," Nora said. "Which brings me to another of his wishes." "What is that?" "Harold's instructions were that he was to be cremated and there be no service," she said. "That's cruel," I responded hotly. "I don't know what Melody and Lexi feel about the cremation, but not being able to say goodbye is cruel." "Actually, that's what I'm getting at. In the State of Massachusetts, the nearest of kin has final say over the disposal of the remains, regardless of the deceased's wishes. I wanted to let them know that there is no need for them to rush back here immediately. The body will be preserved until they have a chance to express their wishes. In spite of what he said, he did not, as far as we know, leave a written directive. However, he indicated there was a will in the care of his attorney." "Well, I guess that's good news," I said. "So nothing will be done if Lexi doesn't come back until Sunday? I think she needs our support right now." "The body ... Harold will be moved to the hospital morgue unless there are instructions from the family regarding a preferred funeral or cremation service. They will have up to 30 days to determine the disposition," Nora said. "Mr. Ames, there is one other thing that is completely unofficial. Harold and I were talking yesterday and he told me about his daughter and her wife and husband. He was very proud of all three of you. He said, 'They'll take care of Lexi.' He loved you all very much." More tears. ------- Mom and Dad—everybody—were great. Jack took the boys back with him that night after they'd each cuddled with Lexi and Melody for a while. They would have headed to his house the next day anyway. Mom and Wendy took over the kitchen and after we'd all had some pie and coffee, Sam and Bree went home. They hadn't been more than a foot away from each other since we got the call. Before they left, Bree and Melody spent a long time hugging each other and then shared a very sweet kiss. My folks had elected to use one of the downstairs bedrooms, giving Lexi the upstairs guest room. It appeared that Melody would be spending the night with her mom. "Um ... Tony?" Wendy asked. We were alone in the kitchen putting away the last of the clean dishes. "Could you take me home?" "Wouldn't you rather stay here tonight?" I asked. "I'd be ... alone," she whispered. "Not on your life, Tiger," I said, pulling her to me. "If you want to sleep downstairs in the second bedroom, one of us will stay with you. If not, you can stay with Kate and Lissa and me." "Really?" she asked. "It would be okay with all ... your parents ... here?" "Wendy, no one should be alone tonight. Everyone understands that." For the first time since we got the news, Wendy smiled at me. There were still tears on her cheeks, though. ------- At bedtime, the four of us settled into the big bed, but we were all restless. We whispered together, even though the bedroom was pretty soundproof. Believe me we'd tested it repeatedly. Finally, Lissa got out of bed and pulled a nightie on. I looked at her curiously. "Melody needs me," she said simply. I nodded and she padded out the door and down the hall. That left me in the interesting position of being in bed with Kate and Wendy. Not that we hadn't shared the bed together before, but Lissa or Melody had always been with us. Kate slid over me to Lissa's side and Wendy cuddled up next to me. As exhausted as we were, we couldn't sleep and continued our whispered conversation. The contact of two other people against my body was wonderful and reminded me of the fact that I was alive and even when someone dies, we should celebrate living. "I didn't think that I would ever celebrate being alive," Wendy said. "After the last time with Rafe, I thought I'd kill myself. But you brought me home when I had no home to go to. Thank you." Wendy kissed me. Of course, we'd had little kisses before. We hugged each other whenever we were together and no one in my family was reluctant to touch lips and even tongues with our friends. But Wendy seemed to pour her heart into the kiss this time. I don't know why I knew this. Technically a kiss is a kiss, even when the kisser and kissee are naked in bed. Maybe it was because my own emotions were so near the surface that her kiss affected me. I know I became aroused. I felt Kate's hand reach for my cock as her leg came over mine. She joined the kiss for a moment before whispering in my ear. "Make her feel loved, darling." I wasn't sure what to do, but Kate was settling herself onto my erection, pushing in only a bit at a time, then lifting back up to increase her lubrication. Wendy continued her kissing and I let my left hand drift down her side to her hip. She lifted so that I could move my hand under her. I felt her left leg come over the joining of Kate's and my legs, opening her center to my questing fingers. She moaned into my mouth as my fingers played in her damp folds and found her clit. It was so familiar and yet so foreign. I'd been ridden to climax by one lover while fingering the other enough times that this felt familiar. Yet this was strange because Kate and Wendy were not normally the ones I was with. I realized as well that Kate was subtly controlling the situation, inviting Wendy to be loved, but protecting me from making love to her without the knowledge of Lissa and Melody. We came, one at a time. It was no massive orgasm causing us to scream, but each us had a quiet release, letting the tension and emotion of the day flow out of us. Kate, last of us to come by a fraction, didn't get off me, but simply lay down on me, trying not to weigh my chest down too much, but not letting go of the grip her pussy had on my cock. Wendy settled into the crook of my arm after our kiss finally broke. I kissed Kate lightly and she purred into my ear. We drifted off to sleep. ------- When I awoke, it was late. Wendy was no longer in bed, but Kate was still lying on top of me. Though no longer in her, my semi-hard cock rested against her sex. When she felt me stir, Kate began to rock against my tumescence, bringing me to fully hard in a few minutes. She pushed down and I entered her again. "I wanted you in me all night," she whispered. "I'm sorry, Kitten," I said. "I must have slipped out while we were sleeping." "It's okay. You're back where you belong now." She kissed me, a sleepy, relaxed kiss that went on and on as she rocked back and forth on my cock. It was so nice. I just lay there, kissing and fondling her, but not thrusting at her. I felt her rise toward her summit and tip quietly over the edge with a blissful moan into my mouth. She didn't stop her little up and down movements, nor her kisses and in a few minutes was rewarded with the fruit of her labor flooding into and then out of her pussy. I sighed, feeling clean and purged. Wendy came back into the room with three cups of coffee. She set them down on nightstand and then stripped off her t-shirt. "I didn't know who might be up," she said by way of explanation as she handed coffee to Kate. Kate just sat up, still keeping me—at least a little of me—inside her. Flat on my back, I wasn't going to be able to drink coffee, but I had to ask myself whether morning coffee would be better than the feeling of Kate clenching and unclenching her pussy on my cock. Stupid question. Wendy took hold of my hand when she assessed the situation and proceeded to stuff all the pillows behind my back so I was sitting three-quarters upright. The added pressure this put on my bladder caused my cock to regain some of its uprightness as well and I saw Kate close her eyes and smile. I assumed it was me and not the coffee that made her smile, but I could be wrong. Wendy handed me my coffee and gave me a light kiss before she curled up with her coffee beside me. "Thank you for last night," she said. "Thank you so much." I wrapped my left arm around her, holding my coffee in my right hand. It was easy to reach her breast in this position and my hand rested comfortably there as I sipped my coffee. "You look so cozy," Lissa said as she and Melody came through the door. They both had coffee in their hands and set it down only long enough to strip out of their nighties. Then they crawled up around us as closely and carefully as they could without spilling anyone's coffee. "I'm sorry," Wendy said nervously. "I'd have made you coffee if I'd known you were up." "We weren't. I saw you bring coffee in here just as I was coming out of the bathroom," Melody said. "We decided to join you." "Look at you with four women in your bed, Tony," Lissa giggled. "We didn't..." "I didn't..." Wendy and I both spoke at the same time but were cut off by lips sealed against ours—Lissa's against mine and Melody's against Wendy's. "No one's sending you away, Wendy," Kate said as the only person with a mouth occupied only by her coffee cup. "Says the woman who has probably occupied that position all night long," Melody laughed. It was good to hear her laugh, even though there was sadness in her eyes. I was so glad Lissa went to be with her last night. "Mmm-hmm," Kate said. Her coffee cup was still held against her lips, but it was trembling there and I could feel the rhythmic clenching of her pussy speed up. I handed my cup to Lissa and brought my hand to Kate's waist and up to her breast. I could feel the build toward yet another orgasm in my balls. Lissa set our cups aside and held Kate, feeling the vibrations in her body. I reflexively squeezed her breast and heard an answering moan from Wendy, having forgotten it was her breast I held in my other hand. I glanced that direction to see Melody lightly sucking on Wendy's other nipple. Then I felt it wash over me and as my cock pulsed, I saw Kate shaking on top of me, supported by Lissa's arm around her—her coffee cup still trembling against her lips. After a few seconds in this position, she exhaled and then bent her head to sip her coffee again. "I've decided I like cream with my morning coffee," Kate sighed. ------- Those of us who smelled like morning sex went to use the shower while Lissa and Melody dressed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. I shampooed each lady's hair, taking extra time to massage Wendy's head and tiger stripes. I noticed they were growing out and remembered that Melody had touched them up before my birthday party. That had been over two months ago. We needed to do something about that. The whole time I shampooed their hair, both girls had a hand on my cock. It was nice, but obvious that I wasn't going to achieve anything above half-mast for a while. Besides, as soon as I saw that sad look in Melody's eyes when she laughed this morning, I knew there was a topic we hadn't talked about yet. Melody needed to go back to Boston. ------- "People need to grieve, son," Dad said to me as we stood out on the deck with a cup of coffee later on. "The first thing that you need to understand is that you can't make it better for Melody and Lexi." "But..." "No. You can't. What you can do is be there for them. But don't change your behavior. Don't ignore their grief, or your own, son, but don't change how you relate to them. You are always kind and caring. Don't think you have to turn the volume up on it. And don't think you have to walk on eggshells around them while they grieve," Dad said. "It's a lot of don'ts and not a lot of dos, Dad," I said. "What can I do?" "Share it with them, son. Grieve with them. Remember with them. Laugh with them. Love them. You see, it's all the things you would normally do." "Thanks, Dad. I just keep thinking..." "You keep thinking, 'what if it was your dad?'" he said. I looked at him and saw tears in his eyes, too. "One day it will be, son. No time soon, God willing. But it's the natural order of things. Remember when the yellow dog died?" "Buttercup?" I asked. He nodded. To Dad she was always the yellow dog. I don't think he ever used her name. Even when he called her, he'd just yell "Dog!" She always came. "The vet we took her to that put her to sleep pulled you aside, if I remember rightly." I nodded. "Yeah. He said that the reason parents give children pets was so they would learn how to say goodbye to someone they love," I said. "Of course there are other reasons," Dad said. "We gave you a pet as a companion, a watchdog, a lesson in responsibility, and as a friend. But what the vet said was true. You grew a lot that day." "I wore her collar to school for the next week," I said. "And her dog tags on a chain for weeks after that." "I still have them." "But you managed to say goodbye." ------- Melody was in the bedroom and when I saw her, I knew she'd been crying again. The whole day had been interspersed with episodes as we talked about the normal things in life and about Harold. Lexi told stories about Harold giving Melody her first paint set when she was just two years old. There was paint everywhere. We all laughed about it. This time, I walked past her and started water running in the spa. "Are you taking a bath?" she asked. "Mmm-hmm. With you," I said. I came to her and started gently undressing her. "Tony, we have company." "Boy, don't we ever. It's exhausting being a host all the time, isn't it? That's why it's a good thing we have four of us to split up the duties." "Really?" I unfastened her bra and used my thumbs to begin rubbing out the marks it made on her back. She moaned. "I guess it would be okay for a little while. But Mom..." "Went with my Mom and Dad to pick up the boys and see the lighting of the tree at Macy's." "She did? That means..." "Oh good, you got the water started," Lissa said as she came to join us. "Ooo. It looks like you got our Little One started, too." "I keep telling you, Mel. You don't need that strappy thing to make your tits look nice," Kate added as she helped me massage Melody's back. "Says the woman who's never worn a bra in her life," Mel laughed. "And look," Kate said as she stripped off her shirt. "No marks." "You've got a point there," Lissa said. "Two actually. Come and help rub the marks out of my back, too, Kitten." Lissa stripped off her clothes and headed for the bath. I helped Melody out of her jeans and panties and she assisted me. She touched my cock. "Darling, I don't really feel like ... really..." "Shh. I don't need to make love every time I see a naked woman," I said. "Thank heavens." She laughed and we joined Kate and Lissa in the tub. We splashed around a little, making a mess of the bathroom. We ran the jets and everyone seemed to find a place that was soothing. Before the water got cool enough for us to get out, I decided I needed to bring up Melody's travel. "Well, I suppose you're wondering why I called this meeting," I said. Lissa had used that phrase in the tub a few weeks ago and we'd started saying it whenever we wanted to discuss a family matter. "Not that there's one in the tub, but we need to discuss the elephant in the room." "Tony!" Melody said. She looked daggers at me and I realized that might not have been the best phrase to use. "It's not that, sweetheart," I said. I pulled at her and she floated over to sit between my legs as we faced Kate and Lissa. "Melody, honey, you need to go back to Boston with your mother." The tears began to flow from all of us and Melody turned in my arms to face me. "I can't. It's three weeks till end of semester. I can't leave until the sixteenth." "Sure you can. At the very least, you could go out for a week, but I think we should talk to the Dean and see if you can leave term early." "What professor is going to allow that? I either flunk everything or drop out." "One of the many things I learned last year is that our professors are human. When I wanted to paint the Rhapsody Suite, Lissa made me call Doc Henredden after ten at night and ask to get out of presenting my final project the next day so I could paint. Dean Peterson told me repeatedly that the faculty care about us and know who we are and every single one of them wished me well on switching to the double degree program," I said. "Carolyn DeWitt is just as much your fan as Doc is mine. Let her see what she can do." "I ... well..." "Tony's right, Little One," Lissa said. "You need to call her." "Okay. I'll talk to her Monday morning. It's just. I wouldn't, but my mom ... needs me. And I need her." "And you need to call tonight," Kate said. "Tonight? But it's the Friday after Thanksgiving. I can't call a professor at this hour!" "Call our friend Carolyn who came over and helped solve the bleaching problems and worked with us on the whole fabric preparation." "Do you think I can?" ------- After our bath, we all sat on the bed while Melody made her call. Carolyn was very sympathetic and said that as far as she was concerned, Melody had passed her class and didn't need to return to it this term. She also said she'd talk to the other professors and that Melody should be on a flight as soon as she could get one. Tears again as Melody hung up and looked at her lovers. We closed in on her and held her in the middle of the three of us. "I thought I'd have to drop out of school," Melody sobbed. "I knew I had to go and was fighting it because I thought I'd never be able to come back." "Melody, sweetie," Kate whispered. "I know a secret." "What?" "If you didn't come back, we'd all three come to get you." "You, too?" "Me, too. I love you, Melody, and I know this is your home now. Your Mom needs you for a while to help her over a rough patch, but she's not going to depend on you for long. She knows you belong here." "I was afraid I'd have to drop out of school." "Not a chance," Kate said. "If they throw a fit, the entire sophomore class will come to your aid to protest." "Why would the whole class help me?" Melody asked. "Oh, well, that's what the real secret is." "Hmm?" We all looked at Kate. This was news to me, too. We'd never had that much to do with the rest of our class. At least I hadn't. I suppose Melody and Kate had a lot more friends than I do. "You're the class good luck charm," Kate said. "You have a boyfriend who became famous at the school overnight, remember?" "Yeah. What does that have to do with me?" "What did he paint?" "Lissa and ... my ass." "Every sophomore in every discipline has come to think of your ass as the class good luck charm. They reach up and pat it when they walk by." "You're kidding!" I said. They were touching the mural? I realized how ridiculous that sounded and pulled myself back. I could just imagine everyone passing reaching up to pat the picture of Melody's ass. It was kind of funny. That message apparently got through to all of us at once. We broke out laughing. "That is so ... inappropriate," Melody laughed. "Better your ass than my boobs," Lissa joined in. "How did that get started?" I asked. "Well ... um ... someone ... um ... might have ... sort of ... seen me do it," Kate blushed. "I could never pass it without touching it. Your ass is the only part of the painting I can reach." "Keep an eye on it and let me know if I need to do any ... uh ... touch-up work," I laughed. "You know, Melody, the only reason they do it is because they can't touch the real thing." I patted her butt and she wiggled. "You can, though," she whispered. "If you want to." Melody rolled over across my lap and thrust her butt into the air. We all three patted and stroked it. I saw Melody reach around and put her hands on Kate's butt, just petting her the way we were. It might have gone a little further, but we heard the parental units coming in through the garage. ------- "So, I'm going back with you on Sunday," Melody told her mom. "If there's a big problem, I might have to come back next weekend, but if they approve me taking an incomplete or finishing my courses as is, I'll stay through till Christmas when we go to Saul and Deb's house." "Oh, thank you, Melody," her mom said. "I'm sure I'd have been okay, but the thought of going back alone and knowing everything was over was just overwhelming. But I don't want you to jeopardize your education. Harold wouldn't want that." "It will be okay, Mom. My family told me so." ------- After everyone got back and we had dinner Friday night, we got online and got Melody a ticket to accompany her mother back to Boston. We managed to get a special bereavement fare, which wasn't any cheaper, but gave her the option of setting a return date later. Can't believe the airline actually called the hospital to see if Harold was in the morgue. Sheesh! Saturday, we pretty much relaxed, though I went over to the club to work out in the morning. Since it was a holiday weekend, there was no Pilates. That afternoon, Melody took me by the hand and we went into the bedroom where we made sweet gentle love while the family was just a couple of rooms over. It was a real release for Melody and she cried herself to sleep in my arms. I followed quickly after her. We hadn't been to Carmine's yet, so when Melody and I got up we took everyone to our favorite restaurant for dinner. Wendy shuffled things with another waitperson so she could serve our table. It was after the meal that things got weird. I had to get over to the campus to take my watch at ten. Everyone going home could have fit in the Mazda, but Melody jumped in my car. "I'll take this car home after I see where you work, darling," Melody said. "Someone will come back to pick you up in the morning." We parked and I checked in with Andy and then with the guy on duty at the gate. When I got back to the tent, Melody was still there, sitting in the chair. "It's not as big as the one in our living room, is it?" she asked. "No, but I guess it's big enough to serve the purpose." "Hi," Bree said as she came around the tent. "Oh! Melody! Did I mess up? I didn't mean to interfere." "Relax, Bree," Melody said. She held out her arms to her near-twin. Bree went right to her and they hugged. "Are you okay?" Bree asked. "I'm so sorry." "It doesn't get okay overnight," Melody said. "But I've got family and friends to help me through. Tomorrow I'm going out to Boston with Mom for a while." "Melody, I ... I don't know what to say. I kept imagining that it was my father and I just fell apart." "That's not what I remember," Melody said. "What I remember is my strong friend picking me up and carrying me to my mom. She was so gentle and so concerned for me." "Well, then I fell apart," Bree insisted. "Oh, Melody." The two girls hugged in the chair and I sat in the desk chair at the table. I hadn't brought any homework with me. "Tony, don't you usually sit here?" Melody asked. "Yes, but I didn't want to interrupt. You needed some time." "We're cold," she complained. I shook out the blanket, but before I could spread it over them they were both standing beside the chair waiting for me to sit down. Getting the idea of what they had in mind, I moved the chair a little so that it would hit the wall before it tipped. I had a feeling we might get overbalanced. I sat down and Melody sat on my left leg and Bree wiggled her way in on my right. They did some kind of in-place foot dance that left them with their legs tangled together and their bodies turned slightly toward each other. Finally, I pulled the blanket up. "Mmm. This is cozy," Melody sighed. We just reclined there like that for about fifteen minutes and I thought both girls might be going to sleep. Melody lifted her hand and petted Bree's cheek. "Are you okay, Red?" she asked. I'd never heard Melody use a nickname for Bree other than when she refused to refer to her as anything but "bitch." I wasn't sure how Bree would take it. "Yes, baby," Bree answered. "But I've been so worried about you. And I had a lot of nightmares Thursday night." "So did I," Mel said. "Is it better now?" "I think so. I woke up screaming late at night. I was so panicked. Then, Dad came in and he held me. He just held me until I went back to sleep." "You're so lucky, Bree," Melody said sadly. "You made up with your dad while he's still healthy and will be around a while. Mine was dying when we buried the hatchet." Bree leaned forward across me and kissed Melody—first on the cheek and then on the lips. As they pulled apart, they froze for a few seconds with their lips barely touching, almost pulled together like magnets. "It looks like you two have buried the hatchet, too," I whispered. "Sometimes in each other," Bree said. "But yes. We're learning how to be sisters," Melody said. She turned and kissed me. It was light and not passionate, but her tongue slipped out to lick my lips and touch the tip of my tongue as well. She pulled back with her eyes glued to mine. "Now kiss Bree," Melody whispered. Bree froze, looking at Melody. Whatever she saw apparently put her mind at ease because she turned her lips to mine and gave me a kiss as soft and sensuous as Melody's. "What are you up to, Melody?" I asked when Bree and I parted. "I'm going to be gone for a while," Melody said. "I don't want the two of you to have to wait until I get back before you get to kiss each other." She leaned in and kissed Bree again. "I don't want you to feel guilty about kissing each other." "We're still not going to be making out here," I said firmly. "It just isn't a good idea." "That's fine," Melody said. "There are lots of other places. Just ... don't go to third base yet, okay? I want to be here for that." "Third base?" "I can't imagine either of you kissing for very long without getting to second," Melody giggled. I hushed her. Bree's eyes were glistening as Melody looked at her. "I want to be first to lick you before Tony does," she whispered. I felt Bree shudder on my lap. "You don't have to do this, baby," Bree said. "I can wait for you ... as long as it takes." "That's what you've shown me. But it's more fun this way." Both girls cuddled against me, kissing me on either cheek and then moving their mouths enough so we were all three connected lip-to-lip-to-lip. "Mmm. About no making out at the tent," I reminded them. They settled against me with their hands held against my chest and went to sleep. ------- Bree's phone vibrated at a quarter till midnight. She stretched and started to move away but Melody caught her hand and held her close to us. "Take good care of my baby," Melody whispered to Bree. "Tony, please don't ever stop loving me." She pulled herself together and stood up. Bree started to follow but Melody held up her hand. "I need to get going before the next shift arrives," Bree said. "There are no other shifts tonight. I, on the other hand, have two other lovers waiting for me at home. Can you bring Tony home in the morning?" Melody asked. Bree nodded. Melody leaned down and kissed each of us, and headed for the car. ------- Chapter 29 I had to paint it. There was no way around it now. With Harold's death, the image of the autopsy was constantly swimming in my head. But time was a precious commodity. I had no time to paint. I also knew that this would be a painting that would go straight to the vault. I might show Clarice, but I couldn't show my family—not right now. I took Melody, Lexi, Mom, and Dad to the airport Sunday morning at ten. They were headed to different gates, but it didn't really matter since I couldn't pass through security anyway. I wondered what it was like in the "old days" when you could kiss your lover goodbye at the gate. Or like in Casablanca where you stood at the foot of the stairs as she climbed up to the door of the plane. Shit! I'm so fucking sentimental. Lexi stood patiently until the last minute as Melody and I clung to each other, kissing like I'd never see her again. I didn't have a chance to nap before we left and driving home from the airport I found my eyes bleary and hard to focus. I realized I was crying again. I pulled off at an exit on the south side of town and wound around until I found a little mall. I went in for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It was an odd kind of place—not your usual shopping center. There was a huge second-hand store on one corner, every cell phone carrier in the world, a food court, bank, European deli, Radio Shack, and a place for buying trailer hitches and car racks. Walmart was on the other side of the parking lot next to a fitness center. I called Lissa and told her I had some errands to take care of on the way home and I'd be a couple of hours. I just needed to be alone for a while. I wandered into the second hand store and it was pretty intense. Yeah. What can possibly be intense about a second hand store? It has all kinds of stuff from crystal vases to drawers full of unmatched silverware to clothes for men and women. There were shoes, suitcases, kids' games and toys. A small collection of furniture occupied one corner of the store while nearby there were sheets, curtains, and towels. Who buys someone's used towels? What got to me as I wandered down the aisles was that everything there used to belong to someone else. It was all the same stuff you could find at Sears, but what you buy new has no story. I picked up a tricycle—the plastic kind with a huge wheel in front and a seat so low that the kid's butt would almost drag on the ground. Some little kid had ridden this thing, maybe on a street lined with trees on sidewalks with cracks in it that would bump the front wheel up into the air. I could hear squeals of laughter that reminded me of Drew when I was chasing him around the back yard. What happened to the kid who owned that trike? Did he or she just grow up and the parents gave away the old stuff as the kid acquired new? Or had they kept it as a loving treasure, maybe stored in the rafters of the attic until they finally died and their stuff was donated to charity? There was a whole section of white shirts. I hardly knew anyone who wore white shirts. Dad had a couple that he kept for wearing with a suit if he went to a wedding or for special events at his school. But here were maybe fifty of them, hanging in a row. I thought about how I was always getting paint on myself when I worked. The shirts were three to five dollars each and I picked up eight of them that were big enough to put on over all my clothes. Who wore clothes this size? I had an image of a 300-pound used car salesman, sweating in the summer heat with a white shirt he could barely keep tucked in and a tie that was only long enough to reach the middle of his enormous belly. I could paint that. I don't know why I wandered through the furniture section, but there was an old recliner there for fifty bucks. I tried it out and thought about my nights at Tent City and my big chair in the living room at home. My studio could use a chair like that for times when I got too sleepy while working late at night. My coffee was long gone when I finally loaded the chair and shirts into my car and headed back to town. I stopped at the studio and deposited the chair. I figured I'd better wash all the shirts before I used them as smocks. My time wandering and imagining other people's stories settled my mind and my emotions. I was still exhausted and when I got home Kate and Lissa let me go take a nap. I was out like a light. ------- We puttered around the kitchen eating Thanksgiving leftovers—just the three of us. We gathered up dirty sheets and towels from the guest rooms, did laundry, vacuumed the carpets, and generally tidied up the house. It was only eight o'clock when the phone rang. We had it on speaker immediately. "I love you," Melody said. "We're at Mom's and all safe. It's really late here and I'm exhausted." "We just wanted to know you were safe, Little One," Lissa said. "We miss you." "I miss you, too." "You know you can call us or text us any time, right?" I asked. "You know we'll be waiting." "I know, lover. I have no idea what all we have to do. Mom and I talked all the way here. We're probably going to carry out Dad's wishes," she said. "You'll do what's right," Kate said. "Just let your heart be your guide. I love you." "Love you, too, Kitten. Love you, Lissa. Love you, Tony." ------- "I think we might as well go to bed, too," Lissa said. "Do you ... um ... want to be ... alone tonight?" Kate asked. "I mean the two of you? I could go back to the dorm." We looked at her in shock. "We want you with us, Kitten," I said. "We always want you with us," Lissa added. "I didn't want you to feel like I was trying to move into Melody's place," Kate said. I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. "Who would fill your place if you moved into Melody's?" I asked. "You have your own place in our hearts and in our bed." We didn't fool around, though we kissed a lot. We settled in and I got center-of-the-bed honors with my beautiful lovers curled naked against me. ------- Lissa and I started our racquetball practice Monday afternoon a little half-heartedly. I'd been tempted to cancel it and get an early start on our anatomy team project review. They were a little pissed that I wouldn't be able to start until our usual time at four-thirty. After Lissa and I got warmed up, though, we found a lot of release in working hard on the court. We didn't try to beat each other down, but played more for the connection between the two of us. We were physically tired by the time we finished, but mentally more refreshed than we'd been all weekend. Unfortunately, Lissa had to go home to our empty house while I met with my anatomy team. The team reviewed our project and we argued constantly over little things like sentence construction. In addition to the pieces that we'd all contributed to the project, we each had written our own conclusion. "This doesn't make sense," Amanda accused me. "Of course it's all connected. 'The leg bone's connected to hip bone' and all that," she sang. "You're just pointing out the obvious." "You don't get it," Bree defended me. "Tony isn't talking about joints and ligaments. He's talking about how all the systems are connected—how the body doesn't work unless all the systems are functioning together." "Let Tony defend his own conclusions," Justin argued. "It just looks weak to me. It's metaphysical and we're in a physical class." "That's better than sounding like a regurgitation of the text book," Amanda surprised me by attacking Justin's precise technical conclusions. It was obvious, though, that she wasn't defending me; she was just set on tearing down everyone else. "All right," Bree said. "Go ahead and rip me a new one, too. Jesus, bitch! Do you think you've spelled out anything new by tracing the path of a contusion from point of contact to paralysis?" Before it could go any further, I jumped in. "Guys! Take it easy. We're attacking each other. This is a joint project, but the conclusions are the part that is personal. They are the only thing that will differentiate between us in our grades. We each have to take responsibility for our own. What is it that's really bugging you, Amanda?" I asked. She was quiet for a minute and took a deep breath. Even Justin just folded his arms and leaned back as if he was already defeated by what she would say. "I can't afford anything less than a four-oh if I want to get into Johns Hopkins," she said quietly. "SCU isn't a top tier school and my grades will be discounted as it is. Group projects always make me nervous." "Do you honestly think the work we did together on this project is less than the best that anyone in class will produce?" Bree asked. Amanda shook her head. "Tony's conclusion ... it will make the rest of us look bad." "Is it really that bad?" I asked. "No. That good," she said. "Not even that. It's different. It shows what bringing a different discipline to bear on a project will do. By comparison, mine looks text book. Sorry I accused you of that, Justin." "You want me to rewrite it so yours looks better?" I asked. I was serious. I didn't need a perfect score in this class. For me, it was an art project. "No. I want to rewrite mine," she said. The session went better after that, but we worked until close to nine before we were all satisfied with what we had. Amanda's new conclusion was risky. Instead of talking about the anatomy, she talked about the discoveries of working with a team with different perspectives. It just might work. ------- "Darling?" I whispered as I entered the bedroom. Lissa was already in bed when I got home. She rolled toward me and I could see she'd been crying. "Oh, dearest, what is it?" "So lonely in bed without you," Lissa said. "Just got overwhelmed." I stripped and crawled in beside her leaving my clothes in a pile on the floor. I pulled her close and gave her a long but gentle kiss. She pushed me away. "You ate Thai food tonight, didn't you?" she asked. "Go brush your teeth and come back to bed." I started to get up, but she pulled me back for another quick kiss first. "I had leftover turkey," she sighed. "Pad Thai would have been nice. But not second hand." I went to brush my teeth extra carefully and used mouthwash, too. ------- Tuesday morning I woke up as I often do with my cock nestled snuggly between Lissa's ass cheeks. As soon as she realized I was awake, she lifted a leg slightly and guided me into her. This time, however, she straightened her right leg and rolled toward me slightly, pulling me up on her. The net result was that I was bent over her left hip as I stroked in and out of her. I straddled her right leg and my lips had easy access to hers. The stimulation was intense for me and I could feel Lissa's fingers still at work between her legs. She looked deeply into my eyes as we pushed ourselves together. "I love you," I whispered. "Oh yes, darling." A moment later, "I'm twenty-seven years old, Tony." "I know that, my love. What difference does age make? It's just an arbitrary marker." "But in three years I'll be thirty." "Yes, and I'll be twenty-three. I'll have almost caught up with you." We laughed. Then Lissa became serious again as she pressed against me more firmly. I was trying to hold back my orgasm—trying to find out what she wanted in order to push her over the edge with me. "I know we aren't ready yet, darling, but before ... I turn thirty ... oh! ... I want you ... to ... put a baby in me." Holy shit! We'd talked about kids sometime in the future and whether Lissa would want any more. I thought she'd decided two were enough. Now she was telling me she wanted to be pregnant in three years. Well, there was nothing wrong with that. A baby with Lissa? Yeah! My balls contracted at the thought of it and I began pumping sperm into her over and over as she opened her mouth and gasped. It was the second time since Opens that I didn't make it to my anatomy class at seven-thirty. ------- I walked out of Doc's 2-D class holding Kate's hand. As usual, we went to the cafeteria before I had to meet Rio to go over our final Critical Reading essays and then to the club for team practice. The quarter would end a week from Wednesday, but most of the team had agreed to stay through the weekend for the Holiday Tournament at a club in Mountlake Terrace. We were all determined to do better at this one than we had in Bellingham and the team would meet for the first time since the holiday tonight. I had half an hour with Kate before I had to leave campus and she had to go to her lab. "How are you holding together?" she asked. "I'm too busy to think right now, but Lissa is really lonely. We both miss Melody, but after five days with you, we miss you, too." "I miss you. I love you," Kate said. "I want to be with you." "Then come and stay with us." "Um ... not yet. Not quite. But ... um..." she paused and looked at me. "You're really too busy?" "I didn't get home after my anatomy review last night until 9:30 and Lissa was already in bed. She'd been crying." "Can you handle team practice tonight without Lissa?" she asked. "I guess I could. Why?" "It might be time for a Kitty Kidnapping," she grinned. "You evil little kitten," I laughed. "I think you might be right. I really want to paint something that I've been putting off." "Don't expect her at practice then." "I love you, my little kitten," I said as I wrapped her in my arms. "You fill a hole in my soul." Kate looked at me like I'd just spoken in a foreign language. I was about to try to explain myself when she crushed her lips against mine. The kiss she gave me was more passionate and intense than any I could remember recently and I wondered what had come over her. But it lit a fire in me and burned away any questions that clouded my thinking. She jumped up, grabbed her portfolio, and rushed off to her lab without another word. It's a good thing because I was seriously considering breaking several school rules. ------- "This is brilliant, Rio!" I said. We were reviewing each other's final papers during our study session. "I mean, it's way above where our class is. I love it." "Thank you, but you are supposed to be editing. Nothing is perfect. If I don't see red marks on every page of that manuscript, I'm going to think you don't care," she answered. With that, I saw her mark yet another problem spot on my paper. I started over in my reading. Yeah. That was an awkward sentence. Homonym misspelling. I set my red pen to the paper. If she was going to quote me in her paper she had to get the quote right. After nearly two hours, we had to stop. I had to get to practice, especially if Lissa wasn't showing up. I handed Rio her paper and she looked at the red ink I'd scribbled on each page with pride. "It will be so much better after I make these corrections!" she said. "Thank you!" She launched herself at me and caught me by surprise when her lips met mine and her tongue slipped between them. This was my third heart-stoppingly incredible kiss of the day. "I knew you cared," she said as she handed my paper back. Have a great practice." She was off toward the library. Great practice? Hell, I'll be lucky if I can even walk straight. What got into her? ------- "Okay, we're going to play contact cut-throat," I told the team. I'd explained that Lissa was called away and wouldn't make it this evening. "Bree, that means you'll have to fill in on the court so there are six of us. We'll be rotating one player every ten minutes. This isn't about the score, it's about keeping contact and working with your partner of the moment." In normal cut-throat, it's two players against the server. As the serve changes, the two defenders change as well. Only the server can score. Lissa and I came up with the variation as a team training exercise. Whoever the two defenders were had to maintain contact with each other as they played the server. That meant that they had to learn to read each other. If the ball was coming to the right, they both had to move toward it or they'd lose contact and the server would get the point. The first round it was Tonya, Franklin, and me on one court with Whitney, Brent, and Bree on the other. Ten minutes later, Tonya and Brent switched. It was cool and bizarre to play contact cut-throat with two other guys, both whom had learned to work with each other as a team. It was hard to get a serve past them. Ten minutes later, Franklin and I were joined by Bree. Ten rounds are needed to work the possible combinations. Lissa and I had worked out a chart when we came up with the idea. It lets each player pair with each of the other players against each of the remaining players. It often means hot sweaty bodies falling over each other by the end of two hours. The last round, I was joined by Whitney and Bree. Both of these girls decided that contact needed to be a little closer than just stretching a hand out to their partner. It made no difference if they partnered with me or with each other, the touch was at the hip with at least one person's arm around the other. When my timer rang again, we were falling over laughing. God! It was good. ------- I stepped into the studio at about nine that night. I knew Lissa and Kate were in each other's arms. Melody and I had talked just before practice and she would be asleep by now since it was midnight in Boston. I sent an "I love you" text to Kate and Lissa, but I didn't expect any response. I pulled on one of my new paint smocks and faced the canvas. I went through my playlists trying to find something appropriate. I remembered music in the background and decided to just let Beethoven guide me, starting with the first symphony. I sketched out the painting at life size and started with my acrylics. Seven hours and nine symphonies later, I stood staring at Ralph. I closed my eyes and stepped back further to see if I had really captured what I wanted or if only I would be able to see it. I opened them. Yes. It was there. His flayed body was evident—layers of skin, muscle, and bone exposed. Looking at the piece up close, that's what you could see. From a distance, the young man's face rested in sweet repose. I sat in the recliner I'd purchased Sunday, made sure my phone had an alarm set, and went to sleep in companionable silence with the man's spirit. ------- I got up about two hours later and headed for the athletic pavilion where I could grab a quick shower before class. We'd designated Amanda as our official presenter and she did a stellar job. Justin had done most of the slide preparation and Bree had written much of the script. Of course, I'd done the illustrations and everyone was suitably wowed by the result. Doctor Delfin's praise was slightly muted, apparently in deference to the presentations that were still to come, but after class he congratulated us and collected our individual conclusions. "You have set a high standard for yourselves," Delfin said. "I assume you are all continuing with Human Physiology next term. I'll expect work as good as this each time." "Sir?" Justin asked. The guy was smart as a whip, but pretty quiet. I was surprised to hear his voice. "Can we keep the same team through the year?" "I should spread your talents to other students," Delfin replied. "On the other hand, you seem to have a good dynamic that I'd hate to break up. Let me read your conclusions then I'll decide on the composition of next term's team. Don't forget the final on Monday." With that he dismissed us. "You really want to keep working with a couple of non-med students?" Bree asked as we left the classroom. Justin and Amanda looked at each other and nodded. "We've got different talents," Justin said. "I liked working with you." "We had an incredible amount of memorization to do," Amanda continued. "I had already memorized the names of the muscles and bones before I ever got to this class. But this term, I felt like I learned something. On other teams, I always felt like I was the one who carried the team and the grade was based on what I did myself, so I did the work for everyone. You guys did work I couldn't have done." "Well, it wasn't always fun," I said, "but I liked working with you and I think I learned something, too." "Speaking of fun, when's that posing party going to be?" Amanda asked. She giggled in a very non-Amanda-like way. "After all, I did promise to get naked for you." Bree looked at her with eyes wide open. "Come on. I'm not a complete stick in the mud," Amanda laughed. "Yeah, that image did keep me sane sometimes," I joined her. "But the party is going to have to wait until after we get back from break." I explained about Melody's dad and how we were all a little tense and would be leaving for the holidays shortly. "I'm so sorry," Amanda said. "You really held it together this week. I'm sorry I came down on you so hard on Monday." I shrugged it off and then went on to explain the concept that Whitney had suggested. The more I'd thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I wasn't sure how my other models would respond, though. "You'd do us for real, though, too, wouldn't you?" Amanda asked. I looked at her. "Oh. That didn't come out the way I intended." She actually blushed. "I mean, you'd paint us the way we really are?" "Yes," I laughed. "I might not get it all done at one party, though. You might have to strip for me a few times." "As long as you keep doing art for our team, I guess I can make that sacrifice," she said. "Thanks, but that wasn't really art," I said. "It was just drawings." I thought of the painting that I'd just completed. "You guys might be the only ones who understand the art side of it, actually. I'd like to show it to you." "I'm free for an hour," Justin said. "Come on. I'll take you to the studio." ------- It was a quick trip. None of us had more than an hour before our next class, but when we walked into the studio my team took on a whole new attitude. I don't think any of them, with the possible exception of Bree, understood what it was to have an art studio. I decided to have them start close to the painting. When I uncovered it, they were all surprised at what a difference it made to see what I'd drawn painted with the colors we'd seen while watching the autopsy. "Wow! I see what you mean about the difference in art and drawing," Justin said. "This has much more impact. It could be in a textbook." "That's not the difference," I said. "Walk over there by the door and then turn around and look at the painting again." They did as instructed. "Oh my god!" Bree cried when she refocused on the painting. "Fuck!" I think it was the first time I'd ever heard Amanda swear. All three of them just stared at the piece. "What are you going to do with it?" Justin asked. I laughed. "I'm going to put it in a crate and lock it in storage for the next fifty years," I said. "You're kidding!" "Actually, no, I'm not. You may be the only ones I show this to before I lock it up. I've talked to my agent and my painting professor and they both agree that showing something like this in my first showing could destroy my career," I said. "It's too bad, though. I really felt a connection with Ralph." "I understand now," Amanda said. "I understand your conclusion paper. Thank you for showing us this." I turned away and right into Bree. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a slow, meaningful kiss. "Melody would give you a kiss if she knew about this," Bree said. "Mine is to thank you for not showing her. It would be devastating right now." I nodded. ------- I told the team that I couldn't study for the final tonight because I had to work on my Critical Reading paper. Little lie, but I just didn't feel like I needed to spend more time on anatomy right now. I needed time with Lissa and I intended to make the best of it. I felt bad about palming her off on Kate last night so I could paint, but at the same time I knew that she needed to connect with Kate as much as she did with me. I was really worried that the death of Melody's dad might be sending Lissa back in memories to the deaths of her own parents. We met at the club at two and only worked out for an hour. I could tell Lissa's heart wasn't in it. I told her to grab her gear and head home. We were going to have a long leisurely hot tub and shower then I was taking her out for a quiet dinner. "No study group tonight?" she asked. "No. Term is almost over and we handed in our big project this morning. Which was great, by the way." "I knew it would be," she answered. "How was your night with Kate?" "Thank you, Tony. I really didn't want to be alone. Having Kate carjack me in front of the club was perfect. I always feel like such a teenager when I stay in her dorm room," Lissa laughed. "Isn't her roommate a little voyeur, though?" "I hadn't known she was watching until a couple of weeks ago," I said. "She made quite a lot of noise when she came." "Oh well. Kate seems okay with it. She's a lot bolder than we thought, isn't she?" "Up until she was with us, all she'd ever done was read about sex and love," I said. I checked the temperature of the tub and stepped in, holding out my hand to Lissa. "I think she's making up for lost time. It won't be long before she's instructing us." "She already is," Lissa said. The comforting sound of the jets filled our ears as bubbles surrounded us. Lissa and I lay back facing each other with jets pounding on our backs and our heads held just above the water. The movement kept rocking our bodies into each other sensuously. We kissed and hugged. We nearly fell asleep. ------- I'd chosen a place down by the water near Pike Place Market for dinner. It was a Wednesday night and they weren't very crowded, but the last day of November they had a $30 special for a three course meal. It might not have been polite, but we carried on a text conversation with Melody while we waited for our food to arrive. She was nearly asleep and said she wished she was with us. We had crab and artichoke dip for an appetizer, followed by halibut cheeks in cream sauce with an incredible herbed rice side. Even the asparagus was good. Dessert was chocolate mousse and coffee. We were sated, but also extremely tired when we got home. I resisted the temptation to leer at Lissa and say, in my best Groucho Marx voice, "I didn't wine you and dine you just for the halibut." I just wanted to hold Lissa and whisper how much I loved her. She seemed happy with that and for a long time just drew little circles on my back lightly touching me with her fingernails. When I felt the movement stop and her breathing deepen, I was content that she was relaxed and sleeping deeply. I stayed awake for a long time while she slept in my arms, continuing to whisper words of love into her dreams ever so often. The world would stop if anything happened to Lissa. ------- We awoke in a familiar position with me spooned against her and Lissa working to get my morning erection into her from behind. She threw her left leg back over me, opening herself to my questing fingers as we rocked back and forth together. We built slowly toward a climax as I touched her and she rhythmically pushed against me, sending me deeper and then more shallow. I'd learned from Kate how to relax and let my lover set the pace, not feeling that I always needed to be thrusting. It was still intense, though, and our orgasms washed over us sending us immediately back into sleep. I awoke again, not long after, still held in Lissa's pussy with my hand on her mound. I felt her shoulders shaking and realized that Lissa was crying silently. I held her close to me and petted her hair, continuing to speak soft, soothing words in her ear. "What is it love?" I asked. "Why are you sad?" Lissa rolled toward me, pulling off of my cock as she did so. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. I kissed their salt away from her lips. "She ... my Little One ... needs me, Tony. She's all alone and sad and cold and ... she needs me." ------- Chapter 30 I had to leave for class, but I left Lissa in the process of booking her reservation. I told her to get the next available flight and let me know the details. I felt the phone vibrate while I was in Anatomy class, but I disciplined myself not to look until after the presentations were over and class was dismissed. "Redeye Friday night. Want another night with you and the boys before I go. Don't tell Melody." Bree was catching up to me when I put my phone away. "Can we study as a group Sunday afternoon?" she asked. "It would be good to review everything before the final on Monday." "Yeah," I said. I was a bit distracted. "I won't be doing anything Sunday afternoon." "What's wrong?" "Oh. Uh ... Lissa is going to fly out to be with Melody," I said. "Looks like I'll be alone the next couple of weeks." "I doubt that," she said. "And I'm glad Lissa is going to be with Mel. I'd go myself if it weren't for finals. And why a couple of weeks? Why don't you fly out after your final Tuesday?" "It's complicated. There's still another week at PCAD before semester ends. Plus there's the tournament on the tenth. I promised that I'd still be here for the Saturday night shift the next weekend before I fly out on Sunday. Plus the boys don't get out until the end of next week and I'm taking them with me." "All right. Well, you've still got Kate. And me," she said. "Not that I'll sleep with you, but I'll be around so you don't get lonely. You've got friends." "You're right, Bree," I said hugging her. "I do have friends." Before I went to my Sports Conditioning session with Coach Fredericks, I made a couple more calls. Kate, of course, had already heard from Lissa and was on her way to a ten o'clock class, so I had to be quick. She agreed to meet me after 2-D in the afternoon to go to the Studio. Clarice was intrigued. I wanted her to see the piece before it was crated for storage. Then I called Doc Henredden. He'd given me some solid advice about this piece and I wanted to make sure he thought it was decent enough to be stored away or if I should just paint over it. He agreed to come over to the studio with me and seemed excited to see the studio in general. I attended the rest of the classes at SCU and then headed over to PCAD for Doc's 2-D class. "There are only two more classes this term," Doc said, "and then we have the 'final.' I don't think any of you will have difficulty with that one, though I'm told my original intention isn't going to work out. I do promise you a good class, however. For these last two classes, however, I want you to look beyond the translation of three dimensions into two. There are many more dimensions. If we were studying aeronautics, for example, we might work with the dimensions of pitch, roll, and yaw—all valid dimensional criteria. What are some of the others you might encounter?" People in class were slow to answer, but eventually someone said "time" and another brought up "velocity." "Okay," Doc continued. "It's not important to know every dimension in this class. What I want to know is how you would translate that into a two-dimensional representation. Ideas, please." It was the first time that we'd really had a discussion about one of the aspects we were learning that went beyond fifteen minutes. After we'd discussed, Doc told us to put the puzzle on paper and come up with a concept sketch of a tesseract. "What's that?" one of my classmates asked. "The fourth dimensional analog of a cube," I responded automatically. Everyone looked at me. "Uh ... I don't know what it looks like," I said. "Madeleine l'Engle talks about it in her book A Wrinkle in Time. I read all her books when I was in sixth grade." In fact, I was anxious to read it to the boys when they were a little older. "O-kay," my classmate said. "That's all the information you need," Doc said. "A fourth dimension cube. How do you represent the concept in just two dimensions?" We started sketching. Before the class ended, Doc looked at my sketch and started laughing. I was pleased that he got the joke. Why would the two-dimensional representation of a four-dimensional cube look any different than the two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional cube? ------- After class, Kate and I hung back to meet with Doc Henredden and go to the studio. Clarice was waiting for us when we got there and I made the introductions. Doc looked around the studio and admired the lighting I put in. I had a dozen full-spectrum LED lamps that lit the space brightly, but indirectly. The studio didn't really have any windows for natural light, so this was the best I could do. Doc was impressed, but suggested that I might want to change the wall color to Munsell gray so that I didn't get as much reflected distortions. I put that on the list to talk to Melody about. I could see the benefit, even though it might make the studio look a little drab. "Well, what have you to show us, Mr. Ames?" Clarice asked, getting right to the point. "It would be best if you start over there," I said, pointing to a spot about twelve feet from my easel. "You can move forward as you want." They moved to the spot and I undraped the easel. My three companions were silent as they looked at the piece. None of them moved for at least a couple of minutes. Doc was intent as he looked at it. Clarice pulled back and shook her head. I thought for a minute she wouldn't look any closer, but when Doc moved forward she followed, just off his right shoulder. Kate hung back and I could see moisture in her eyes. She was biting her lip. Kate had seen some of my sketches for anatomy. Everyone had, but they didn't spend much time looking at them. She'd been there when I showed the original sketch to Doc and listened to what he said about how it could affect my career. She hadn't seen the picture of Ralph's face, though. Doc was whispering to Clarice as he pointed out one or two things to her. Kate shifted her attention to me and we met half-way to the painting. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded. "I'm jealous." That surprised me. "You've gone to another place with your painting, Tony. You're not even in the same world. If you exhibit that, no one will see anything else in the show." "I have to agree with Kate," Clarice said. "Unless you can provide me with a dozen of this type of painting—and I don't mean necessarily the subject matter—then I don't think it should be in your show." I sighed. I'd already decided that it was headed for the vault. "Tony, no one here is going to criticize this work. Some artists stake their entire reputations on being over the edge. It can be done. Subject matter, style, color, level of abstraction. They're all things you can build on," Doc said. "You've got incredible talent here. I don't think you should box yourself in with a style that is so dominant that you are forced to paint that forever." "I planned to put this in the vault like Clarice suggested," I said. "The thing is, I feel like I'm being so pretentious by locking up some of my work for fifty years from now." They actually laughed at me. "Pretense would only come into play if you were locking up your childhood refrigerator drawings," Doc said. "Even though I'm sure they were great. But every artist has things that are too good to share. Take this piece and savor it. When all your work has caught up with it, bring it out. People will be amazed that you were painting at this level all along and were just getting them educated." "But also, don't discount your other works," Clarice added. "No matter what you read in fantasy stories, I couldn't start selling your work at $50,000 each at your first exhibition, which is what I'd price this at. Our two to five thousand range is where we should stay. That's why we're only looking at twelve pieces from each of you. Your first showing is where people will get their bargain Tony Ames piece. They will brag to their grandchildren about how they got one of your first pieces at a fraction of what they would cost after you were known. That's okay. It's where you build your future." "Kate, is your artwork here, too?" Doc asked. "Some of it. My finished pieces are all here, but there are only six of them so far," Kate answered. "There are four more that are nearly finished in the art lab at school. I need to keep them there for my final evaluation next week." "Let's see what the two of you will be exhibiting," Doc said. Kate and I started pulling our canvases off the shelves. Rhapsody Suite was still on display at the school. I showed the painting of Allison, my Three Graces painting of Lissa, Melody, and Beth, the zoo painting, the painting of Kate with her mother and sister dancing in the firelight. I had one painting of the Singhs, even though both their portrait and Sharon's had been delivered. They were still slated for the exhibition. The other painting of the Singhs was the one I did based on the sketch of them in the booth across from Clarice and me as Indira breast-fed Mirium. There was the painting I'd done of Tent City from the roof of the athletic pavilion and one painting that I didn't take the drape off. They looked at my six and Kate's six. Doc and Clarice had a big discussion about the relative merits of displaying them as an integrated whole or in two sections as if it were two different exhibitions. Kate's style and subject matter was very different than mine, but in my eye just as good as and sometimes better than anything I'd painted. Doc finally pointed at the one draped canvas. "And that one?" he asked simply. "Uh ... no one's seen that one except Clarice. I haven't decided whether to show it or not." I looked nervously at Kate and pulled the drape off the painting of Lissa as I imagined she would look in fifty years. Kate looked at it and then just took my arm and hugged it with her head on my shoulder. "It's up to you, Tony," Clarice said. "You could always put it in the vault and see how accurate you were in fifty years." "You should explore this style more," Doc said. "I like your interpretation of things overlaid on what exists. This is a precursor of your new painting. You can see one leading to the next." "Where are the matching portraits of Lissa where just her eyes are shifted up?" Clarice asked. "Oh. Those are at home. I hung them in the living room for the time being. I'll bring them in for the show, though." "I need to organize getting the catalog created and printed," Clarice said. "I'll want to bring a photographer over. Can we work here, Tony?" "Sure. What will he need?" "She will bring her own backdrop and lights. She'll display each painting individually on an easel. We don't need every painting that will be on display, but getting out a pre-announcement will be a good idea. Can we do it two weeks from today?" "Yes. That's right before we leave for Boston for the holiday." ------- At racquetball team practice, Lissa announced that she had to make an emergency trip and that Bree and I would be the ones in charge of the tournament arrangements next weekend. It was a one-day tournament like the doubles round robin we'd held at the club a few months ago. We discussed the logistics and everyone was in agreement. Unfortunately, we'd be missing Tonya. The quarter ends on Wednesday, but the tournament isn't until Saturday. Tonya was already booked to fly back to Ohio for the holidays after her last final and couldn't change her arrangements. We decided to play one men's single, one men's double, and one women's single competitor. Brent and Franklin were really gelling as a team and Whitney was beginning to come into her own. I still couldn't convince Bree to compete. When Lissa and I got home, I had to put the finishing touches on my paper for Critical Reading and get it emailed in. Hard copy was due in class tomorrow morning. I was surprised to find Jack and the boys there. Of course, it made sense. Lissa was only going to be here one more night. She'd want to be with her sons. I breathed a sigh of relief as I went downstairs to work on my paper in the quiet as she read stories and spent quality time with Damon and Drew. They were late getting to bed, but that just meant that I got my work done and was lying in bed when Lissa slipped between the sheets. Believe it or not, even with three girlfriends, I don't just start humping from the moment I get into bed. And with just this one, who was leaving tomorrow night, all I wanted was to hold as much of her luscious body in contact with mine as I could. I hugged her, buried my face in her neck, smelled her fresh clean hair, kissed from her earlobe to the hollow of her neck and then back up the other side, and placed my lips against hers as softly as I could and still tell we were touching. She looked into my eyes and sighed. "I love you, Tony. Please don't think that I'm abandoning you to be with Melody. I just know ... I mean I feel ... she just needs me right now." "My love, I think you've absorbed some of Kate's sensitivity gene. Melody is in a terribly stressful situation. Even though she has been relieved of further work in two of her classes, she's still taking three incompletes that need to be finished when she gets back. That's going to weigh on her. Her father just died and her mother is depending on her. There are boxes to sort and decades of family collection to deal with, not to mention the fact that the reading of the will isn't until next week. Our precious lover needs us with her. I can't go. You have to. I will miss you for two weeks and then be there with you. You will take care of our Little One for us." "Oh Tony, I love you, I love you. Don't you feel her pain?" "I do. I feel it every minute I'm conscious. I heard it in her voice when we talked to her tonight. I wanted to blurt out that we were coming—or at least that you were—but I know we agreed to surprise her. I just want my wives to be together and happy." "Thank you, darling." We lay there in silence a while, just running our hands up and down our backs, feeling the closeness and feeling our love. I would be able to survive a couple of weeks. I had a lot of pressure with finals next week and the tournament the following Saturday. My team would meet to study together on Sunday for the Anatomy final and I was planning a study session with Rio on Monday. In fact, I intended to cut practice Monday and just focus on our Critical Reading final prep. I thought about holding Lissa and how we'd made love just Monday. "Did you mean it?" I asked quietly. "Mean what, darling?" "Mean that you wanted to have my baby?" We lay there in silence a little longer. "Yes," she breathed. "Yes, I want to have a baby with you and Melody. I want to hold her to my breast and have you cuddled next to me in the bed and say 'we're your mommies and this is your daddy, little girl.' And then hold all of our family in my arms with my daughter and my spouses." "Pretty sure we'll have a girl, huh?" I laughed. "Well, they say the daddy decides," Lissa said. "So I guess whatever, it's your fault. What do you want?" "I want a little girl. We have two wonderful sons," I said. They were asleep down the hall. "We do." "I hope it's okay if we wait a little bit, though. I thought about it a lot last night. I'm ready, but my life isn't. And I'm not talking about when I get established and become successful. I just want to have a baby when I'm not spending fourteen hours a day in class or training, and the other ten studying. I want to be there with her when she needs to be held and bring her to her mommies when she can only be comforted by one of them. I want to hold her hand when she takes her first steps and wash the mashed carrots out of our hair together," I said. "Lissa, I want to wait until I'm out of this school thing and can focus on being a father and a husband." "You are so wonderful. I won't be thirty for another three years. And even if we miss that, there will still be plenty of time." She paused. "We could ... practice ... I mean, if you want." "Don't we do that every time we make love?" I asked. "Well, that certainly puts the daddy part into the mommy part, but it's not the way we'd make love if we were going to have a baby," Lissa said. She was grinning with the left corner of her lower lip caught between her teeth. I knew she had something in mind. "What would we do?" I asked innocently. "Well, after I went off birth control, we'd wait until the middle of my cycle with neither of us coming during that time." "Sounds like a racquetball competition," I laughed. "When is the middle of your cycle?" "Right now." "Oh. So we could practice tonight? What comes next?" "Well, first, you'd hold me and find some way to show me how much you love me," she said. I was already holding her and I began to pepper her face with little kisses. Finally our lips came together. It was electric. I felt the charge go from the back of my head down my spine. After a moment's eternity, we let our lips tighten on each other, open, and accept our offered tongues. When we were gasping for breath, Lissa continued. "They say babies should be conceived in love and at the height of passion," she whispered. "You'd probably spend some time making sure I was receptive and pleasured so that I would be ready to receive your seed." Damn! I was hard as a rock, but she made me harder. I started working my way down her body, paying special attention to spots I knew were sensitive—not just her nipples, where Melody loved to suck, but the hollow of her neck, her navel, the hollow caused by her hipbone, the back of her knees. I sucked on her toes and worked my way back up the inside of her thighs to that special concave place at the top of the inside of the thigh, just above and below the Inguinal Ligament. Yeah, I learned that in my anatomy class. Lissa pushed toward me, making certain that I knew she wanted my face in direct contact with more intimate parts. She was so smooth. I wondered absently if she'd just been waxed. She'd been talking about having a laser treatment and having the hair removed permanently. There wasn't a trace of stubble or hair anywhere between her legs or over her mons pubis. Her outer lips were puffy and swollen, pulling outward and letting the inner labia flower. I could see her clit pushing outward and the flood of juices from her vagina, so prolific that they dripped down her crack toward the bed where they had already created a damp spot. I finally identified her scent as I bent my head toward her. We were having an Indian dish a few nights ago and Lissa asked me to cook some saffron rice. The tiny amount of saffron turned the rice yellow, but the heavenly scent that permeated the kitchen as the rice cooked came from the cardamom seeds. I'd often said Lissa smelled spicy. At last, I knew the savory spice. Cardamom. I reached out to taste her treasures and she shuddered in pleasure. After just a few flicks of my tongue, Lissa moaned, stiffened, and a new flood of liquid issued from her pussy. I thought perhaps she was ready. "What comes next, love?" I asked softly. "Put a pillow under my butt to raise it up," she said, handing me one of our pillows. With the way she was leaking, I was hoping that it was my pillow she'd handed me and that I would sleep with my head buried in her scent for the next two weeks. She raised her hips and I slid the pillow underneath, elevating them off the bed. "Now come here and make love to me, father of my next child," she said. That was really all the invitation I needed and even though I paused on my journey northward to pay homage to the most perfect breasts I've ever seen, I was soon back to where I could kiss her. She grasped my cock and guided it to her, begging me with her eyes to dip into her core. I came forward slowly, relishing the touch as each vein in my cock slid forward. When I was fully inside her, she tilted her pelvis a bit more and I felt the tip of my cock touch the solid ring inside her. "When you make me pregnant, I want your cock touching my cervix," she whispered. "I know Melody is not as deep as I am, but in this position, you can sink all the way to my womb. If you bang into my cervix, it will hurt, because there are nerves there. But that also means that I'll feel each jet of your semen as you pump up into me, past that barrier to where my waiting egg will receive the best and strongest of your sperm as the father of our daughter." We weren't going to do a lot of pumping in and out, I could tell. In fact, with me buried deeper in Lissa than I'd ever been before, I felt my balls begin to boil. Lissa began to breathe more deeply, almost gasping for breath. Each intake of air, forced her cervix down against the tip of my penis—it's most sensitive part. "Oh, darling!" she cried out as she pushed toward me again. Unable to hold back any longer, I felt the cum rocket out of my long chute and splash against her cervix at the end. I could almost see in my mind some of the seminal fluid being forced through the tiny opening and into her womb. I caught myself holding my breath as my sperm shot forth, thinking as I did that I could easily pass out in this position. I collapsed back onto Lissa, holding her to me as tightly as I could and still allow us to breath. "Stay, my lover, stay," she said. "Don't back away from me now. This is the way we will create a new life, combining our essence. I love you! Our daughter will love you, too." No matter what Lissa said, I wasn't about to move. I held myself as deeply inside as I could. I began to soften, but Lissa milked my cock with her pussy muscles, begging me to stay inside her. In a few minutes, I was nearly erect again and blocking the escape of my swimmers from her pussy. Within half an hour another flood bathed her womb. Had she not been protected, there is no doubt in my mind we would have become parents that night. ------- My last official classes of the term at SCU were Friday. My anatomy exam was coming up on Monday and reading on Tuesday. Since I'd just met with Clarice at the studio yesterday, we didn't get together for our usual Friday session. Instead I met Rio for a couple of hours before class and we read each other's final papers. She was really good at this. Lissa didn't want to practice today because she wanted as much time with the boys as she could get before she took them back to Jack's so she could get ready to leave. Bree agreed to meet me early for my sports therapy and massage. I was really getting to like my Fridays and knew I'd miss them when I took off for winter break. Once Bree had progressed in her techniques sufficiently to be comfortable, I'd quit wearing shorts during the massage, just like a regular client. We had a couple of laughing tangles as she was learning all the different draping protocols, but she didn't see anything she hadn't seen before. She'd finished my back and I'd rolled over so she could work on my chest and abs. Then she moved down to work on my pelvis. She never touched me inappropriately—she was in training to become a licensed massage therapist and she was rigidly following all the rules. She was working on the left side of my hipbone when I nearly jumped off the table. "Ow!" I yelled. "What was that?" "Oh ... um ... gluteus medius," Bree answered. "You really get sore spots where I least expect them." "Yeah, I guess. I didn't realize how sensitive that muscle is." "I think all these around the pelvis can be pretty touchy," Bree answered. "Relax and I'll work out the kink and try not to hurt too much." "Gee, thanks," I said. She went back to work, a little more gently this time, rocking back and forth on the muscles all along that side. As she pushed back and forth, the sheet shifted a little as well and rubbed against my cock. The stimulation caused an automatic response and before I realized fully what was happening, I was tenting the sheet. I tried to relax and not be too self-conscious, but Bree just kept rocking in the same place, never moving her fingers away from the outside of my hip. The muscle there was feeling fine now and I couldn't figure out why she was continuing to work on the spot. I cracked my eyes open just a little and looked up at her. Her attention was riveted on my cock. Bree was flushed and breathing shallowly as she continued to just keep up the rhythm on my hip. I knew I should stop her, but I didn't want to embarrass either of us. It was all I could do to keep from groaning. I heard her take a deep shuddering breath and then she covered my chest with the part of the sheet she'd pulled aside, properly wrapped the lower part of the sheet beneath my leg and started working her way down my thigh to my knee. Having moved away from where the sheet was stimulating me, I eventually relaxed again and things returned to normal. Neither of us said anything about it. ------- I picked up Kate and we headed home. We picked up Chinese carry-out for dinner and a few minutes after we got there, Lissa showed up. She'd taken the boys back to Jack and told them she'd see them in a couple of weeks when Kate and I took them to Boston. I could tell she was a little down about leaving her urchins, but her determination to join Melody was at an almost fever pitch. That fever overwhelmed Kate and me as well. After we'd eaten, Lissa brought her bags out to the door and set them down. It was still four hours before we needed to go to the airport for her midnight flight. We were doing as much as we could to calm her down, but Lissa was just too excited. She jumped up from the sofa where the three of us were sitting and sipping one of my cranberry-and-ginger ale cocktails and ran into the bedroom. I looked at Kate and started to get up to follow. "I think we'd better stay here," Kate said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "She'll tell us when she needs us. She's just too excited to sit down." "I guess you're right," I said. "I just don't want her to think we're not paying attention." "I know you're paying attention, lovers," Lissa said behind us. "And I need you now." We turned to look back and Lissa was standing in the doorway completely naked. "Please help me," she said. That was all the invitation it took for us to be off the sofa and gathering Lissa into our arms, pressing our lips against hers and against every available inch of her skin. We moved back into the bedroom and by the time Lissa had flopped back onto the bed, Kate was naked and crawling over the top of her. I wasn't far behind and the two of us proceeded to smother Lissa with kisses. Lissa's first orgasm was only a harbinger of things to come. Kate and I kept her on or over the edge for two hours. At last, I lay spooned behind Lissa in our favorite position with my cock buried in her. Lissa's top leg was crooked so Kate had full access to both of us. We lay as still as possible as Kate licked us both to one last orgasm. "Oh my sweet lovers," Lissa sighed, "please don't forget how much I love you. We'll be together again in two weeks. And then Melody and I will both be all over you. I miss you already." "It won't be long, darling. Melody is going to be so surprised tomorrow morning," Kate said. "Do you think we should have told her in advance?" Lissa asked. "You know how Melody loves surprises," I said. "I'll call her an hour before you land and ask her to go pick you up at the airport." "You'd better shower and dress now," Kate said. "No," Lissa answered. We looked at her and she laughed. Kate's and my expressions must have mirrored each other. "I'm dressing, but no shower. I'm taking the scent of our lovers to Melody. I'm not eating or drinking anything for the rest of the night so that my lips will still taste like you and my pussy will still be full of you. When Melody kisses me the first time, she'll be kissing the two of you as well." Well, that's a little kinky, I thought. But still, it was sweet and, knowing Melody, she would love it. ------- Even though we couldn't go through security to the gate with Lissa, we hung around the airport until she called and said she was on the plane and would be turning off her phone now. We told her we loved her and would call Melody in the morning. Then Kate and I went home and sank into bed exhausted. We both set alarms on our phones so we'd be sure to wake up in time to call Melody. ------- "Hi Tony! You're up early," Melody said into the phone. "Are our other lovers with you?" "Hi sweetie," I answered. "Kate's with me. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." "What is it, Tony? Is everything all right? Where's Lissa?" She sounded near panic. "Don't worry, Little One. Everything is fine. We just need a little help from you for a surprise," Kate said. "Really? What's going on?" "Well," I explained, "Lissa's really been down. She misses you like crazy and we've been so busy with school that she's been alone a lot." "Oh, Tony, I miss her, too. I miss all of you. It's so lonely here just spending the days sorting through boxes from the past twenty years," Melody cried. "I know, Little One," I said. "That's why we think you could be such a help with our little surprise." "What do you want me to do?" she asked. "I'll do anything. Anything!" "Okay," I said. "Do you have transportation?" "Yes. I can take Dad's car if I need to." "Then we need you to get in the car and drive to the airport so you can pick Lissa up at ten." There was a scream on the other end of the call that made both Kate and me jerk away from the phone. "Mom! Mom!" we heard Melody yelling. I could just imagine her jumping up and down with her feet running in place as fast as I can move on a court. "She's coming! She's coming!" Melody continued to squeal. In a minute she came back on the line. We were waiting patiently. "When? What airline? How soon? When did you decide this? Oh, I'm so mad at you! I love you so much. You're so wonderful!" It took a while before she gave us a chance to respond. I told her about the arrangements, that Lissa's plane was listed as on-time—we'd checked the website to be sure—and that it all came about rather suddenly and we wanted to surprise her. "You guys! I love you so much. When I see you I'm going to give you both such a licking ... you're going to come for a week!" "We are coming for a week as soon as the boys are out of school," I laughed. "We love you Melody," Kate said. "I love you, Kitten. I love you, Tony. I love my Liss and she's coming to see me!" Melody screamed again. "You'd better get ready and head out to the airport," I said. "It wouldn't do for Lissa to get there and not have you ready to meet her." "I'll be there! You'd better believe I'll be there!" ------- "It's only six," I said to Kate. "How would you feel about lazing around in bed all morning?" "How would you feel about lazing around in bed all weekend?" she responded. "I could be convinced pretty easily," I said. "Except I've got my Tent City duty tonight and an anatomy study group tomorrow. I have to clear time on my Daytimer for my girlfriend." "I'll let you free for those two events, but no others, understand?" Kate asked. We snuggled back into bed and I held Kate's luscious body next to mine. I was nearly asleep again when she spoke. "Tony? It's not fair for you to be here alone while Lissa and Melody are in Boston. Would you mind terribly if I stayed with you for the next couple of weeks?" Would I mind? You've got to be kidding! ------- Chapter 31 My phone buzzed us awake at a quarter till eight and two chattering girls shouted and giggled at us. "She's so pretty!" Lissa yelled. "She's clean and fresh and sexy and funny and smart and I love her!" "She smells so good!" Melody said. "I want to eat her all up." Yeah, I knew Melody would love it. "Are you two driving?" I asked. "Melody's driving, I'm holding the phone and trying to get into her pants." "Hey! You know the rule," I said seriously. "No sex-play in the car. If you can't wait, pull over." "But I'm horny," Melody pled. "Seriously, my loves. Concentrate on driving and get to a nice soft comfy bed." "Oh, we will, Tony. We were just teasing, but we understand how important it is," Lissa said. "Did you really not eat or drink anything all night?" Kate asked. "Really!" Lissa said. "I had to fend off a flight attendant, though. She recognized me from the flight to Minneapolis in October. She was funny. But I changed planes in Minneapolis and lost her." "Lissa tasted yummy!" Melody said. "That means you taste yummy, Kate. I miss you, too." "We're all going crazy being apart," Kate said. "Tony and I are lying in bed looking at the empty spaces next to us." "You two get caught up with each other and we'll talk again later on," I said. "Mel, honey, please drive carefully. Two of my favorite people in the world are in that car." "I love you, Tony," Melody said. ------- "Coffee?" I asked when we were off the phone. "Thank you," Kate said. "I'll come with you and make some toast. Um ... we're all alone in the house, right?" she asked as I started to pull on my sweats. "Yes." "Do we need to ... um ... get dressed?" I looked at Kate. I had one leg in my sweats, but she was standing in front of me completely naked. She had her head tilted down shyly, her hands clasped behind her back, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels. No. We didn't need to get dressed. I kicked my foot out of my sweats and caught my beautiful nymph in my arms with a real good morning kiss. We laughed and played through breakfast, taking every opportunity to touch each other and just enjoy being together. What was funny, at least to me, was that all morning we didn't attempt to make love. We just floated around with each other enjoying the presence, scent, touch, and company of our partner. We sat together in the big chair and I went over my notes for my anatomy class while Kate read the last book in the Twilight series. We made sandwiches for lunch and had a game of inspecting for crumbs that left us laughing and giggling at the breakfast bar. Then we decided to take a shower and about two o'clock, we slipped back into bed, finally kissing a little more passionately and caressing each other with a little more intent. I usually take a nap on Saturday afternoon so I can survive the night at Tent City, so it was a comforting prelude to my sleep cycle. Of course, that's when the doorbell rang, followed by someone knocking on it insistently. I finally crawled out of bed and put my sweats on, yelling out "I'll be right there!" "Who's there?" I called as I approached the door. "I'm all you want!" came the shouted answer. "I doubt that," I muttered as I opened the front door. There was Amy, dressed in her leathers with her motorcycle cooling in the driveway. "Huh? Come on in. Why would you be all I want, Amy? Not that it's unappealing, but..." "No. Ah'm allya want," she said laughing. She came through the door and put her helmet down. "What's up?" Kate asked, coming up behind me. "I got drafted!" Amy said proudly. Her leather jacket was off and we could see she was wearing a tight tank top. She swung her right shoulder toward us where fresh ink declared "650s." It was drawn on with a Sharpie. "What is that?" I asked, confused. "There's no draft. That's your motorcycle model." "Ri-ight!" Amy said, drawing out the syllable as though I was finally seeing what she was getting at. I wasn't. "I get it!" Kate said behind me. "Roller Derby!" "Yes!" Amy screamed running to Kate and hugging her. "I'm in!" "Oh!" I'd completely forgotten that Amy planned to try out for the local roller derby team. "When did you find out?" "Duh! Today. There were tryouts today and I was drafted by two teams. I spend a month on the farm team and then they have a kind of bidding war among the teams to find out who gets which new players. My friend Kitty said I was a shoo-in. I might get to skate as soon as the first bout in January." "I'm sorry I was so slow. Congratulations. Come on in and tell us all about it," I said. "I'm really not usually that slow at figuring things out." "He was distracted when you rang the bell," Kate giggled. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Amy said. "Are you two alone? Where's Lissa?" We explained the situation and that Lissa had just gone to join Melody in Boston. "Gee. Do you need a third to kind of fill out the bed?" "Amy!" I said. Kate didn't say anything. She grabbed Amy's head, pointed at her lips and gave her a toe curling kiss that left Amy gasping for breath. "I wasn't really serious!" Amy said. "Shit, Kate! I nearly wet my pants." "Just wanted you to know what you'll be missing," Kate giggled. "Putting on a robe when you showed up is the first clothes I've had on all day." "Now my pants are really wet," Amy said. "Damn! And Sonia and Thor won't be back until late tonight." "Where are they?" "There's a cheerleader competition in Portland this afternoon. I couldn't go because of the tryouts. Sorry, but that's why I came here with my news instead of to their apartment." "So, your derby number is your motorcycle model and your name is I'm All You Want?" I asked. I still hadn't figured that part out. "No. Yes. There's a move now to start using real names in derby instead of completely made up things. Amy is short for Amalia. That's my real name. So I just added 'Want' to it. Amalia Want." "Amalia? Ames, I didn't know that was your name." "Well, it's the first time I've used it in twelve years," she laughed. ------- "You are an evil woman," I said, advancing on Kate as she backed toward the bedroom door. "Moi?" Kate grinned at me. Her robe fell to the floor at the bedroom door. I pulled off my sweatshirt and kept moving toward her as she fell back on the bed. "Kissing Amy like that was evil," I said. "Oh, she liked it," Kate said as I pulled my pants off. I'd been shifting between tumescent and rock hard all day as we'd played. Now I was like an arrow pointing at her wet pussy. Her hair was slightly matted where her juices had soaked it. "It was evil to me, not her!" I said. "The very thought of Amy and you doing something naughty made it hard for me to pay attention the entire time she was here." "Mmm. It's still hard, isn't it," she answered. "We've been playing all day, Tony. I'm really ready for you now. You know how I like to take my time and savor having you in me, but right now, I'm too anxious to take any more time. Come and take me, darling." I understood what she was saying. Usually when Kate and I make love, we try to stay connected as long as we possibly can before I erupt and begin to shrink out of her. It wasn't going to take long this time. She scooted up on the bed and opened her legs for me to plunge in and I did so with delight. Kate was serious about how turned on she was. I slid into her without resistance and she humped back against me vigorously. I started slowly, but she would have none of that. "I'm so close, Tony, I'm aching. Don't go slow this time. Fuck me." In all the time I'd known Kate, and in the three months that we'd been sexually active, I'd never heard her use that expression. It shocked me and revved me up at the same time. I hooked her knees with my arms and pushed them out and toward her shoulders. I pulled back and plunged in again. She gasped as her breasts jiggled from the force of my entry. Our lips came together, our tongues came together, and in a matter of a dozen thrusts, we came together. "Oh! I've been saving that up for a while," Kate said. "Don't pull out. Roll over so I can be on top. I want to keep you inside as long as possible." "Now that's the Kate I know and love," I laughed as we rolled over and she pushed down more firmly on my softening cock. I could still feel her pussy pulsing around it and it felt really good. "I love having my pussy licked, and I love the taste of Melody and Lissa, but I didn't get any of you inside me last night. I was dying to have you here," she said. "I love you, Tony." "I love you, Kitten," I answered. "And even though my cock was in a delightful pussy last night, I was aching to be in you, too." I felt her pulse again and realized I was no longer sliding out of her. "Mmm. I love this feeling. You were almost out of me and now you are growing inside me again," Kate said. "Sometimes I wish I could stuff you in me while you are completely soft and then just feel you grow and fill me, like I did in my mouth last week. It's such an incredible feeling. You are slowly expanding in me, filling me with your penis. I can feel the pulse as blood flows into you and stretches me from the inside. And even after such a big explosion together, with your cum leaking out of my pussy around your cock, I still feel like I'm on the edge of another climax. Right there! I felt you pulse right against that sensitive spot inside. When you clench, I feel the head of your cock expand against my walls. That's when I simply want to live joined together like we are right now. I never want to get out of bed. I never want you out of me. I live to be joined to you." I was breathing pretty hard. I'd never fully recovered from our wild fuck when we turned over and she started coaxing me back to life as she lay on top of me. All I was doing was twitching occasionally, sending that glans-expanding feeling into her pussy. Each twitch was answered by a squeeze from her internal muscles. All the time that we normally spent before coming was being spent getting ready for a second round. We kissed. I fondled her breasts and she bent to tongue my nipples as I pulsed inside her. We slid together and back slowly. There was so much liquid between us that there was no friction, but the squeezes and pulsing kept us stimulated. I petted her short purple-streaked hair, and kissed her forehead. We spent nearly an hour connected and moving together. She shuddered in a powerful climax, just short of the pass-out stage and collapsed down on my chest. I kept a slow steady pace that kept her coming in little gasps for another five minutes before I felt the inevitable build to my own orgasm and emptied my soul into her willing body. ------- Kate didn't want to stay alone in the house on Saturday night, so I took her back to the dorm and told her I'd meet her for brunch Sunday morning. I started my shift at the security desk promptly at ten. "Watch the thermometer," Andy said while I was getting signed in. "Last night it dropped to thirty about four o'clock in the morning and we opened the doors so people could get warm." "I'm glad they can come in and warm up," I said. "I'd hate to be in a tent in this weather." "There are a hundred people in Tent City and only four came inside last night," Andy responded. "They really don't want to take hand-outs, even if it's warmth." "Gotcha," I said. "So if I open the doors, do I tell anyone?" "Yeah. Tell Zack. He's in charge of internal security tonight." Andy left and I settled back to wait for Bree. What I saw, instead, was a woman taller than Bree by several inches and certainly outweighing her. "Amanda?" I said, puzzled. "What brings you here tonight?" "Study," she said simply. "Anatomy exam is Monday and we should be ready." "I wish you'd called me. I didn't bring my notes or my book." "It was kind of last minute. Bree told me and then made a call and I had to pass like an oral exam in order to have access to you. Then she had the gall to tell me we couldn't make out—like that's what I was interested in," Amanda said. I could see she was a little tense. She spread some notes out on the table. "Who did you talk to?" "Your keeper. Melody. Apparently Bree is her sergeant-at-arms or something," Amanda groused. "What is it about you that makes all these women so protective of you?" "Damned if I know. But Melody is my girlfriend and there are times I find it best to just do what she says. It has its rewards." "Well, I'm not one of them. Let's just go over the lymphatic system. That one just drives me crazy." We studied, quietly quizzing each other on the terms and the names of the parts of the system. This part of human anatomy is really memorization and there's nothing to help memory like repetition. I wasn't that sure why Amanda was so worried. She was nearly letter perfect. We'd been studying about half an hour when she stood up and started flapping her arms. She was dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, her shoulder-length brown hair tucked under the hood. "Damn! It's colder than a witch's left tit out here," Amanda said. "Shh," I said. "It's quiet time. It's supposed to get below freezing tonight and I'll open the doors to let anyone who wants to warm up inside." "Well, at least I understand now," she said. She motioned toward the recliner. "Go on. We can quiz each other and still stay warm. Or warm-er." I plopped down in the chair. I was relieved. If it hadn't been for studying, I'd have been in the chair wrapped in a blanket long ago. It was a bitch and I only had to do it once a week—usually with company. Amanda brought a handful of notes and crawled into my lap. I flipped the blanket over us and then wrapped my right arm around her putting my hand on—bare skin! I jerked away. "I'm sorry, Amanda!" I said. "I didn't mean to ... I mean ... your sweatshirt rode up a little, I think." "Yeah. That's fine. Don't panic. It's just epidermis. Your hand is warmer than my hoodie anyway," she said. She was rustling the notes, but she couldn't get them outside without pulling the blanket down and she wasn't apparently willing to do that. I took the notes from her and brought my left arm outside the blanket to hold them. My hand was going to get cold out here, but I'd worry about that later. She pulled my right hand back around her and put it on her stomach before pulling her sweatshirt back down. "It's fine to touch my skin," she said, "but don't go exploring. I'm not ready for you to hold my bare boob." I started to pull my hand away again, but she caught it and held it to her. "Aren't you like wearing... ?" "Long gone. Do you know how uncomfortable those damn things are? Imagine always having a form-fitting padded cup holding your cock and balls in exactly the same position all day long with a cutting elastic band around your waist and two straps that are always too short over your shoulders," she said. "I take it off as soon as I get back to my room." "Why wear it at all then?" I asked. Kate never wore a bra. "I don't like guys looking at me all the time. As soon as one does, sure enough, my nipple is going to get hard and poke right through my shirt. It's just security," she said. "Besides, they sag enough as it is." "Well, you'd never prove it by me. Here are the notes." We went through the first page and then I had to figure out how to turn the page one-handed. "Oh, screw this," Amanda said. "We're not accomplishing anything." She pulled her hand out from under the blanket and took the notes. She tossed them down beside the chair and pulled my hand under the blanket with her. She smashed it against her stomach next to the other. "Shit!" she tried to keep her voice down. "That hand's freezing." She pulled it up and wrapped it further around her underneath her right armpit. She shivered a bit, but clamped her arm down on it firmly. "That should warm it up. Soon, I hope." Now, in this position, my left arm was pulled across her body and the hand trapped under her pit. That meant that pretty much my wrist and part of my arm was verifying the fact that there was no bra covering her tits. And that right nipple was hard and pressing into my radial artery. She settled into my arms and leaned back with the blanket drawn up to our chins. "Your pulse is slightly elevated," she said. "Yeah. Well it could be a side-effect of the method you're using to count it." "Things are warming up though." "Yes, they certainly are." "We'll get through the exam on Monday, won't we?" she asked. "We'll review everything tomorrow afternoon. I don't think you'll have a problem with it." "Good. Then I think I'll take a nap now." Inside of a minute she was sleeping on my shoulder with both my hands up inside her shirt. I didn't dare sleep for fear that natural impulses would take over. ------- Rio showed up at midnight, Whitney at two, and Bree at four. All anyone wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. That was fine with me. ------- I stumbled over to the dorm and up to Kate's room after the shift ended. She'd given me her dorm key before I went to work so I wouldn't disturb her slumber. Amber seemed to be asleep as well. I stripped off my clothes and crawled into Kate's bed with her. We slept until almost nine. "Mmm," Kate said as she turned in my arms and buried her nose against my chest. "Better and better." "What's that?" I whispered. "My dreams. They keep getting better and better." Amber was still asleep in the bed across the room, so Kate and I quietly dressed and left to go find Sunday brunch. "I found this two-for-one coupon for a place called Salty's in West Seattle," Kate said. "Want to try it?" "Sounds good to me. As long as I'm back for my one o'clock study group. I invited my team over, so I should pick up some snacks for people." We had a great brunch with a buffet that stretched the length of the pier the restaurant was built on. We got so messy eating Alaska King Crab legs that we could hardly eat for giggling. It was really good. ------- Study with Amanda, Bree, and Justin went for four hours before we all just threw up our hands and gave up. "We are going to ace this exam!" I said with conviction. "There is absolutely no sense in studying any more. Put something new in my head now and something important is going to slip out." "I agree," Bree said. "Isn't there something we can do to relax for a while." "No way," Amanda said. "I relaxed with Tony last night. No repeats." I reached for my drum and started tapping out a rhythm. Bree looked at me curiously. The last time she'd been here with me playing the drum, we'd received the call that Harold was dead. I wasn't about to let drumming mean bad news to me, though. Justin saw the conga drum and grabbed it right away. "Oh yeah!" he said. He started matching my rhythm with a counterpoint. It was obvious that he wasn't a novice at drumming. "You've got a choice," Bree said to Amanda. "Drum or dance." Amanda grabbed the bongos and started in. She didn't have a great sense of rhythm, but she managed to not throw it off too much. Bree grabbed a tambourine and started tapping it as she moved around the living room, almost dancing, but really just walking with rhythm. We'd only been at it for a few minutes when I heard the finger cymbals start. I smiled as Kate came dancing into the living room. She went immediately to Bree and the two started playing off each other. "God! She was serious," Amanda said. She put down the bongos and grabbed a small Ute drum that I'd found in a second-hand shop a couple weeks ago. It was small enough that she could tap on it as she joined Kate and Bree in their dance. I could tell that Justin was torn between keeping drumming and getting up to dance, but he was really into the conga and just doubled down on his playing. We beat those drums for about forty minutes before I planted four long hard strokes on the big drum and we went silent. "Oh god! That was just what I needed," Amanda said. "No kidding." "I'd do this anytime," Justin said as he slumped back. Sweat was dripping off his forehead. "You'd all be welcome," Kate said. "We drum and dance almost every Sunday. I was just waiting." "You were awesome. I'd love to learn to dance like that," Amanda said. "I just try to do what she does, but she's so improvisational," Bree said. "In cheerleading, everything was choreographed." "Kate's my muse," I smiled. "I wouldn't know what I was doing if I wasn't watching her." Kate came over and planted herself in my lap, giving me a big, sloppy kiss. "Mmm. I think that's our cue to leave, guys," Bree said. Amanda and Justin were just staring at us. "Oh. Don't ask," Bree said. "It's too long a story for today. After finals, okay?" Kate and I didn't really notice them leave. ------- I went straight from the anatomy final to the club. At ten o'clock on Monday, hardly anyone was there. Too early for the business guys to come in for lunch-time workouts. Too late for the before-work crowd. At this hour, it was mostly tennis moms. I know. That's really a sexist thing to say, but I swear there were only half a dozen men in the club and fifty women. It was a great time to work out. I got an empty court for a couple of hours and did my own dance, winding down from the exam and the stress of studying. I was pretty sure I'd done well. It was possible that I'd aced it, depending on how he graded the one section. I thought the question was a little ambivalent. But it really felt good to powder that little blue ball. John Gilbert stopped by as I finished and we chatted for a bit. On top of finals, we had a tournament in Mountlake Terrace coming up over the weekend. And it would only be Brent, Franklin, Whitney, and me. Tonya was in a Women's basketball holiday tournament and that took precedence over racquetball. Whitney was heading back to Louisiana right after the tournament Saturday night. Well, racquetball isn't a varsity sport. Nobody's going to get a letter for it and missing a tournament was no big deal. I took a long soak—longer than usual and had a leisurely shower and shave. It was still only half past twelve and I had plenty of time to make it to my study session with Rio for tomorrow's Critical Reading exam. That one had me a little more freaked out than anatomy. ------- "I heard it's all essays and we won't hear about grades until after Christmas," Rio said as we sat in the cafeteria with notes, books, and lunch spread out in front of us. "Why would any professor want that many essays to grade right before the holiday?" I asked. "Strait never struck me as the masochistic type." "I am," Rio said matter-of-factly. "A little pain really puts me on edge." "What?" "You know. A little too much pressure on my nipples. A good spanking. I'm not overboard on it like the kinks are. I just think that the difference between pleasure and pain is a fine line. We have to play to our sweet spots," Rio said. "What does that have to do with Critical Reading?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted you to know that if I don't help you ace this you are free to give me—let's say—ten swats on my bare butt with the palm of your hand." "Uh ... I'm not really into pain," I said. "Yeah, I know. But wouldn't you like to have my bare ass bent over your knee for just a few minutes?" she asked. Shit! I was getting hard. That's ridiculous. "So what's going to be on the test?" I asked. "Sadist," she muttered. We figured there would be at least one standard "compare and contrast" essay on two schools of criticism. We'd nail that. We studied them up one side and down the other this term. I was sure I could tell the difference between post-modernism and post-colonialism. Then there'd be an analysis. Two short pieces on the same topic that we'd have to analyze and determine the factual information apart from the slant. Finally, there'd be a piece that we'd have to write a critique of, justify the method we used, and list the weaknesses of our own arguments. Professor Strait was really into that. It wasn't enough to argue effectively, we always had to identify the weaknesses and bias in our own arguments. It was dinnertime when we finally decided we'd had enough. I didn't have any wind-down activity with Rio, though she suggested that I could have. I swung by PCAD and picked up Kate and we went home to a quiet meal and a long telephone chat with Melody and Lissa. It was only nine o'clock when we went to bed, but we went to sleep almost immediately. ------- Well, we'd correctly identified the questions that Strait asked on the exam, but that really didn't make writing it any easier. It took the full two hours, and I could have used another fifteen minutes on my analysis. But it was over. I met the guys for practice after Doc Henredden's 2D class and we played doubles with Whitney and me against Brent and Franklin. The guys are really getting on top of their game. They were solidly Division B players now and I was sure that we'd get evaluated and they'd be rated at this tournament. And then it was over. I had two more classes with Doc, but there was really nothing else for school. SCU was at the end of term. I breathed a sigh of relief and then got to thinking about something else. I called Jack and asked him if I could have the boys for a couple of days. He'd jumped in and told Lissa that he would take the boys while she joined Melody in Boston, and we'd have them for two weeks as Kate and I took them to Boston and then on to Nebraska for Christmas. But damn, I missed them. They still had school for another week, but Jack agreed that they could "sleep over" at our house Wednesday and Thursday nights, but that Molly would bring them back to Jack on Friday night so I could go to the tournament on Saturday morning. Man was it great to have the guys back home! They understood about Melody and that Lissa had gone to help her, but they'd been cut off from everyone since Lissa left and I felt bad about it. I picked them up from school Wednesday and we went downtown. Kate met us when she got out of class and we rode the carousel and looked at the train setup at Carson's and the mechanical toys at Nordstrom. We took the boys to see Santa and got their picture. I ordered half a dozen of them because I figured there were grandparents who would want pictures, too. We're a big family. Then Kate and I sat on Santa's lap, much to the boys' delight. We asked him to please bring all our family together. Damn, we had a good time. ------- Friday night, I snuggled up to Kate with just the two of us. She had her hand wrapped around my cock as I petted her breasts and put kisses all over her face and torso. "You really love them, don't you," she asked. "Who?" "Damon and Drew," she said. "You want children of your own." "Yeah. I love them. I'd love to have more of them. How about you?" "Oh, I love the boys. But I'm not sure I want to have children of my own. It's not that I don't want them, but I'm so selfish. I don't want to share with them." We laughed and continued to make out. "Well, you should go to sleep now," she said. She abruptly let go of my cock and rolled away from me. "Like this?" I said mournfully. "I thought we were going to make love." "You have a tournament tomorrow, remember?" Kate said. "I was just filling in in the absence of your coach." "Oh shit," I groaned. "I love you, too." ------- Fortunately, Bree took care of Brent and Franklin on Saturday, seeing that they got to their matches and guiding them flawlessly through a first place showing and a judgment that ruled them to officially be Division B players. Whitney played well, but lost in her third round and left immediately afterward, wishing us all good luck and Merry Christmas. The elite men's tournament featured just six men. That was the top limit for a round robin instead of single elimination. We started playing at eight a.m. and didn't finish until eight p.m. There weren't enough courts for us all to play at once and we had to be fit in between the other divisions as well. I had a couple of tight matches, including the dude that beat me up at Bellingham, but this time I turned the tables on him. At the end of the match, I was an exhausted victor. ------- The night shift at Tent City was brutal. I was so tired, I almost slept through time to get there. Kate had to practically drag me out of bed. I checked in and flopped down in the chair and was asleep before Bree crawled into my lap. I almost didn't notice when she got up, but when Sandra sat down on me, I was a bit surprised. "Hey," I said. "Long time no see. Where's your boyfriend?" "He abandoned me. School is out and he had a ride back to Ellensburg." "Oh, I'm sorry. When are you heading back to ... uh..." "Yakima," she supplied. I really need to learn my Washington cities. "I'm going after our last final on the 16th. Wouldn't you know I've got the last final. But I'm only going as far as Ellensburg that night. I've got to meet his family and then go home for Christmas. But you know what? We've got a Sunday to Sunday condo reservation in Idaho. Walt's picking me up on Christmas morning and we're going on a vacation. Just the two of us!" Sandra was excited and was wiggling on my lap. "Wow! That's great." "Yeah, but ... um ... Tony. Last chance." "What do you mean?" "I'm not going to be a virgin when I come home from Idaho. If you want me, you gotta take me now." Well, that stunned me. "Um ... I ... um ... didn't know you were a virgin," I stumbled. She kissed me. Not the old, Sandra-with-a-wide-open-mouth kiss, but a very sweet, lip to lip with just a touch of tongue kiss. "Yeah. And I'm not really offering myself to you, much as I love you. Walt has been so nice and willing to take it slow and easy. And I can't wait to give him everything," Sandra said. "But I've been kind of afraid." "If there's pain it only lasts for a couple of minutes. Then it's fun, I promise," I said. "That's not what I'm afraid of. You know, you sort of ... fixed my kissing. I was so backward and inexperienced that I thought I had it all figured out," she said. "Walt still says 'thank you, Tony, ' every time we have an especially toe-curling kiss." We laughed. I'm glad the guy takes it in such good humor. "But what if I'm just as misguided in making love? What if I have the cunt equivalent of eating your face? Should you be teaching me something?" "Oh, Sandra. This is your special time with Walt. Tell him. Ask him what he likes and wants, and tell him what you like and want," I said. "The two of you are so good together; all you need to do is communicate. Exploring is at least half the fun." "What's the other half?" "Coming." She hit me in the chest, but left her hand there as she cuddled with me. "You're really a great friend, Tony," she whispered. "I love you for that." "It wouldn't be the same without our friends," I answered. ------- "Ames? This is like old home week!" "Hey, Ames. Got room for a skinny dyke on your lap?" "There's always room for you," I laughed. "Why aren't you with Sonia and Thor?" "They left without me. Said come down to LA as soon as I can. Shit." "Hey, you only have another week of school. You'll be down there next weekend," I encouraged her. "I'm not going." "What? Why not Ames?" "Practice. The teams are gearing up for the first bout in January and if I want to make the team, I need to be here to practice. It's not a college sport. They could have waited a week," she said. "It will be okay, Amy. Really, it will." I held my friend and comforted her. "You'll see." "Forever the optimist, aren't you Tony? I sure hope you're right. When Sonia's gone, I feel like a chunk has been taken right out of my heart." She buried her face in my neck and I could feel the heat of tears forming. "I feel the same way without Lissa and Melody here," I said. "I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't looking forward to being with them next Sunday." "You'd fuck Kate again," Amy growled. "Yes, I would," I said. "And I'd still feel the hole where Lissa and Melody are missing. It's just that way. I suppose if they really left us, Kate and I might still hold onto each other, but even together we only feel like we're half there." ------- "Grr rawr rawr," said the Tiger as she climbed into my lap at four in the morning. "How did you manage to get out of your cage?" I giggled to Wendy. "I went back to the Honey Buckets and slipped under the canvas," she answered, cuddling up with me in the chair. "You're warm." "I'm always here for you," I said. "As long as I wait my turn," she laughed quietly. "It will all be over soon." "Wendy, I'd send them all away if you needed my warmth at night. You'd be the only one I cuddled with when I'm here," I said. "Thank you, Tony. Could I spend a couple of days at your place? I have to move out of my tent on New Year's Eve, but I can't move into a dorm until the third." "Of course you can. You know we'd like to rent you a room anyway, Tiger." "I know, Tony. Thank you. Really. But look at me. I've done it. I stayed independent and I'm going to get a place of my own to move into. I really did it." "I'm so proud of you, Wendy," I said. "All any of us want is for you to succeed. And for you to be our friend. And don't forget there's still a place for you with us." "Do friends get to cuddle?" "Whenever they want." ------- Chapter 32 Kate and I were counting down the days. Classes would finally be out on Friday and on Sunday, we'd catch our flight to join Melody and Lissa in Boston for a week before all six of us, the boys included, would fly to Nebraska to be with my family. We'd all get home in time to spend New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with Kate's family who would visit us in Seattle. I asked Jack if he'd like me to take the boys for a couple of days, but since I'm taking them away for two weeks over the holiday, he declined the offer. He'd taken them down to the aquarium on Sunday and they were looking forward to a return to the carousel on Saturday before we left. Since I only had Doc's Tuesday 2-D class left, I spent a lot of time in the studio. The photographer would be in on Thursday to do the catalog pictures for our exhibition in February. Man, it was getting close. I was putting finishing touches on pieces when I realized that Rhapsody Suite was probably the least developed of all my works. Yet that was what inspired a showing. So much had changed in the past year. I'd crated the picture of Ralph and the picture of Lissa as an old woman. It was a relief. Somehow, I was just a little afraid that someone would come in and see one of those pieces. I wasn't ashamed of them, but I was a little uncomfortable having them about. I wondered if Picasso or Dali ever felt that way? Maybe there's a hidden cache of Matisse paintings of dissections or lovers that he never showed anyone. The picture was of Ralph, dissected, laid bare. But when someone looked at the painting, I felt that it was me that was cut open—my heart exposed. Anyway, I was feeling like a real artist, spending eight or ten hours a day in the studio and just getting lost in the painting. I did half a dozen variations on the Tent City painting, most just as sketches, but two of them I developed into oils. One of them that I was doing as a pretty big piece, just over a meter wide, looked at the village as though the tent walls were translucent and you could see the people inside. I liked it a lot, but hoped people wouldn't see it as invasive. The people I'd come to know in the city were in the picture, warts and all. There was one special spot where I'd painted Wendy. It's not like I'd actually been inside or looked inside the tents. I just imagined how I'd want it if I lived in one of those canvas homes when it was cold. It's a sobering thought. Every tent, I discovered, had a different story associated with it, the characters living their real lives within it's bounds. ------- I like to work on big canvases. Kate likes to work on a slightly smaller scale. Most of her pieces were little more than a foot wide and a foot and a half tall. But they were all close-ups. I don't know where she spotted these things, but my favorite was a stack of poker chips on a table. There were eight red and one white sticking out in the middle. They were reflected in the table-top. She is such a stickler for details. You can see the grooves in the edge of each chip. I think she must have magnifying vision, or something. I could never see that kind of detail just by looking at a subject from a few feet away. It's so cool. We had just started setting the pieces against a wall Thursday morning when we heard the bell. "I'm Jade," the woman said when I opened the studio door. She was a few inches shorter than Kate, very thin, and I'd guess about forty. I'd call her wiry. Her hair was pretty short and was graying. She'd backed a van up to the studio garage door. "I'm Tony and this is Kate," I answered, offering my hand. "Come on in and we'll show you what we've got." She came into the studio and looked around, held up a light meter and looked at it critically. Then she shook her head. She walked around the studio getting a feel for what was there and didn't even bother to look at the artwork. She bent over and rubbed her fingers on the floor, then rubbed them together and looked at them. I was glad we'd finished sweeping and mopping. The place was spotless. Finally, she turned to us and heaved a big sigh. "Okay. It will take me an hour to get set up. I need to hang drapes and haul in lights," she said. "I'll set up over here, so please move all this stuff over to the other side of the room." The stuff she pointed at was our neat line of paintings leaning against one wall. What the fuck? "Will do," Kate answered before I could spout off. "Do you need help bringing things in?" "Help? You mean like lifting and carrying?" She looked at Kate skeptically. "Sure!" "Oh. Okay. Thanks." She acted like no one had ever volunteered to help her carry anything in her life. I transferred the paintings to the other wall and Kate opened the garage door so they could begin taking stuff out of the van. It was packed with trunks, lights, stands, and shelves of rolled up fabric. As soon as I had the paintings moved, I went to help unload. Some of the trunks were really heavy. I could see the muscles in Jade's arms bulge out as she lifted her end. I don't think she had an ounce of body fat. Her breasts were no more obvious than mine. She'd stripped off her sweatshirt as soon as we started moving things and was working in a sleeveless t-shirt and jeans. As soon as we had the van empty, I lowered the door so no more heat would escape. "I have to go to class for my last final," Kate said. "I'll be back about two." "Would you mind bringing sandwiches when you come back?" Jade asked. "I don't eat meat." Without Kate in the room with me, I was afraid I might come to blows with Jade. She was acerbic and aloof. But I had to admit, she was efficient. She said very little to me while she set up, but handed things for me to hold in place while she clamped them. Within an hour, she had a working photo studio set up, including a unique vertical easel, about a dozen lights, tripod, and light gray backdrops. I thought about what Doc had said regarding painting the studio gray. "You're new at this, aren't you?" Jade asked me. "Yeah. Pretty much. It's my first show. Why?" "You helped. Of course, your assistant started it, so you don't have to keep helping if you have other things to do," she said. "My assistant? You mean Kate?" She nodded. "Kate's the other artist. We don't have assistants." "Shit. I probably shouldn't have asked her to bring sandwiches, should I?" "She'll bring them. We all have to eat sometime." "Yeah. I forget after I start working. I thought if she came back with something, it would remind me." "I know what you mean," I said. "When I get into a zone, I forget to eat, drink, or sleep." "Well, what's first?" We decided to start with the big pieces and work down to the smaller ones. Jade's camera setup was connected to a computer so she could download and display the photos as she took them. It was pretty impressive. Once all the lights were on, it was easy to see why she worked in a sleeveless t-shirt. They heated the room. Jade was meticulous in her work. I saw her slip into her own zone as she set paintings on the easel, adjusted lights, changed the position of the camera on its tripod, previewed the photos on her computer and repositioned lights. I've never had that much appreciation for photography, but this was amazing to watch. She'd carefully move her light meter back and forth across the painting, looking for hot spots, then take photos at different f-stops and shutter speeds. She was working on my last piece at two o'clock when Kate came in with a bag of sandwiches. I held up my finger to my lips as I rushed to her, but I heard Jade swear. "Light!" she yelled. "I have to do this one over." "Sorry," Kate whispered. We sat back against the door quietly for the half-hour that it took Jade to retest her lighting and take the picture. When she was finally finished she turned toward us. "Do you have the next batch of paintings?" she asked. "Yes," Kate responded. "And sandwiches. You look exhausted. Come and eat something." "Yeah. Thanks. Is it two already?" "Two-thirty now," I said. "You've been going at this for four hours without a break. Kate, it is amazing to watch her work." "Do you do artwork all the time?" Kate asked. "Mmm. Good sandwich. Where'd this come from?" Jade responded. "Um ... Muffaletta." "No. I don't do artwork all the time. I do product shots. Art is just a product," she answered Kate's original question. "You mean like bottles of shampoo and new cars?" I asked. They were about as different as I could think in terms of kinds of product. "Yeah. Like that. And food. Artwork isn't nearly as difficult as food. I prefer to work in my own studio most of the time, but Clarice wants pictures of the two of you in your work environment. This is it, right?" she asked. "Yeah. Most of the time." "Well, bring the next batch in and let's get started. I'd like to finish before midnight," she said slugging down some water to wash back the sandwich. She was back to work at once. Kate and I brought in the rest of her paintings from the car. I hadn't seen these yet. Kate's final review for her practicum was this morning and she brought them straight from the college. I had to laugh. There was one that I puzzled over for a minute before I turned it ninety degrees and backed off. It was a picture of a man's face—sort of. It was just the left side of his face and only included a part of the nose, mustache, and lips. I swear you could count every whisker in the guy's 'stache. We watched and moved paintings as Jade worked away for the afternoon. Kate was just as impressed as I was with the way Jade worked. When she'd finished Kate's paintings, she took down the drapes and backdrop she'd used. We helped her stow them in her van. Then she got us to show her our favorite working positions. We each had unfinished paintings that we put on our easels and reference sketches we used that she managed to capture. Then she did individual portraits and asked how we'd gotten to know each other. Somehow, the whole story of the mural and then Kate posing at the party came out. That painting was at home. There were certain things that you just didn't take to exhibitions and the sketch and painting of Kate, the one of Melody and Lissa that the mural was based on, and a couple of paintings I'd done of the boys were on display in our home with Kate's triptych. "That would be interesting," Jade said. It was pushing nine o'clock and we'd been in the studio for over twelve hours. "What do you have for posing here?" she asked. "Well, we've got a few props and furniture. We moved most of the things we used in Rhapsody over here once we got the studio finished. We haven't done a lot of poses here yet, though," I said. "Okay. Get that daybed you were talking about and some drapes. I want a picture of you sketching her." "Um ... you mean like we did last spring?" I asked. Kate had been wearing a pajama shirt that she unbuttoned and let hang open while I sketched. "I don't think we want a nude photo." "Don't worry, no one will see anything vital. But once they see you drawing her in the pose from Rhapsody, the value of that piece will go up. It makes no difference that it was painted in a different location," Jade said. We set everything up and Jade positioned us. She positioned the camera over my left shoulder and moved me a lot closer to Kate than I was when I was drawing last spring. Jade captured one or two photos as a test and then told Kate to take her shirt off. Kate looked at me a little doubtfully, but complied. Jade told me I'd better get to sketching as there needed to be something on the pad so it looked good. Well, once I started sketching Kate, everything else sort of fell away and Kate kept her eyes focused right on mine. The camera went off a couple dozen times, sometimes with that machine gun clicking that indicates several pictures are taken in sequence. Half an hour later, Jade said enough and we looked at what she had shot. Wow! She'd positioned us just so that the sketchpad blocked the view of Kate's nipples, but you could definitely see the upward slope of her breast. The pictures showed the sketch taking shape as we worked. You could see the side of my face and my hands. Kate's face was beautifully in focus. We finally packed the remaining camera gear in the van at a little before eleven and waved goodbye to Jade. We were starving! ------- "You guys didn't call last night and we couldn't reach you!" Melody practically screamed into the phone. "Is everything all right?" The call came in at seven in the morning and neither Kate nor I were awake yet. We didn't get home until nearly one after the photo session and collapsed in bed as soon as we got there. I distinctly remembered sending a text message to Lissa and Melody, though. I didn't want them to worry about us. "Didn't you get my text?" I asked. "It was really late when we finished the art shoot and I didn't want to wake you up. Our phones were on silent." "There's no text and why would you turn your phone to silent?" Lissa demanded. I thumbed through my text messages. There was the message I wrote to them. Composed but not sent. "Oh, crap," I groaned. "I'm sorry. I didn't hit send. It's still sitting on my phone. It was really intense yesterday. This photographer works like I do. She completely isolates things and doesn't want any kind of interruptions." "It's true," Kate said next to me. "The text is here on his phone. I'm so sorry, darlings." "We were worried," Melody whimpered. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Yes. But we miss you. And last night ... oh Tony! It's so hard being split up with two of us on the East Coast and two on the West," Lissa said. "When we can't talk we imagine all kinds of impossible things." Lissa sounded almost as stressed as she had been before she went to join Melody. That had been two weeks ago and it was getting stressful on all of us. "I know, lover, I know. We're so glad we'll be there on Sunday." "Jack says the boys are practically jumping out of their skins with excitement," Lissa said. "Can you just imagine being a kindergarten or second grade teacher the last days before Christmas vacation?" Kate asked. We all laughed and the tension resolved. Eventually, we told Lissa and Melody all about the photo shoot. ------- "What shall we do today?" Kate asked sleepily when we'd finally disconnected. It was Friday and we were both done with classes, done with exams, and done with our obligatory photo shoot. If it weren't for the boys still in school and my commitment to Tent City Saturday night, we'd just head for the airport right now. "I don't know," I said. "It could have something to do with lying in bed naked with my lover all day." "Mmm. That could be fun," Kate said. "Wake me up when she gets here, okay?" She snuggled up closer and closed her eyes, both of us giggling. Well, a little extra sleep never hurt anyone. ------- "Tony! Guess what?" For the second time today I was awakened by a phone call. When I glanced at the clock, though, I saw it was nearly eleven, so I couldn't complain too vocally. Sleep. God it was great. Seemed like the past three months we got less sleep than a normal week. But then ... what do I know about normal? "Bree? Sorry! We were sleeping in." "Lazy bones. Guess what?" "Okay. Um ... there isn't really a Santa Claus?" I ventured. "Don't say that around Christmas!" Bree exclaimed. "Especially since Santa just delivered my present." "You got a present?" Kate moaned. "Is Santa coming here, too?" "Yes," Bree laughed. "Although he's short, skinny, and has tits. Oh, and he's a she." "I take you're coming over," I said. "Yes. In about half an hour. Get up and shower, but don't bother dressing. Either of you." "Uh ... Bree?" "You'll love it!" She hung up and I looked at Kate. She raised her eyebrows at me. "Have you made out with Bree yet?" she asked. "Uh, no. We kissed a couple of times, but nothing serious." "Even after Melody got things started?" "A crime needs means, motive, and opportunity," I said. "There hasn't been any of the latter." "I think that's about to change," she laughed, kissing me. "I think I might get to play, too!" "Just remember the rules," I said. "Nothing below the waist." "Sounds like me a few months ago," Kate said. "Let's get that shower and some breakfast." ------- "What do you think?" Bree asked. We were looking at a really nice portable massage table that she'd just set up in the bedroom. She was covering the table with a sheet. "It's adjustable height so I can set it low enough that I can really work. The table in the sports therapy massage room has always been a little too high for me to work comfortably at, so I keep kicking my little stool around to stand on." "It looks good, Bree," I said. I pushed down on the squishy surface. "And more comfortable than the one at the U, too." In spite of Bree's suggestion that we not dress, Kate and I had both put sweats on. Now we could see why she suggested nudity. "I figure that you can each have a massage and the person I'm not working on can help me. You each get two-on-one." "I love it," Kate said. "I've never had a professional massage. Let's take a hot tub first." Well, that was an idea. I always had a soak before Bree worked on me at school. But if we all got in the tub, then Bree would be... Kate had already stripped off her shirt and was running water in the tub. Bree glanced at me and pulled off her tank top, freeing those beautiful tits. She smiled and turned toward the bathroom, pulling down her warm-ups as she went. Damn! She has a nice ass. ------- We behaved ourselves in the tub. Mostly. There was a little kissing and a few gropes here and there, but mostly we just relaxed. When we got out and dried off, though, no one got dressed. "Let's do Kate first," Bree said. "I like that idea," I said. That earned me a kiss from Kate as she crawled up onto the table and I turned to find Bree's waiting lips. It was a soft kiss and accompanied by a smile before she moved to the other side of the table. "I suppose that technically I should drape you with a sheet and all," Bree said. "Don't bother," Kate said. "Just work your magic." She buried her face in the cradle and Bree started at the top of her head to massage Kate's scalp. I heard a deep sigh and I knew exactly how Kate felt. I was kind of hard, just looking at Kate's beautiful ass, temptingly rounded up from the table, and then looking up to see Bree's small but perky tits staring right back at me. Bree moved to the opposite side of the table and told me to hold out my hands. She poured a generous helping of oil into my palms that overflowed and dripped onto Kate, causing her to squirm and giggle. Then Bree placed her hands in mine and we spread the oil evenly between us. From then on it was four-handed massage. I just watched what Bree was doing on the left side of Kate and I did it on the right side. We worked her shoulders arms and hands then started down her back. Each time we needed more oil, Bree poured it in my hands and then spread it to her own, usually while leaning across the table and Kate for a kiss. We worked all the way down Kate's back, her butt, and her legs then carefully spent time on her feet and toes. "Time for you to wake up and roll over, Sleeping Beauty," Bree said when we'd finished. Kate moaned and did as she was instructed. She had little creases on her face from where it was pressed into the face cradle. If seeing and touching Kate's backside was awesome, having her lie on her back and passively await our touch was unbelievable. Gravity pulled her breasts slightly to the side, flattening them a little, but Kate is pretty firm and didn't sag much. They were a little bigger than Bree's B-cups, but not as much as Lissa's Cs. Well, that was my professional opinion, anyway. We worked on her face and eased the creases out of it, then down her neck, careful not to put too much pressure on her throat. Bree taught me some new moves around Kate's breasts, including the proper way to check for lumps on a woman. I'd have never thought of that, but usually when I'm handling Kate's breasts, I have other things on my mind. And I realized something else. My hands were oily and gliding all over Kate's naked body, perhaps the most sensual experience I can think of, but I was no longer erect. Bree and I had stopped kissing when we got more oil somewhere along the line and I recognized the feeling as similar to what I felt when I dropped into my zone while painting. I recognized the fact that I was touching my girlfriend's breasts, torso, legs, but I was experiencing it in a non-sexual way—like seeing the shadows and planes while I'm painting. At one point my hand brushed across Kate's mons and she whimpered a little, but Bree whispered, "Sensual, not sexual," and we continued in the zone down the front and inside of Kate's thighs. "That was so wonderful," Kate sighed as we finished. She held her arms out to us and pulled us both in for a hug and kiss. We lifted her to a sitting position and she leaned against me but didn't let go of Bree. I noticed that Bree had moisture on her forehead and realized I'd been working up a bit of a sweat, too. "I don't know if I can get up," Kate moaned. "Walk in, wobble out," Bree joked. "How about some water, Tony?" I went to the kitchen and retrieved three bottles of water. When I walked back into the bedroom, Kate had managed to stand up and was sharing a deep kiss with Bree. I was struck by how much the two looked like Melody and Kate when they embraced. They didn't pet with each other, but they pressed their bodies close together. When they parted, I heard a deep sigh from both. I cleared my throat and handed each of them a bottle. "I just kind of drifted away as you were touching me," Kate said. "It wasn't just a physical thing. Like when you were stroking on my forehead after I turned over—I could almost hear the voice of my mother saying 'There, there, Lyubitshka. It will all be better now.' It was so comforting." "I'm discovering all kinds of things about massage and physical therapy that are mental instead of physical," Bree said. "I haven't even started the official course yet. Pretty much everything I've done so far I got from reading books on how to do it." "I think you are going to be phenomenal as a massage therapist," I said. "I look forward to my Fridays for your massage." "And for date-night," Kate laughed. "You're the best thing about his week until we get hold of him that evening." We all laughed and Bree stood up. "Speaking of Friday massages, it's time for yours, bud. Get up on the table," she said. I obeyed, putting my head down in the face cradle and just let the sensations carry me away. ------- "I discovered something," Bree whispered. I was lying on my back as the two women worked their way down my body. I tensed momentarily as Bree found that spot on my gluteus medius that had sent me through the roof a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't quite as tender this week, and something about having Kate mimicking the pressure on the other side lessened the intensity of the tenderness on both sides. "Watch." I felt the pressure on my pelvis as Bree started a gentle rocking motion and Kate responded in the opposite direction. Something about this move just sent an electric shock from the top of my head all the way down my spine to my toes. Every part of my body tingled. I could even feel it in my ears. That might explain why I didn't feel what else was happening until I felt a breeze blow across my cock. I opened my eyes and realized that I was fully erect and pointing straight up between the two women. They kissed and then turned to me and smiled. Without touching anything inappropriately, but leaving me hard as a rock, the two began to work down the front and inside of my thighs and gradually my cock sank back against my stomach. That's what had been happening the past couple of weeks. Bree had found a way to give me an erection without ever breaking Melody's rules. She just worked that spot until I was hard then moved on. Knowing that was only going to make it harder in the future. I managed to struggle to a sitting position with the help of my "therapists" and gave them each a big kiss. We sat and drank more water. I used the bathroom. I could see that Bree had really worked up a sweat over the past two-and-a-half hours. Kate glowed from a mixture of oil and sweat. "You know, Kate," I said. "I really like being a part of Bree's training. What did you call it? A massage dummy? But it really seems unfair that we get such a great massage and she goes without. Don't you think so?" Kate smiled and nodded. "I think she should take a turn on the table," Kate said. "It probably wouldn't be as good as we got, but it would be a little bit of repayment for her services." "That's not very professional," Bree said. "I don't think that three naked people massaging each other in any combination is going to sound professional once you get your license," I said. "But what happens in our bedroom stays in our bedroom." "Well, if you really want to, it's beginning to look like that's the only way I'm ever going to get Tony to touch my tits." She giggled and we helped her up onto the table. Before she rolled over on her stomach, though, she sat up. "Remember," she said in a near panic, "you can't go below my waist. Melody's rules. Please don't break them." "You did our legs and butts," I said. "Not the same thing. I have permission for that. Melody told you before she left, remember? Nothing below my waist." Bree was adamant, so even though I thought she was interpreting things a little more strictly than Melody intended, we agreed to stop at her waist. Kate and I had a lot of fun playing massage therapist on Bree. I have to admit that we weren't as professional in what we did as she was, even though we copied a lot of the moves that she used. We worked down her back just to her hipbone and found exactly where Bree was a little ticklish. But we restrained ourselves from massaging her tight little ass. When she turned over, we punctuated the massage with little kisses over her forehead, eyes, and cheeks before we each gave her a long sensuous kiss mouth-to-mouth. We worked our way down her front, using exactly the same techniques around her breasts that she had used on Kate. I knew from experience exactly how incredible it felt to have four hands running circles around your abdomen. We pushed the limits a little and stopped just at the top of Bree's mons and working outward to rock that gluteus medius that she liked to work on me so much. We didn't stop the massage, though. Bree had just complained that I hadn't touched her breasts before we started, so Kate and I worked our way back up her chest and began a focused attack on her chest. It ended with Bree squirming under us as we pinched her nipples to hard points and lifted her to a sitting position so we could both kiss her at once. While we kissed, we kept playing with her breasts and nipples. "Okay!" Bree almost shouted, pushing us away. "I can't take any more. Please, stop!" We did. Bree gasped for breath as she swung her legs over the table and grabbed for a bottle of water. After she had a big gulp she continued. "It's so intense when ... when you are just lying there ... helpless ... being manipulated. I'm going to dream about that the entire time you are gone over break. Oh my god!" I'd lost all consideration for the non-sexual aspects of the massage when we started attacking Bree's tits and was standing up like a flagpole when I helped Bree off the table and hugged her. She moaned as she slid her oily body against mine fractionally. "I could call Melody and get permission for a little more play time," Kate said as she wrapped the two of us in a hug. "Uh ... no," Bree said, extracting herself from our embrace. "It's something I'm really enjoying looking forward to. Maybe the two of you should have a little alone time now. I'm going home to wait for my next cuddle tomorrow night. It's our last night at Tent City together." We kissed Bree one more time at the door and then ran back to the bedroom. We still had enough oil on our bodies to reduce the friction to a smooth glide when Kate slid over the top of me. Her lips met mine and just the feeling of her mons pressing against my hard-on was making me gasp. She was getting in position to pull us together when my phone rang again. ------- Chapter 33 "Where were you?" "Huh? What?" I said into the phone. Kate was pushing down onto me in spite of the fact that I'd automatically answered my stupid cell phone. "We have a standing appointment on Friday mornings? Where were you?" "Oh shit. Clarice?" I yelped. Kate sat up on me, driving me the rest of the way into her. I gasped. "Tony?" "Oh. Sorry. You ... uh ... woke us up. We were so late with Jade last night that we slept in. I forgot all about our meeting." "Yes, I know. Don't worry; I'm pulling your chain. I figured you'd just forgotten to tell me about a final exam or something. Until I got the pictures this afternoon. You've got to see this," she said. "Can you hustle Kate around and have dinner with me tonight? You haven't already eaten, have you?" "Dinner? What time is it?" I looked at the clock. Six? Wow! "Uh ... no ... we haven't eaten yet. Where do you want to meet?" "Come to Carmine's at six-thirty. Can you get Kate here, too?" "Yeah. She's right here. We can make it." "Oh." Shit. Clarice didn't know our relationship. "I'll explain when we get there." ------- Kate and I didn't move immediately. She was working her hips back and forth creating a delightful jiggle in her breasts that I couldn't help but touch. I tried to rise up to capture a nipple in my mouth, but Kate shifted into overdrive. She pumped up and down on me so fast that I was over the edge before I realized what was happening. Two more strokes and she whined out her own climax, falling on top of me. "I could not have gone the whole evening without that!" she exclaimed. We laughed and spun out of bed to shower the oil off our skin and make our hair behave. Nothing like a scalp massage with a little oil to do a great styling job on your hair. It looked great on Kate. We scrubbed and shampooed each other in record time, dressed and headed for Carmine's. Wendy was there to greet us with a chaste kiss and escort us straight to Clarice's usual booth. The crowd was beginning to come in for dinner before the band started playing at eight. There were already Cokes on the table for us and Wendy served appetizers almost immediately. "I took the liberty of ordering for you," Clarice said. "I want to be out of here before the music starts. It gets too noisy. Now what's going on here?" "Clarice, Kate is our girlfriend. Yes, I said 'our.' She's the girlfriend of Lissa and Melody and me. As it happens, Lissa and Melody are in Boston because of Melody's dad's death. I think I mentioned that to you. Kate has been staying with me. Jade worked our asses off yesterday and we've done little but sleep ever since. Okay?" "You would think that after thirty years in this business I wouldn't be surprised at anything anymore," Clarice said. "Look, you two. Representing a new artist is a challenge under any circumstances. Representing one with an unusual home life adds a level of complication. But adding an affair with a fellow-artist on top of an unusual home life just makes things more interesting by far. Don't think it won't come out. It didn't take long for you and Melody and Lissa to become common knowledge. I'll just have to figure out how to spin it." "It doesn't have to be part of our promotion, does it?" Kate asked. "No, dear, but after the show, people will start associating the two of you together in one way or another. Bob Bowers already does, you know. We'll just need to be ready to deal with it," Clarice said. Our salads arrived accompanied by a kiss on the cheek from Wendy for Kate and me. Clarice raised her eyebrows. "Her too?" she sighed. We just laughed. "Well, speaking of the exhibition, take a look at this." She handed us a folder that we opened. Inside was an eight-page color booklet that was a catalog of our paintings with pictures of Kate and me in the studio. The cover was one of the pictures of me sketching Kate. The title above read, "The Art and Soul: Introducing the work of Tony Ames and Katarina Mirela." It was beautiful. "Kate, I didn't know you were using the name Katarina Mirela. It's beautiful!" I said. "You aren't really very observant, Tony," she giggled. "That's how all my paintings are signed." Inside, were the pictures of our various artworks, titles, and a dollar sign followed by exes. Next to each picture was a short block of gibberish text. I pointed to it. "What's this?" "This is the hard part, though you shouldn't consider anything final yet. Jade was up even later than you last night. I don't think she slept, as a matter of fact. The girl is even more obsessive than you are. But that's why I pay her what I do. After meeting you and working with you yesterday, Jade recommended that we have you write a few sentences describing your process and the work next to each picture. She's brilliant. You have over the holiday to get it written." "Wow, thanks a lot. What are we supposed to write?" We spent the rest of the meal discussing what we would be putting in the paragraphs. That is, when we could talk. Clarice had ordered a huge dish of cannelloni. I'd never had it before and it was impossible for me to talk while I was savoring this dish. Some of the tubes were covered in red sauce and some in white sauce. It was unbelievably delicious. "This is why I ordered before you got here," Clarice said. "It takes over an hour to prepare this dish in the kitchen. It's one of my favorites." "Mine, too, now!" Kate beamed. "This is so good." "Well, don't eat it every day if you want to keep that girlish figure. Just look at me." We laughed. Clarice isn't heavy as far as I can see. She might not have the figure of a twenty-year-old like Kate, but it ain't bad for fifty. "By the way, Kate, about your contract..." Kate visibly stiffened and I glanced at her. There was some communication between Clarice and Kate that I didn't get. "I just wanted to let you know that everything is fine. I went over the changes with your attorney and there is no problem as far as either of us can see," Clarice concluded. "You've got a contract now?" I asked Kate. "What did you need changed?" "Oh, just some things about my name and stuff," Kate said. "And yes. I guess Clarice is now officially my agent." "Which would ordinarily call for a toast of fine champagne, but I've had Wendy get us a bottle of sparkling Catawba for dessert. We'll save the champagne for when you are both over twenty-one," she said. Wendy poured our juice with the same flourish that she would normally use for a fine bottle of champagne. "Come, come, dear," Clarice said to Wendy. "It's non-alcoholic so Carma won't fire you for having a little toast with us. Pour yourself one." We raised our glasses. "To a firestorm about to break on the art world," Clarice intoned. "To Tony and Katarina!" We touched our glasses together and had a drink. It was really good. "We need to get this for our next party," Kate said. "Definitely have it at the opening." ------- We talked to Melody and Lissa all the way home from the restaurant, Kate holding the phone while we both chattered on about the catalog. "Only two days!" Melody squealed. "Less than forty-eight hours!" "I can barely wait to see you, lover," I exclaimed right back at her. "You are both going to get so licked," Lissa said, using Melody's favorite line. "We're thinking of renting a hotel room at the airport so we don't have to drive back to Lexington." "Ooo, yes!" Kate said. "I miss you so much!" "I hope you don't mind that we're practicing a little," Melody said. "You've probably been practicing with each other from the time Lissa got there," I laughed. "Yeah..." Melody drew it out. "There's this other girl, though, that's hanging around this weekend. She says she wants to come to the airport with us." "What? Who?" I asked. "Hey, Pogo," I heard. "Dumpling? Are you seducing my girlfriends again?" I laughed. "I'm not sure who's the seducer and who's the seducee," Beth laughed. "The end result seems to be about the same, though." "How cool," Kate said. "It will be nice to see you Sunday." "Well, it will just be at the airport," Beth said. "I'm flying back to Nebraska Sunday afternoon about the time your flight is due in. Then I'll see you all on Christmas." "You'd better be a good girl," I said, "if you want Santa to bring these three girls on Christmas." "Oh, I already know what I'm getting for Christmas," Beth said. "You'll love it when you see it." ------- At home, I looked at Kate hungrily. Our little quickie had been intense, but after spending most of the day naked and a good portion of it rubbing each other's and Bree's body we were more than ready to continue. We brushed our teeth and stripped for bed. I was standing out like a flagpole. Kate reached over and stroked me gently. "Can you keep this ready while you give me another minute or two in the bathroom?" she asked. She bent over and kissed the tip of my cock. It gave a jerk in response. "Sure, darling," I said. "I'll just be in bed waiting." She giggled and slapped my butt as I left the bathroom. She closed the door behind me. That wasn't unheard of, but was unusual. All four of us had become so comfortable around each other that we seldom closed the bathroom door, but we all respected each other's privacy, so never questioned it. I pulled back the covers and lay down on the bed. A couple of minutes later, Kate sashayed into the room with a look that just spelled mischief. "Can you just lie still while I do the work for a while?" she asked. I nodded. Kate liked to be in control and I didn't mind at all. Whatever she had in mind, I'd be the beneficiary. She crawled across the bed and perched over me, squatting over my erection. "I was ready for you all through dinner," she continued. "I just want to go straight onto you without touching anything else." This was new. She lowered herself slowly, using her hips to align things without touching my cock with her hands. She sank down slowly. I lay there, as still as I could manage. I felt each slow millimeter as she moved down my shaft. I tried to distract myself so I wouldn't thrust up into her and cum. I could do it with just one move. Especially when she rotated, rubbing her clit on my pubes like that. Alizarin Crimson. Bismuth Yellow. Blue Black. Bright Red. She pulled up, all the way off of me and I gasped as the comparably cold air hit my wet cock. She smiled at me and then grasped my cock, stroking it once. It seemed much more slippery than it should be, but I didn't let that register until she lowered herself again. "Kate! That's not..." "Shh, Tony. I want this," she whispered. I felt resistance against the head of my cock. Kate squinted a bit as she pushed down harder against me and I felt the tissue give way, part, and let the head of my cock slip into her asshole. She stopped and I saw her breasts heave with the deep breaths she was taking. It was so intense that I was sure I would come. I could come just watching her breathe. "You don't have to go any farther, Kitten," I squeaked. Then I felt her move down another fraction. Cadmium Green. Cadmium Lemon. Cadmium Orange. Cadmium Red. "This is why I've been working with you not to move," she whispered. "I want this so much, but I have to be in control. I need you to wait. Can you wait for me, Tony?" My breathing was matching hers. It seemed like neither of us could get enough air in our lungs. "I'm trying," I said. "What are you thinking?" she asked as she slid a little further down my shaft and stopped. "I'm reciting the Winsor-Newton color palette," I said. "Alphabetic or Spectral?" "Alpha." "How far?" "Chrome Green," I gasped as she slid down farther. "Hold out till Indigo," she whispered. Oh God! Cobalt! How many Cobalts are there? Cobalt Blue. Cobalt Chromite. Cobalt Green. "Copper," I whispered as I felt the pressure from her bowels around my cock. It wasn't just tight. This was an experience that couldn't be summed up in a single descriptor like that. Kate was looking into my eyes as she continued to press down. Our breathing was in synch. I was willing to bet our hearts were beating the same rhythm. The intensity was overwhelming. I could see her lips moving with mine. "Gold Ochre. Green Gold," I whispered. "Indanthrene Blue. Indian Red. Indian Yellow," she recited with me. I could feel her butt cheeks beginning to press against my thighs, but there was still more. "Indigo!" we both screamed as she flattened down on me, driving me the last centimeter into her depths. And that was it for both of us. Cum shot out of my cock into her murky depths as she rocked back and howled her orgasm at the ceiling. I watched her inhale as her whine escalated and felt the air forced into my lungs. My last thought was to raise my hands and break her fall so she wouldn't smash her face against mine. Then everything went black. ------- "Tony? Baby? Are you okay?" The voice finally got through to me and I looked up into Kate's hazel eyes. "You got me," I said. "I don't think I've ever passed out during an orgasm." I started to push myself up, but Kate put a hand in the middle of my chest and pushed me back. "You're still inside me," she said softly. I felt her squeeze slightly. I certainly was, and it seemed I had only softened slightly. The tightness of her anus was holding me firmly inside. "I got a sudden rush of adrenalin just as I was falling forward. Thank you for catching me." "You're okay?" "Oh, god yes. Pulse your cock, Tony. You know, like you do sometimes?" I squeezed my cheeks and felt my cock expand slightly. "Oh!" "Why, Kate? Why did you want to do this? Didn't it hurt?" It was great. Intense. It knocked me out. But why would she do this? "You'll laugh," she said. "Actually, go ahead. I think that will make you move in me some more." I did chuckle and it did make my cock move and she caught her breath again. I felt her squeeze back on me again. I didn't think I was coming out of her this time unless I pulled myself free. But why would I do that? "I had a lot of sexual identity issues when I was growing up. Reading science fiction. I thought one day I might choose whether I'd be a boy or a girl. I kept trying them on in my mind and when my boobs started to develop and I got my first period, I realized I wasn't really going to have a choice. But I always wondered what it would be like to be a man," Kate said. "Then I thought, 'What if I turned out to be a gay man? Could I do that?' and all of a sudden I realized that I could find that part out. You know how sensitive we all are when you touch our assholes while we're making love. The past few weeks, I kept thinking about what it would be like. That's why I wanted you to be able to lie still while I did the work. I wanted to know I could get away if it was too much." "It was pretty amazing," I said. Then my cock twitched. "I guess it still is," I laughed and my cock jumped a few times, much to Kate's pleasure. "I don't think I could take a steady diet of it. It was almost too intense. But I'm glad we did it." "I don't want to do it every time," Kate answered. "But maybe sometimes. I'd like it if you could stay inside me until you come again, though." I began rocking my hips into her a little. I definitely wasn't going anywhere. I could feel things beginning to stiffen up again. "Why?" "I want to feel you come. I was too caught up in my own sensations to feel what was happening with you. Oh god! You're getting big. I'm going to be so stretched," she whined. "Are you sure you want this?" I asked. "Yes." I pulled myself forward and we managed to roll over while I was still connected. If she hadn't had such a tight grip on me, I know I would have slid out, but I only came out a couple of inches. As soon as Kate was on her back, she lifted her legs in the air, rolling her anus forward. I took that as my cue and slid fully back in. Fuck! Between the amount of lube she'd put on my cock and her bottom, and the amount of cum I'd already deposited there, it was only the tightness that was uncomfortable. I slid smoothly in and out. And in and out. "I love you, Tony," Kate whispered. "I want you to have all of me. And I want all of you." Kate received all I had to give. ------- We debated for a while over whether to tell Lissa and Melody what we'd done when we talked to them tomorrow. We decided to wait until we were with them. Kate was stretched for a while and leaked all the way to the bathroom. It wasn't the first time we'd cleaned cum out of the carpet. "Melody and Lissa know I wanted to try it. They didn't know when. Lissa wants to try, too, but she's a little scared. She showed me where the lube was. She fantasizes about it in the mornings when you are rubbing up against her. Melody shudders when she thinks about it and her butt cheeks clench. I don't think she wants to go there." After we showered again, we settled in to bed and just held each other. We weren't as dead tired as we'd been the night before, but it had been such a full day for being one we thought would just be a lazy day. "Um ... Kate. About wanting all of me..." I said softly. "Oh darling, don't misunderstand. One thing I've learned over the past three months is that I can give all of me to all three of you. I know you can, too," she said, kissing me lightly, then more insistently. "I'd say the same words to Lissa and to Melody. I love them. I give them all of me. And they give me their all." ------- Saturday morning, I brought Kate coffee in bed and we just cuddled. I had to get up to pack for our trip. Tomorrow. At last we'd be headed out of town, taking the boys to Boston to be with Gramma Lexi, then on to Omaha on Christmas to be with Grandpa Saul and Grandma Deb. The boys had never had a Christmas with grandparents. They were so excited Jack could scarcely keep them contained. Kate planned to drop me off for my shift tonight then go to the dorm to finish packing. She'd pick me up in the morning and we'd drop our car at the house where Jack and the boys would pick us up at nine to head for the airport. I kind of felt bad for Jack. It was the first time that he wouldn't be with his boys on Christmas, but he was enthusiastic about them being with the extended family. Tomorrow afternoon, we'd all be reunited. Yeah, the boys were excited, but Kate and I were ecstatic. Our family would be back together. Kate was beginning to talk of us as family, too. She hadn't wanted to move in with us yet, but she was definitely considering it after our two weeks together. When we got to the encampment, Kate parked the car and came with me to the monitor's tent. I signed in and saw that Kate wasn't leaving. "I get the first shift tonight," she said, smiling at me. "Actually, I traded with Bree because I wanted to get some contiguous hours of sleep before we start wrestling with the boys tomorrow. I'm just going to go back to the dorm and make sure I have everything I need for the break. I can't get in again until the fifteenth of January." Well, that was all right with me. After I was sure everything was ready and that the temperatures weren't expected to get below freezing tonight, we settled into the recliner and pulled the blanket over us. There was a gentle drizzle coming down around us and all the lights we could see had a halo around them. We just dozed, occasionally, sometimes waking to reposition the blanket and sometimes just glancing around, then drifting off again. I felt a gentle shaking of my shoulder and opened my eyes to see Bree staring at us. "Hey lovebirds," she said. "You forgot to set an alarm. Do you want me to leave and you take the rest of the night?" "Ooo no, Bree. I'm sorry I forgot," Kate said. "I have to go finish in my dorm room so we can leave in the morning." She unfolded out of my lap and stood up. I decided to use the can before I settled back in again. When I came back, Kate was still kissing Bree. They broke apart and Kate turned to give me a light goodnight kiss and leave. I sat back in the chair and Bree got on my lap facing my right. I thought that was odd as she'd always faced the other direction. She said she like to be able to see out of the tent if she woke up. "You know," she said as we pulled up the blanket, "I'm not usually that into kissing girls. I mean, just sometimes to break the boredom. But there's something about your girls that makes it hard to resist." "I've noticed that," I said, thinking of Allison. "Are you sure you want to sit this direction?" "MmmHmm. I talked to Amanda after her little session with you. Naughty boy." "I didn't do anything. I just put my arm around her and there was no clothing there. I only touched her side at the waist. Her sweatshirt pulled up when she settled in, is all," I said. "Would you listen to yourself? You're so afraid that someone will be offended if you touched Amanda's bare skin," she laughed quietly. "So you just put your arm around her like this?" She pulled my right hand toward her and laid it on her tummy. Her bare tummy. "Oops. I guess my sweatshirt just rode up a little." "You are a clever critter." "See, no one objects to you touching bare skin." Bree kissed me. It was just a little more than a nighttime kiss. She didn't hold it too long. "We just can't make out," Bree sighed. "But under the blanket, no one will know if your hand moves around a little. And unlike Amanda, I'm not going to tell you to stay away from my bare ... naked ... unfettered breasts." She punctuated her words with little kisses as she leaned back into my arms. "Just stay above my waist. I promised," she said. We made out without kissing. Maybe that was stretching the rules a little, but when Bree's hand found its way inside my shirt and jacket, I had no difficulty letting my own get reacquainted with her breasts and little nipples. ------- It was a quarter till four when Bree's cell phone in her hip pocket vibrated against my cock. We'd fallen asleep with our hands still on each other's chests. The added stimulation of the phone buzzing my cock got me pretty stiff. Bree fished it out, never actually touching me with her hand, but making sure that the buzzing phone moved slowly along my prick. "Didn't touch," she whispered, finally getting the phone out and turning off her alarm. We hugged a few more minutes before she got out of my lap. "I have to use the can before I head out," she said and walked around the tent to the Honey Bucket. "Hey, Tony," Zack said as he came through the entrance of the encampment toward me. "Did Pauley stop out here on his circuit?" "No, Zack," I answered. I haven't seen him. "I thought maybe he was using your toilet. He went on a circuit about fifteen minutes ago. It only takes five." "You want me to go take a look? My friend Bree is in the john. She can watch the tent while I make a circuit." I looked up saw Bree coming back around the tent flap. "It's not really your job, Tony, but I'm not supposed to leave my desk without someone to cover it." "Not a problem," I said. "Bree, could you stand by for a minute? I'm going to walk the circumference once to see if I can spot Pauley. You know the drill. Be ready to dial 911 in an emergency. I'll only be a minute." She pulled the blanket off the chair and draped it around her shoulders for warmth as she nodded to me. "I bet he got a bottle," Zack said. "He's been warned about that, but some guys never learn. Dumbass." I grabbed my yellow vest and flashlight and headed out into the dark. At least the rain had stopped falling but a light fog surrounded us. It was a courtesy to the residents not to have the sport field flood lights on all night, but it left everything outside the pool of light cast by the required lights over the doors of the pavilion in deep shadow. There were street lights outside the sport field, but in the fog they didn't really help illuminate anything beyond the reach of my flashlight. At least they equipped us with a decent night watchman flashlight that sent out a strong blue LED light. I swung the beam back and forth ahead of me, being careful not to shine it directly on the tarp wall of the camp. I turned the corner to the back of the camp and stumbled across Pauley before I saw him. My phone was in my hand before I'd reached out for him and I'd hit 911. It connected. Shit! This was bad. "911, state your emergency please," said the operator. "Operator, this is Tony Ames, student security at Tent City at SCU. We have a man down and need an ambulance. His head is bleeding. I think he's been hit by something. Shit! He's not breathing." "Stay with him, I have an ambulance on the way. An EMT will be on the line in a moment to talk you through assistance." I glanced up, waving my light around in case someone was coming for me, too. I could tell by now that there was no help for Pauley. The side of his head had been bashed in. The beam caught a dark shape a few feet farther away. I focused on it and moved toward it as the EMT came on the line. I didn't hear what he said. I was staring down at four LP gas tanks with hoses fed under the tarp into the boardwalks we'd created out of wooden pallets. "Bree!" I screamed. "Get 911 fire! Zack! Evacuate the city. Everybody out now! Gas!" I was frantically trying to turn off the valves on the tanks one after another as the EMT tried to get my attention on the line. "It's too late for him," I shouted back. "Get the fire department out here. We've got LP gas being pumped in under the tents." I heard a scream and looked up to see a fireball arcing up into the air over the city. "Oh shit!" When it hit the ground inside the encampment exploded. I left the flashlight lying on the ground and ran for the front of the city. I still had my phone against my ear shouting out what I was seeing to the operator who had come back on the line. When I got back to the front, the first people were headed out, some swatting flames off their arms or hitting the ground to roll. That's when I saw her. Wendy was running down through the middle of the encampment toward the exit with her hair and right arm in flames. I grabbed the blanket off Bree's shoulders and ran toward Wendy. I had the blanket over her and scooped her up in my arms heedless of the flames that I'd smothered with my face when I pressed it against her head. I stumbled out of the camp and rolled on the ground with her wrapped in my arms I pulled the blanket away from her face so she could breathe and could already see the reddened flesh. Around me, people were continuing to pour out of the city, knocking over what remained of the outside canvas wall to escape. Those who had flames on them rolled on the ground as fast as they emerged. Coats, blankets, shirts. I stripped off my hoodie and threw it to Bree who wrapped it around the next person out of the camp. There was no sense staying on the line with 911. As I carried Wendy to the monitor's tent, I thumbed Kate's number. "Tony?" "Kate! Get over here as fast as you can. She's hurt. We need you, Kate!" ------- We missed our flight. That was the least of our worries. Kate held my hand as we sat beside Wendy's bed. They'd sedated her so she wouldn't be in pain, but she looked terrible. They couldn't bandage the burns. They coated them with a sticky salve, having shaved the rest of the hair from her head. You could still smell it, though. Her right arm and hand were badly burned as well. I knew that salve. It was smeared all over the right side of my face where I'd pressed it against Wendy to smother the last of the flames. She'd been on her way out to cuddle with me when the explosion hit. As soon as ambulances started arriving, Bree disconnected from 911 and called Melody. Bree was the only one coherent enough to speak. Kate was latched onto me on one side and held Wendy's left hand on the other. She hadn't stopped crying yet. My voice was hoarse from all the screaming I'd done. Reports of casualties were still coming in. A silent news cast was showing pictures on the TV across the room. A terrorist act carried out against the poorest of the poor. There were three dead, including Pauley. Police had tried to interview me on the way to the ambulance. I didn't think I needed to take up space in an ambulance because I wasn't hurt, but they insisted. I made sure they took my fingerprints because I'd touched the canisters of LP gas when I shut them off. I wasn't aware of the pain in my face until we left in the ambulance. They had a lot of people to interview. They talked to Bree. They talked to Zack. They told me it could have been much worse if I hadn't shut the tanks off. Apparently I forced the guy to throw his Molotov cocktail before the space beneath the pallets was fully flooded with gas when I screamed. Wendy happened to get splashed with the flaming gasoline. The tents were all treated with fire retardant, but the pallets we'd so carefully laid out to keep them off the wet ground turned the encampment into a tinderbox. A woman who couldn't get out of her tent died of smoke inhalation. An old man had a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital. Lots of people had burns. Everyone lost something—or everything. The story continued to unfold over the next few days. We convinced Melody and Lissa not to come back, but to fly directly to Omaha and meet us there on Thursday. ------- "Lovers," I croaked out on Sunday night. "We can't leave Wendy like this. The doctors say she'll be released in a day or two. As bad as they look, the burns are mostly first degree with a few second degree burns. They'll heal, but she'll be in a lot of pain. And now she has nowhere to go." "The only reason they're not worse is because of what you did, Tony," Kate said. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks. "The thing is," I continued, "we all need to be together. I mean everybody. As soon as we can talk to her tomorrow, I'm going to ask Wendy to come to Omaha with us. You should bring Lexi. I'm going to ask Jack to come, too." I looked up at Bree. "And Bree," I said. "We need to be together for Christmas." ------- Chapter 34 The days were a blur of confusion and if not for Kate and Bree I wouldn't be able to remember any of it. Police. Doctors. Reporters. Some of this probably isn't in the right order, but it's what I remember. Neither Kate nor I would leave Wendy. Bree slipped in and out to get us food and fresh clothes. Word spread around the hospital that I was the one who called 911 and alerted the camp before the explosion and they cut me a little slack. Officially, I think they admitted me instead of treating and releasing as they did several others. They had my college health insurance info and I didn't really care if it didn't cover everything. There was a second bed in Wendy's room and we were told it was mine. I don't remember if I ever slept in it. We ignored everything and everyone as much as possible until Wendy and I were released on Tuesday. There was a storm brewing outside. Bree brought the car to the front entrance, not realizing what was waiting for us as we walked out. A reporter pushed a microphone at us. "Miss Martin, can you comment on the arrest of your father?" "Was this a personal attack on you?" shouted another. "Will you be pressing charges for enslavement?" Wendy's mouth fell open in terror at the people and I caught her as she fainted. "Get the fuck out of our way," Kate growled at the reporters. That stuck in my memory. I'd never heard Kate so angry. "Wait! That's Tony Ames. Did you recognize the attacker?" someone called as I carried Wendy to Bree's car and we got in. "Do you have a relationship with his daughter?" "What the hell is going on?" I yelled at Bree when we got underway. "It was just on the news," Bree said. She was shaking tears out of her eyes so she could drive. Kate reached over to touch her. "They arrested Wendy's father. Police went to tell him about Wendy and discovered he had suspicious burns on his hand and arm. They got search warrants and found evidence that he'd spray-painted the gas tanks in his garage." The son-of-a-bitch. ------- "They're still asleep.—No.—I was so scared.—What would I do?—No. We'll be there in two days.—I need you to hold me.—I don't know if I can take this." It took me a minute to realize that Kate's voice was coming from behind me as she whispered into the phone. That meant that the hand clutching mine and the skin against my side must belong to Wendy. "I love you.—I can't wait to see you." Kate disconnected. I looked up at her as she moved back into the bed and reached my hand toward her. I was feeling okay, though my face stung like hell. The salve the hospital had given us numbed the area slightly. The good thing about having been burned and using the treatment was that I could tell when Wendy was going to need more on her burns. She wouldn't have told us. "Kitten, I love you." "You break my heart, Tony. What if we'd lost you? Either of you," she whispered. "It will be okay. We survived. Please don't pull away, Kate. We need you. I love you." I think I got through to her. She slid up next to me and draped her leg across mine as she snuggled against my left side. "I love you, Tony. I love you." From the other side, I felt Wendy squeeze my hand, almost painfully. I got her message. ------- Clarice went straight to work on Tuesday, commandeering my cell phone that was ringing non-stop and giving me a new, pay-as-you-go phone that let me stay in touch with my family. She met with our lawyer and they prepared a statement that satisfied the press hounds for a day. Some school official joined them. They said generally that we had no knowledge of the arrest or the involvement of Wendy's father. Wendy and I were long-time friends and she was one of several models that I used in my paintings, referring reporters to the Rhapsody Suite at PCAD. She also affirmed that I had only discovered recently that Wendy was living at Tent City where I was one of the student security liaisons. Clarice was brilliant. She deflected all the attention away from us individually and talked about how the students at SCU rallied together to support the homeless and that several former residents had been moved temporarily into dormitories until their housing situation had been resolved. She was able to turn the briefing over to the school official who completely re-routed the conversation away from Wendy or me. ------- "So how many sleeping spaces will we need?" Mom asked on the phone. "Um ... well, Mom ... there's a total of eleven of us coming when Sam gets there." It had taken some convincing, but Sam had finally agreed to fly out Saturday and join us for Christmas. "Tony Ames, you know very well what I'm asking," Mom said. "We'll put Jack and the boys in your room. You, Lissa, Melody, and I suppose Kate will share the guest room. I can put Bree, Wendy, and Lexi in the sewing room." "Mom ... I don't think Wendy will sleep anywhere without either Kate or me next to her," I said. Wendy hadn't said much yet. I didn't ask her to come to Omaha with us, I told her. She just nodded her head. I know that was against our principle of not ordering her around, but neither Kate nor I could leave her alone in Seattle. I wasn't sure but what she'd hurt herself. She was overwhelmed by guilt. "Well, it's not fair to leave Bree with Lexi. Lexi gets the sewing room and you'll have to figure out how to sleep onetwothree ... six in the guest room. That's your problem. Sam can have the den when he gets here." "Mom?" "If Beth wants to stay over..." "Mom!" "Yes, Tony." "I love you." ------- Grandpa Ames started it. I was maybe three or four. Although according to the family, it was me who started it. I'd come into a room and pull at Mom's skirt or say, "Daddaddad," until I got attention. When someone finally asked me what, I'd just say "I love you." I don't remember that part. What I remember is playing out in the fields in the middle of summer, hiding in the timothy that was almost taller than I was. I tied bunches of the tall grass into knots making foot-traps in case someone was following me. I pounced on imaginary dragons and rode imaginary horses. Then I'd hear grandpa's piercing whistle. One of the first things I learned when I was big enough to leave the yard was that no matter where I was, if I heard grandpa's whistle I had to come running. It was absolute. I ran to the house as fast as my little legs would carry me, sometimes tripping on my own foot-traps on the way. I'd rush up to grandpa on the porch and he'd lean down so his face was the same height as mine. "I love you," he'd say. Mom and Dad did it, too. Nobody abused it. I never faltered in coming when they called because sometimes it was for dinner or to go to town or because it was bedtime. But sometimes, it was just to say, "I love you." I missed Grandpa Ames. ------- Sam picked up my keys from Bree and went to the hospital parking lot to get my car. He brought it to the house at midnight on Wednesday and took Wendy, Kate, Bree, and me to the airport. We checked in early and went through security where reporters couldn't follow. Lissa had a membership in one of the airline member clubs and arranged for us to be in a comfortable place for a few hours. We just huddled together in a corner and slept. Jack and the boys arrived about eight. Our plane took off at ten. I wasn't sure yet where we'd all fit, but Mom and Dad insisted they were prepared for us. No matter how old you get, or how much responsibility you have, sometimes you just need parents to take care of you. ------- We rented a fifteen passenger van in Omaha. Well, that is to say that Jack rented it and signed Lexi and Lissa as drivers. You know that really sucks? None of the rest of us in the family is old enough to rent a car or be a designated driver. Well, Bree and Wendy could, but it would cost extra. Our reunion with Melody and Lissa was way past joyous. It was almost desperate. Kate and I grabbed them and held them so hard we were crushed together and they held us just as tightly. When we looked around, the boys were clinging to Melody's and Lissa's legs and Lexi was hugging Jack. We opened our embrace wide enough to bring Bree and Wendy into it, still being careful of Wendy's burns. Yeah, and there wasn't a dry eye, but you expected that. The boys went absolutely wild when we went outside. It was snowing, adding to the inch or so that was on the ground. The rental company brought the van around for us. I rode shotgun as Jack drove so I could give him directions. I looked back at the family behind me. Melody and Bree rode on either side of Drew's car seat in the first row. Lissa and Lexi sat on either side of Damon's car seat in the second row. Kate and Wendy sat together in the fourth row. We had the last row of seats and the limited space behind it packed with our luggage. Lexi, Lissa, and Melody had brought huge bags of presents with them and the boys kept trying to guess what was in them. I knew that Kate's second suitcase was pretty full of things, too. The thing looked like a real bus when I first saw it pull up, but now that it was full, it didn't seem so big. I sighed. I never planned ahead much for Christmas. I depended more on inspiration than on planning. Now I was counting up how many people there were going to be at our house on Christmas morning. I had a lot of shopping to do! It was a light snowfall, so the drive was pleasant and not too treacherous. I was still glad Jack was driving, though. It was Lexi who started singing "Jingle Bells" and before long we were all singing and going from one song to the next as we went "Over the River and Through the Woods." I noticed that even Wendy smiled a little and was moving her lips. ------- Mom and Dad were smiling and waiting on the porch for us when we pulled the bus into the driveway. I was delighted to see Beth with them. What a different Christmas it was going to be this year than last. Last year, I'd come home from college depressed and determined I wasn't going back. I'd even packed my dorm room and shipped my things home by UPS. Beth hadn't come home for Christmas and I spent the entire break alone, filling out transfer applications. When ten of us piled out of the van, though, the party started. ------- "Wendy, let me take a look at your burn, sweetheart," Mom said. "I'll bet you haven't had any salve put on it since you left Seattle this morning, have you? Come with me and we'll take care of things." She looked a little panicked for a moment, but Kate just went with them and didn't make a big deal out of it. She asked Mom if she had any special techniques for applying things so it didn't hurt so much and they were all chatting away as Mom took them to the upstairs bath. "Hi. You must be Bree," Beth said walking right up to the redhead. "You're the only one I haven't met before. I'm Beth." "Hi, Beth. I've heard Tony and the others talk about you. It's nice to meet you." "You're around them all the time," Beth said, casting an evil eye at me. "I want to know all about it. Give me the scoop." "Dumpling, you can't go gossiping about us like that," I laughed. "But Tony! I haven't seen you since Labor Day. All kinds of things might have happened since then." "Come on, you guys," Melody said. "You were with us last weekend, Beth. Help get all our crap to wherever we're sleeping and we'll gossip where our parents can't hear us." "Oh, uh ... this way," I said. "Jack, you and the boys get my room." We hauled the ton of luggage up the stairs and I showed them my room. Mom had laid sleeping bags out for the boys. "I'll empty a couple of drawers for you as soon as I get the rest of us settled." I took Lexi's bags to the sewing room and saw that Mom had moved a sofa-bed into the room. "Oh, this looks comfy," Lexi said. "And look at all these dolls!" Long-legged ragdolls that Mom called "Gimps" were the main craft that she sewed. I swear, every baby in the county grew up with one of them. Mine was sitting on my dresser. We pushed the door of the guestroom open and could barely get inside. The bed was gone. Well, let's say the bedframe was gone. In its place, two queen-sized mattresses occupied most of the floor-space. Both beds were made up and there were about a hundred pillows piled up against the wall. I don't know where Mom got all the bedding. "Ooo! Slumber party!" Beth screamed. "Can I stay over?" I looked at Melody and Lissa. Their eyes were wide open and smiles were on their faces. I glanced over at Bree and saw that she was scarcely containing her laughter. "I don't see why not," I finally said. "No one's going to get any sleep tonight anyway. Better go get your stuff." Beth ran up and kissed me, then Melody and Lissa. "Be right back!" she announced and bolted. We looked at each other and sighed. "Um ... I think I'll go see if I can help your mom, Tony," Bree said. She looked at the three of us. "You guys should have at least a little alone time before the rest of us camp out next to you." She finally lost it and laughed. We all had to join her. When she left the room, she closed the door tightly. I fell into the arms of my lovers and onto the mattresses. "Oh, I've missed you so much, darling!" Melody cried into my mouth as she kissed me. Lissa pushed at her lips with her own until we were all three sharing our kiss. "You can't imagine," I said. "I've been holding so much inside." "You had Kate," Lissa said. "Oh loves. You know how much I love Kate. She fills a part of my soul I didn't even know existed. But that doesn't stop me from aching when I'm away from you," I said. "And the past few days have been ... stressful. We haven't ... We couldn't..." "We need Kate," Melody said, starting to stand up. I pulled her back down. "You can't," I said. "I'll go when we're ready, but one of us has to be with Wendy. I worry about her constantly. I honestly think she might hurt herself if she was alone." "She's never going to be alone in this house," Lissa said. "But I understand." Melody already had my zipper down and was fishing in my pants. She caught a big fish for such a small pond. Before I knew it, warm lips had wrapped around my shaft. We kissed. We petted. We made love. We were fast. Before we'd hardly begun, we were all three naked and Lissa was riding my mouth while Melody rode my cock. We came, one at a time, but in rapid sequence, each of us setting off the other. My life felt complete again. ------- When I emerged from the playroom, as we dubbed the guestroom, I found Bree, Beth, Kate, and Wendy in the living room with the boys. Jack and Dad were in the Den and Lexi and Mom were in the kitchen. Mom has one credo to live by: If there are guests, feed them. The house smelled divine. I leaned over Kate's shoulder and kissed her tenderly. After the first kiss, she licked my lips and all the area around them. "Lissa," she breathed. "They're waiting for you," I whispered. Kate stood up and before Wendy could react, I slipped over the back of the couch and plopped down on her left. She grabbed my hand and clutched it tightly. I leaned over and kissed the left side of her mouth. The right side was still tender, but there were no blisters. There were a few blisters higher on her cheek and the temple where her hair had burned. Wendy sighed and relaxed beside me, not letting go of my hand. "So did Bree fill you in on all the gossip?" I asked Beth. Beth clamped her mouth over mine in a very hard kiss. I wouldn't have called it passionate or loving. It was a mashing of mouths that pushed my head back into the cushions. "You are a hero," she said. "I knew there was a fire but I had to leave before we found out all the details. I didn't know the whole story." "I didn't really do anything but scream like a little girl," I laughed. "No!" Wendy exclaimed. "You are a hero! You're my hero." It was more words than I'd heard Wendy speak at one time since the fire. Mostly she'd just nodded her head or answered questions in monosyllables. It was an important moment. She looked at me as if I'd just saved the world. I guess maybe I did save her world. "Tiger, I hope I can always be your hero. There's nothing I'd like better," I said. She leaned against me. She always stayed on my right because her left side was uninjured. We had to be careful around her right arm and the right side of her face. "I'm not a tiger anymore," she said. "I don't have any ... fur." I leaned in and whispered to her. "I haven't been able to for a while," she said, dropping her head down. "Maybe we can get Melody to dye it," I suggested. Wendy actually giggled. Who knows? Maybe Melody could dye her pubic hair. ------- Dinner was a big affair. There were thirteen of us at the table. We talked. We joked. We laughed. We talked about how good the food was. "Kiss the cook!" I yelled, standing up. Melody, Lissa, Kate, and the boys were out of their seats in an instant. When they realized we were attacking Mom, Jack, Bree, Wendy, Lexi, Beth, and Dad all got up to take their turns. When they returned to their seats and found us sitting in them, though, the boys started giggling hysterically. This time we managed to get Drew settled down before he threw up. Damon made a big show of pretending to take Grandpa Saul's wine and sip it. "A very good vintage," he said. "Napa Valley Cabernet, 2007." We all started laughing again. The thing was, he was right! ------- I couldn't really call bedtime an ordeal. After all, I was sleeping in a big bed with six beautiful women. I'd stopped in my room, now Jack's, after I'd read to the boys and got a pair of pajamas out of my bottom drawer. I'd cleared the top two drawers for Jack and the boys to use. I got them tucked in while Jack had a nightcap with Mom and Dad and Lexi. Us "kids" started getting ready for bed. This was going to be a real experience. Six women and a guy sharing a bathroom. "Um ... ladies?" I ventured at one point. All of them were in some stage of undress and running down the hall in panties and bra or a t-shirt back and forth from the bathroom. "You know this isn't like home. We've got the boys with us. And Jack and Lexi and my folks. Maybe we shouldn't be running around the house half naked." I looked at Melody standing in front of me without a stitch of clothing on. "Or all naked," I concluded lamely. "What are we going to do?" Lissa asked. "You told us to bring pajamas, but this is what we've got." "Don't any of you have robes?" "You mean like this?" Bree asked. She spun slowly modeling a chemise that barely covered her buns, which didn't make a difference since it was see-through. Beth wore a slinky nightgown that fell to about mid-thigh. Melody—now that she was putting something on—was pulling on a short Boston Celtics t-shirt that matched the one Lissa was wearing. Kate and Wendy were wearing two of my white painting smock shirts that I'd picked up at the second-hand store. I had a feeling there was nothing on under them. I sighed. I had on a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants that I'd had in junior high school and they came up to mid-calf. After we'd all taken a moment to look at each other, we all broke out laughing. I went to my room and brought my bathrobe, careful not to disturb the munchkins who were just off to sleep. I brought it into our room and hung it by the door. "One at a time until further notice," I said. Then I broke out laughing and tumbled into bed. Eventually, we settled in, after sitting around in a circle talking about what had happened in the past few weeks. It really was like a girls' slumber party. I felt a little out of place, but with these six sitting around me and abandoning all pretense of modesty, I wouldn't have traded places for anything. Melody plopped down in the middle, right on the crack between the mattresses, but she didn't seem to mind as she pulled blankets from both beds over her. "Someone needs to keep me warm!" she said. I was on her left and Kate was on her right before the lights were out. Wendy was behind Kate as if the two girls were stuck together. Beth held back to give Lissa a chance to get under the covers next to me and then she sandwiched Lissa between us. Bree started to get in bed next to Wendy. I wasn't sure what happened, but I heard Bree's whisper. "Don't worry, Tiger," she said. "I'll be careful not to bump. If you need more room, just give me a shove, okay?" "Thank you, Bree," Wendy's small voice whispered. Nothing stays the same through a night when you've just been reunited with your lovers, no matter how many people are in the bed with you. Sometime during the night, Kate and I traded places. I spooned behind Melody and felt Wendy wrap an arm around me. An hour before dawn, apparently Melody started to feel my presence and managed to swap with Lissa so she was between Kate and Beth. ------- When I woke up, it was to the delightful and sorely missed feeling of my cock wedged between Lissa's butt cheeks. We tried to be very quiet about what was happening, but both of us had our eyes riveted on Kate and Melody as they slowly and quietly moved against each other. Lissa lifted her leg slightly and I felt a hand on my cock, guiding me to her entrance. It took a moment to realize the hand was coming from behind me. I turned my head slightly and Wendy kissed my cheek then settled down behind me with her hand on my hip as I slowly pumped into Lissa. I was going to have to think about that later. Just now, though, I had other things on my mind. Oh, what a wonderful way to wake up on the morning before Christmas Eve. After we'd basked in the afterglow for a while, Lissa turned her head toward me and we kissed. "Coffee?" she asked. Wendy bolted upright behind me and was out of the room before I could respond. I turned toward the empty spot and saw Bree just waking up. I crawled out of bed and left the room to find Wendy. It wasn't difficult. She was in the kitchen figuring out Mom's old fashioned coffee maker. "Not quite like at home, is it, Tiger?" I asked quietly. I slipped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. As long as I kept away from the right side of her face and the outside of her right arm, I wasn't causing her any pain. I had to be a little careful about the right side of my own face as I leaned into her. My burns were more healed than most of hers, but my ear hurt. Apparently I managed to break the cartilage in the top of my ear when I smashed my face against her trying to put out the fire. That was more tender than the burned skin. "I'll get coffee, Tony," she said in a breathless voice. "Wendy, you are part of my family, not a servant," I said softly. The dam finally broke. Tears flooded from Wendy's eyes and she spun in my arms and pressed her face into my chest as she cried. "I can't be family," she said. "I'll hurt you. I killed them. They took me in and I killed them," she sobbed. I backed into a kitchen chair and sat down, pulling Wendy down on my lap. "You didn't kill anyone, Wendy," I said slowly and deliberately. "A sick man who hurt you for years decided to hurt other people, too. It's not your fault, Tiger. You are part of our family now and we will not let you blame yourself for what is not your fault." She sobbed some more but held on tighter. "Listen to me, Wendy," I said as I turned her to face me. I looked into her eyes. "It wasn't your fault." Tears were running down my cheeks, too. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Mom standing over us. She disappeared for a minute and was back before Wendy's tears had fully run their course. Wendy looked up as Mom pulled up a chair in front of us. Mom had the burn salve. "You must just be aching to wash your faces, I'll bet," Mom chatted softly. "It won't be long, children." She smoothed some of the salve on my cheek then started applying it to Wendy's. She didn't bother to wipe away anyone's tears. She just kept talking to us. "My poor babies. Mommy will take care of your hurts. I have some aloe that I'm adding to your salve. It will take away the sting and stop it from scarring." Once she'd finished Wendy's face and scalp, she calmly unbuttoned the smock shirt and pulled it off Wendy's right shoulder and arm. That exposed her right breast, but I just pulled the other side of the shirt over and held it in front of her while Mom worked the salve into her arm. "You've such beautiful skin, Wendy-bird. We don't want it to scar." She was so soft and gentle as she used the nickname from Peter Pan to comfort Wendy. When she'd finished with the salve, she pulled the shirt back on and buttoned it up. "Can I be a Tiger and a Wendy-bird at the same time?" Wendy asked so quietly that I almost couldn't hear her. "Of course, you can, sweetheart," Mom whispered. "You're part of our family and you can be anything you want to be. Would you like to learn how to work my old-fashioned coffeepot?" I love my mom. ------- The Christmas tree was spectacular. Dad brought in the biggest tree he could fit in the old farmhouse. The downstairs had twelve-foot ceilings, so you can imagine the size of the tree. We spent the entire day decorating it, putting up lights, and making ornaments. Mom and Lexi supervised the boys as they strung popcorn and cranberries with a needle and thread. The strands only ended up being about three feet long, but the boys thought they were the coolest thing in the world. When the tree was decorated and we were all sitting around drinking hot chocolate and listening to Andre Bocelli singing carols on the stereo, Lexi disappeared and a moment later came down with her arms filled with Christmas presents which she put under the tree. "Are those from Santa?" Damon asked. I'm sure he'd heard rumors from his classmates in second grade that there wasn't a real Santa Claus, but was still trying to believe. "Oh no, honey!" Lexi exclaimed. "These are from Grandma Lexi. Santa doesn't make his delivery until little boys are fast asleep on Christmas Eve. You'll see!" By the time Lexi was finished putting things under the tree, Mom had started bringing stuff in. Kate, Melody, and Lissa had disappeared but arrived shortly with a few more boxes, gaily wrapped for the holiday. "Tony? Could I talk to you for a minute?" Jack asked quietly. I got up and followed him into the den. Dad came with us. "Maybe this is just a guy thing," Jack said. "I have presents for the boys, but I hadn't been planning on presents for so many people. I don't even know what's appropriate to give to all your women. Can you help me out here?" "I'm with Jack, Tony," Dad said. "I've got presents for you and your mom, but have no idea what's even appropriate for everyone else. Your mom doesn't have that problem. She's been cooking for the past month and everyone is getting cookies and candy. Here it is with tomorrow being Christmas Eve and we don't have much time to shop." "I get it," I said. "You want me to pick out something, right?" "Well..." Dad said. "Actually, I was thinking about that. There is a present that everyone could use, but I'm a bit worried about how much it would cost. Maybe if the guys split the cost, it would be okay." As soon as I told them my idea, Dad and Jack both popped for $150 and Dad said he'd cover Sam's share. I did some quick calculations and decided on my course of action. ------- "Come on, Bree," I urged. "You want to meet your dad at the airport, don't you?" "Of course! But Tony, it's only ten and his flight doesn't get in until almost three," the redhead said. "Bree," Melody whispered. "Can't you tell when Tony is trying to get you alone for a while?" She actually giggled. I looked nonchalant. I'd already cleared the general idea with Melody, so she was happy to help me get Bree out of the house for the day. Bree reddened. "Oh. Uh ... okay?" "Okay, let's get going," I said. Bree grabbed her coat and gloves and followed me to Dad's car. I was glad that I couldn't drive the van. Dad's car wouldn't cost me fifty dollars in gas to get to Omaha and back. "What's this about, Tony?" Bree asked when we were on the road. "It's Christmas Eve, Bree." "Yeah?" "I have to do my Christmas shopping." "You haven't gone Christmas shopping yet?" she exclaimed in disbelief. "I never go Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve," I explained. "How can you stand it?" Bree said. "I got your present a month ago." She clapped her hand over her mouth. "See? No one can badger me about what I got them until Christmas because I haven't gotten anything yet. What did you get me?" "What makes you think I got you anything? I only brought a gift for Melody," she sniffed. "Really? I didn't see you put any packages under the tree." "Maybe it won't fit." "Well, if not, I suppose she could always return it," I laughed. "That's not what I meant!" Bree playfully slapped my shoulder. After we pulled into the shopping center and parked, I reached over and kissed Bree softly. She melted under my touch. "Thank you for coming to Nebraska to share Christmas with us, Bree," I said. She sighed. I took her hand as we walked inside. She looked at me a little strangely and smiled. "What's your brilliant idea?" she asked. "Well, with everyone dressed or undressed the way they are when we sleep, I was thinking that Christmas morning is going to be pretty interesting. Not sure we want to go there. So, I was thinking that I should get everyone a robe. I just need a little advice about what women of various ages, heights, and builds might find appropriate," I said. "Robes for everyone will cost a fortune!" Bree exclaimed. "They can cost, like, anywhere from fifty to two hundred dollars." "We're going to go for kind of the lower end of that range, but I still want good robes and I have some ... uh ... backers," I said. "That's why we're headed for Younkers. I just hope they have enough of them." Shopping with Bree was fun. She modeled several of the robes for me and we added up the number that we needed of ladies, the number of men, and the number of little boys. "Oh, and Beth will be over, so I'd better get one for her, too," I said. The total came to $650. The sales clerk was amused by us and we were happy and friendly, wishing her a Merry Christmas. We were about six steps away when Bree peeled off and left me standing, waving our saleslady over to her. There was a sale table with scarves on it. "Tony! Come look at these," Bree commanded. They were beautiful silk scarves and had been marked down to twelve dollars each. "They're nice, but they won't be very warm." "I wasn't thinking warmth. I was thinking of Wendy," Bree said. "She's embarrassed about having her head shaved and the burns on the side of her face. Look." Bree quickly wrapped the scarf around her head in a kind of turban wrap. It really looked good." "Do you think she'd wear it?" I asked. "She will if all the girls are wearing them," Bree smiled. She grabbed as many of the scarves in different designs and patterns as she could carry and presented the saleslady with her credit card and a very Merry Christmas sale. In spite of the fact that I don't go to a store before Christmas Eve, I had been on-line. We went to the jewelry department and I selected three pair of earrings for Kate, Lissa, and Melody. I chose their birthstones dangling from a short hoop. Then we hit a toy store and I went way overboard buying things for Damon and Drew. But really, what kid doesn't need a steam shovel that really picks up dirt? We went to the food court and had a bite to eat and sat talking about our childhoods and life in Nebraska until it was time to go to the airport. Sam's flight was on time and Bree rushed into her father's arms. "Thanks for coming out to pick me up," Sam said to me. "I could have rented a car." "And miss that greeting when you got off the plane?" I asked. "Be serious, Coach!" We laughed and headed for the car. "You what?" I heard a voice behind me yell. "How am I supposed to get there? I don't know where the hell you live!—Here?" I turned around and saw a frantic Allison looking around the airport. Her eyes suddenly lit on the three of us and she screamed, rushing at us. "Tony!" I was nearly crushed in the arms of a squealing girl. "Allison? What are you doing here?" "My girlfriend invited me for Christmas and as soon as I get off the plane she calls to tell me her truck is stuck and she can't pick me up," Allison laughed. "I don't suppose you could give me a ride to this town named Fremont, could you?" "This sounds like a set-up to me," I said. I hugged Allison again. "I was so afraid I'd miss you!" "Don't worry," Bree said. "I was just about to exercise a delaying tactic to make sure he didn't get out of the airport too quickly." "You knew?" I asked. "Beth told me last night. She knew the flight schedules and decided to surprise both of you." "Merry Christmas, Allie!" "Merry Christmas, Tony. And thank you, Bree," Allison beamed. "Oh ... uh ... Hi, Coach," she said to Sam. "It's nice to see you again, Allison," Sam said. We were a damn happy crew by the time we got to Fremont. ------- Chapter 35 The first topic of discussion over our sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner was which church would have the best Christmas Day service on Sunday morning. We finally all agreed that Rev. Larkin's old church, the Lutheran church on the edge of town, was going to be our choice, mostly since they had an eleven o'clock service and no one wanted to get up and dressed before then. Beth's parents, Dot and David, joined us for dinner. David borrowed a banquet table and folding chairs from the local Kiwanis Club so we'd have room for everyone, including Beth's sister, Brenda. Brenda is four years older than we are and lives in Iowa. Her boyfriend, Scott, was supposed to drive in from St. Louis Sunday afternoon but hadn't arrived yet. That put seventeen at our table for Christmas Eve dinner. We didn't play "kiss the cook." In our house, the big meal is on Christmas Eve. We don't have a special "Christmas Dinner." Mom figured out a long time ago that she didn't want to cook and clean on Christmas. So, we have some traditions for Christmas meals that are pretty simple and depend a lot on the leftovers from Christmas Eve. While Bree and I were in Omaha doing Christmas shopping and airport transportation, everyone else had also been busy. Mom and Dot had managed to organize everyone into teams with some cooking at Beth's house and some at ours. Dad and Jack had charge of the boys, who had built seven snowmen in the back yard, all about two feet high since that was all the snow we had. But the boys were so proud. They'd named each snowperson after someone in their family. Drew, Damon, Daddy, Mommy, Tony, Meddy, Kate. "Tony, can you get more snow?" Damon asked me. "We didn't make Grandpa Saul or Grandma Deb or Gramma Lexi." I laughed, but I wasn't into explaining that we don't make the snow. Maybe Santa would bring some when he came tonight. When we all finished the ham, turkey, pot roast, macaroni and cheese, salads, vegetables, potatoes, and six pies, we cleaned up the dining room and kitchen. With all of us helping, we had more trouble keeping out of each other's way than cleaning up. We retired to the living room and it seemed like the packages under the tree had multiplied. They took up half the living room. We all sat around and I asked Dad if I could borrow his recliner next to the fireplace. I had two books with me and called the boys to sit in my lap. All of us of the middle generation gathered around and I was happy to see Wendy—wearing a little knit cap—crawl into her place behind Drew and hug me as I began reading The Berenstain Bears Save Christmas. When that was done, I pulled out a tattered copy of The Night Before Christmas. I think this book was one Mom had as a little girl. It was old the first time she read it to me. "Now," I said, "you all know the presents under the Christmas tree are gifts we give each other, right?" Drew and Damon gave a nod. Melody handed me my laptop open to the screen that I'd kept active. "Well, Santa comes on Christmas Eve, like the story said. According to NORAD, he's currently in Greenland and headed our way. That means we'd better get to bed so we're sound asleep when he gets here." "But Tony," Damon asked, "where will Santa put presents. The tree is full." "He should go to someone else's house," Drew said. "Drew, that's a wonderful idea," I said. "But even though he goes to all the houses he can, he still has something left for you. And in our house in Nebraska, Santa leaves his gifts in our stockings." "In our socks?" Drew asked. "Sort of. I think Grandma Deb has something for you." Mom had been scrambling. As the guest list changed, she kept disappearing into her sewing room. Allison was the last surprise guest and Mom had left cleaning the kitchen to us as she ran once more to her sewing room. Now she brought out a laundry basket filled with Christmas stockings. Each one had a person's name embroidered on it and Mom handed them out to each of our guests. Dad knew, of course, so he'd strung a clothesline across the room in front of the fireplace. When you first looked at it, you could mistake it for just another garland since it had been decorated as much as everything else in the house. I took the boys with me and held Damon while Jack held Drew as they hung their stockings from the clothes line right in the middle. All the other positions were haphazard. When we were done, there were stockings hung all the way across the room. "Now, you've got to sleep fast so it will be morning," I said. "Get your teeth brushed and let's get you to bed." The boys scrambled. I turned around and my family—my chosen family—were gathered around me to give me a kiss. Kate just lightly brushed my lips with hers and whispered, "Merry Christmas, lover." Lissa kissed me deeply and brushed her cheek against mine. "My boys are so lucky to have two wonderful dads," she said. Melody almost crushed my lips beneath hers. She didn't say anything, but clung to me, holding me tightly. I knew she must be feeling the loss of her father especially hard right now. What surprised me though was that Wendy was across the room cuddled with my mom and dad on the sofa. Mom was holding her and rocking her back and forth. I was so glad we brought Wendy with us. ------- The filling of Christmas stockings is a mystical event. I've never figured out how it works, even after I started putting things in my parents' stockings. We never seem to run into each other. Yet during the course of the night, the stockings get fuller and fuller. There are always the normal things—an orange, nuts, a chocolate bar, and pack of gum. Then there are the comic gifts like an egg of Silly Putty or an interlinking puzzle made out of two bent nails. Then there are sometimes precious items. The year after Grandpa Ames died, I got a tiny framed picture in my stocking. It was of Grandpa holding me as a baby in front of the old Oliver tractor. It had been on his nightstand as long as I could remember. You never knew what might come up in the precious gifts category. ------- I slipped out of bed at about three in the morning. It wasn't an easy task. There were seven girls in my bed and two of them were lying pretty much on top of me. One of those girls got up with me. "You do the ones for the old folks and the boys," Bree whispered. "I'll get this room taken care of." I nodded and we started laying out all the robes and scarves in the hallway. I'd printed nametags before we went to bed. I took Jack's and the boys' robes into their room first and couldn't help but stand and stare at the sleeping kids for a minute. I had kids and it was our first Christmas together. I almost lost it. I quickly backed out of the room and grabbed Mom and Dad's robe and Mom's scarf and headed for their room. I left them at the foot of their bed and backed out. Lexi was on the far end of the hall in what was now Mom's sewing room. I just opened the door slightly and slipped the scarf and robe inside her door. There was noise coming from the den. I thought I heard voices. I couldn't quite make it out. I debated for a minute about what to do and decided I had to find out if he was up and talking to someone or what. I looked in and saw the TV was on playing It's a Wonderful Life. Sam was stretched out on the sofa, snoring a little. I went in and laid his robe on the arm of the sofa. When I heard Zuzu say "an angel got his wings," I clicked the remote and turned the TV off. I made one last stop in the living room and left gifts in the boys' stockings and in my girlfriends'. I noticed that all the stockings looked pretty full. When I got back to our room, Bree had just finished laying out all the robes at the foot of the two mattresses. "What about Allison?" I asked, suddenly realizing that there was one more girl than I planned for. "I slipped an extra robe into your pile before the clerk rang them up," Bree giggled. I bent down and kissed her. As was typical, everyone had rolled to the inside when Bree and I had slipped out. "Opposite ends, I think," I whispered. She nodded and kissed me softly one more time. "G'night," she whispered. I went right and she went left. I was pleased to find I was slipping in behind Beth. ------- I'm not even sure if I'd really slept yet when my phone vibrated against my butt where I'd stashed it. It was six in the morning. My morning wood was poking Beth in the butt through my sweats. I nearly panicked as I extricated myself. Beth rolled with me as I got out of bed and pulled me back toward her. "I didn't mind," she whispered. "Are you making scones?" "Yes. It'll be about an hour," I said. "If anybody gets up, I'll keep them occupied," she said. Then she kissed me. "Merry Christmas, Pogo" she whispered. She rolled back toward Allison and put her arm over our sleeping friend. I grabbed my robe and took it with me to the kitchen, but didn't bother putting it on. I was going to be cooking and my sweatpants and t-shirt would be enough. I got out the packages of State Fair Scone mix that I'd brought with me from Seattle and a mixing bowl. A dozen scones in a batch. I decided to go ahead and make all four packages. People would be eating these all day long. I was kneading the dough when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Need any help?" Mom asked. I turned to look at her and she had her new robe on and the scarf tied around her head. I hugged her. "This was a great idea, Tony. You are such a thoughtful son." "That part was Bree's idea, Mom. She thought Wendy would be more comfortable." "Well, I can tell you this right now," Mom said. "Every woman in church is going to be envious of this clan's headdress." "You'll wear it to church?" "Absolutely." "I never tell you how much I love you Mom," I said. "Yes you do. And I love you too, Tony. How about if I get coffee and hot water started. I assume there are tea drinkers among the crowd. Hot chocolate for the boys?" "Maybe for others, too. I know Beth doesn't drink coffee and I'm not sure about Bree now. Kate likes a latte, but I think she'd prefer tea." We chatted quietly as we got our breakfast preparations underway. Mom got the butter out of the fridge right away so it would soften—something I'd forgotten. We never have real butter at home in Seattle. "What's this, Mom?" I asked, holding up a quart jar of what looked like white pudding. "I stopped by Cavanaugh's yesterday and got a quart of heavy cream," Mom said. "Espresso con panna," I said. "What?" "Well, we don't have an espresso machine, but I know you put twice as much coffee in the basket of that pot as the manufacturer suggests. Con panna means 'with cream' and is a very chichi drink in Seattle. I bet if we float a tablespoon of that heavy cream on top of a cup of coffee, even those of us who like it black will drink it. Melody will think she died and went to heaven." "I wouldn't say that to her if I were you," Mom said. "She's strong, but she's still dealing with her father not being here for Christmas. I wish we'd known last spring," she sighed. "I know. Mom, thank you for being so understanding. And thank you for understanding Wendy, too. I know my lifestyle must seem pretty bizarre, but every single girl in that bedroom upstairs is someone very special to me." "Tony, I almost believed the rumors in high school that you were gay," she laughed. "I resolved right then and there that I wasn't going to be judgmental about your relationships. Every one of those girls is beautiful. Not just physically, but she's a beautiful person inside and out. I can tell that there are different kinds of relationships and that there is something special between you and Lissa and Melody and now Kate. But I know you care deeply for every young woman up there and I do too." "Can I help with coffee?" Wendy asked from behind me. I turned to see her in the doorway. I didn't know how much she'd heard, but there was nothing that we'd said that was a secret. She was wearing her new robe and had the silk scarf tied around her head. Bree had chosen so well. The tiger print silk hugged Wendy's head. "Good morning, tiger," I said. She rushed to me and hugged me. "Grrr rawr rawr." Then she turned to hug Mom. "Look," I said. "We've got the makings for coffee con panna. Shall we deliver drinks to the bedroom?" "Look! Santa came!" Drew screamed from the living room. "He brought snow!" I looked at the clock. It was just after seven. Right on time. ------- "Tony, this was such a good idea," Melody whispered to me as we sat around the living room watching the boys and everyone else open presents. The boys, of course, had the rest of us at about three to one in the present category, but we were all just having fun. "The scarves are perfect. Wendy seems so happy!" "The scarves were Bree's idea," I said, reaching across Melody to give a little tug at Bree's sleeve. "You are so going to get lucky tonight," Melody said as she pressed her lips against Bree. The color in Bree's face went scarlet. She didn't even look at me. She crushed Melody to her. Kate leaned against me from my left. "Thank you for the charcoals, darling," she whispered. "Hey! You can't thank me for that. It was in your stocking. Santa brought that. I'm responsible for the robes, mostly." "And the earrings? Hmm. Well thank you for making a home for us to have Christmas. Last Christmas was pretty lonely and scary." "Kate, my home is your home. Now and always. I love you." Lissa looked up at me from where she was sitting between my legs playing some kind of educational game with the boys. She just smiled and rubbed against my knee. ------- We made it to church. Like I said, I'm a CEO—Christmas Easter Only—as far as church is concerned. But it was fun to sing the carols and watch the kids recite lines from the Christmas story. The preacher was a little stuffy, but it was nice to see Rev. Larkin sitting just a row away from us. He looked at all the headscarves and at the row I took up just with my women. Kate and Wendy were on my left and Lissa, Melody, and Bree were on my right. Allison and Beth sat with our parents. He just smiled and shook his head a little. Beth and Allison went home with Dot and David after church for Christmas dinner with Beth's sister and her boyfriend. Allison was definitely into the role of girlfriend. "Tony," Beth whispered to me as we left church. "Tomorrow at two we meet in the old place. We need to talk." The old place was the hayloft above the horse barn where Brenda always kept horses. From what I understood, since Brenda had taken a job as a veterinary assistant in Des Moines, they were only keeping her favorite mare now. Poor horse must be lonely. Christmas afternoon, we all relaxed and enjoyed our presents, our friends, and the food that just kept being dragged out of the refrigerator periodically. It was the best holidy I could remember ever having. ------- Christmas Day passed and we found what a quiet life in the country was all about. Quiet if you could accept the fact that I was sleeping with five to seven incredible, mostly-naked girls at night and that Christmas night Melody had given Bree a howling orgasm. Lissa and Kate had kept me away from the action and Wendy seemed to be eager to assist them. The simple addition of a tiger-print scarf to her wardrobe and the lessening pain from her burns had brought her more into the family than anything else we could have done. I showed everyone the brochure that Clarice had given us and explained that we needed to come up with captions or stories for each of the paintings. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the pictures, and then started brainstorming captions and stories. Kate's received as much attention as mine. I helped get soup and sandwiches together for lunch and as soon as it was over people started to scatter. Kate and Wendy were going to take a nap. Melody and Lissa agreed to get the boys ready to play in the snow. Jack, Sam, and Dad were headed into town to take the extra table and chairs back to the Kiwanis. "Tony, can I borrow your laptop to check email?" Bree asked. "Sure," I said. "The password is Triptych with a capital T." I don't know why I bother to put a password on it at all except school rules insist. I think everyone knows it. This summer, I'd even given my password to Dad when he wanted to download all my pictures. I called Melody, Kate, and Lissa aside. "Um ... I need to go meet with Beth for a while," I said. "She wants to talk to me about something." "MmmHmm." Melody said. "She asked me yesterday," I continued. "We have a kind of meeting place." "We know, darling," Lissa said, kissing me. "Beth told us." "Oh. I just wanted to let you know where I was going," I said. "In case you wondered." "Tony," Kate whispered as she closed the distance between our lips. "Remember; no reservations." I almost snorted. They didn't really understand that Dumpling and I had been meeting together in that hayloft for about ten years now. It was the warmest and most private place we could go to talk when the world was too much for us to handle. I had a feeling Beth wanted to talk to me about her relationship with Allison since we really hadn't talked about that yet and I needed to reassure her that it was fine with me. I was hoping her parents had been as accepting as mine had. ------- "Hey Pogo," Beth said as I poked my head up through the opening in the loft. I'd been wrong. There were three horses in the barn which helped to keep it warm. "Hey Dumpling," I answered. "Merry Christmas." "Boxing Day," she laughed. "How was the day with the family and Allison?" "Won-der-ful! My sister was a bit of a bitch, but you know how she is. Allison and I both looked straight at Scott and licked our lips and Brenda was suddenly all about how great it was that I'd found a girlfriend and that we could be a family all together at Christmas," Beth laughed. "I'm really happy for you and Allison," I said. "You know I love you both." "That's good," a voice said from behind me. I turned to my left and Allison was standing up from behind a hay bale. "Today you've got us both. You've been ignoring me ever since I got here." "No I haven't, Allie. I just didn't want to get between you and Beth." "Uh ... we'd like to have you between us for a while," Beth said. "Is that what this is all about?" I asked. "You didn't invite me up here to talk at all, did you?" I was chuckling. Now I understood Kate's comment. Obviously, they'd all talked before Beth invited me over. "What? You mean we can't talk during sex?" Allison asked. She had already pulled my jacket off as Beth spread out a big blanket on the soft hay. "I suppose you can talk if your mouth isn't full," I said. Then I proceeded to fill her mouth with my tongue as we kissed. She pushed me back down onto the blanket with Beth. "I recognize this blanket," I said. "We were all cuddled up in it this summer at the party." "It's my virgin sacrifice blanket," Beth whispered capturing my lips with her own. We rolled together and I slipped my hand under her shirt to feel her warm skin in my hand. Allison pulled herself against me from behind and moved beneath my own shirt. For all the warmth of the horses beneath us and the moderate heat they kept on in the barn, it was still pretty chilly in the loft and I was glad to have a couple of delightful warm bodies getting naked while we loved and caressed each other. Allison shivered as I rolled to my back and pulled both girls on top of me. "Not to worry, lover," Beth said to her, stroking Allie's soft skin. "I have another blanket." The blanket she pulled out was a huge old down comforter that meant instant heat when she threw it over us. By this time, we all had our shirts off and Allie and Beth's braless breasts were pressed into my chest as the two girls kissed above me. I did a little squirming and scooted down between the girls to where I could get a nipple from each of them in my mouth when they were squashed together. God! What a pair of succulent treats. "I can feel us pushed together and a tongue licking our nipples," Allie said. "Oh, Beth, you are so beautiful." "I told you I knew what I was getting for Christmas, sweet cheeks," Beth answered. "And I've got you both. I love Santa." "Santa Baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me..." Allie sang in her sweet voice. "Been an awfully good girl, Santa Babe..." Beth sang back. Beth always sang in the school chorus, but I didn't realize how nice her voice was. "So hurry up my chimney today," they sang together and then laughed. It was obvious that they'd been revising the words since they got together. Allie scooted down my body as I moved up to kiss Beth. My belt went and then the zipper. Allie pulled my jeans and shorts down and engulfed my cock in her mouth as I caressed Beth's incredible tits and sucked on her tongue. I let my hand drift down her abdomen toward her belt and Beth sucked her stomach in further to provide more room between her waistband and her skin. I slid further down, but didn't try to force my way deeper. Beth wore her jeans pretty tight since she'd lost weight, showing off her new shape. But just having my hand resting on her tummy, just above her mound was sexy as hell. She used her own hand to reach down and undo the buttons on her jeans. As they fell open, my hand slid lower toward her slit. "Are you sure you want this, Dumpling?" I asked. "Don't you want to stay a gold-star lesbian?" "I have a definite preference for girls," Beth said. "But I know that when I kiss you I get just as wet as Allie does when she kisses a girl, even though she prefers boys. It's not about losing my virginity anymore, though. It's all about doing something with my best friend that we should have done years ago." Allie came up off my cock and pushed my pants the rest of the way down. I wedged my shoes off and slipped my feet out of the pants legs. I pushed Beth's pants down and she did the same thing. Allie had already managed to wiggle out of her jeans and panties and was pressed against my other side. "I can't believe that you two were coming up here alone together for all of junior high and senior high and never did this," Allie said. "What were you thinking?" "We weren't," I said. "At least I wasn't. Beth was my best friend and it just never occurred to me to do anything sexual with her. Well, except occasionally trying to sneak a peek down her shirt." "You didn't," Beth laughed. "That's like me admitting that I noticed your pants when you got a hard-on." "When did you do that?" I asked. "At the prom when we kissed. I thought, 'Wow, the kiss wasn't really much, but he seemed to like it.' Then I went off and kissed Marlene." "You kissed Marlene at the prom?" I said. "After you kissed me?" "Yeah. That's when I figured out I had a definite preference for girls. You're a much better kisser now, though," she laughed. "Well, it was my first time. I didn't have a clue." "Are you still clueless?" Allie asked. "Or are you going to make love to us?" "Allie, sweetie, you have a way of getting right to the point," I laughed. She shut me up by putting one of her nipples in my mouth and I felt Beth swing a leg over me. I pushed Allie gently away. "I'm coming right back to you, baby," I said. "But I want to be completely focused on my best friend for a minute, okay?" "That's what we love about you," she answered. Beth straddled me and put both hands on my shoulders as she leaned forward to kiss me tenderly. I felt a hand on my cock, so I knew it must be Allie that was guiding me into Beth's wet folds as she slid down from my lips onto my cock. Kate had schooled me well over the past few weeks and I was able to let Beth control the rate of descent as a man's cock filled her for the first time. Beth turned her head and kissed Allie. "You know, baby, this is a lot better than that dildo you used on me." "Duh," Allie responded. "Dildos are plastic or something. There's nothing that can take the place of warm pulsing flesh inside you." "Aren't you supposed to do something besides just lie there?" Beth asked me. "Just making sure you were ready, Dumpling," I said. I began to move my hips and slide in and out of her a little. Beth scrunched her eyes closed. "Are you okay?" I asked, slowing down. "Oh god, yes!" Beth moaned. "I didn't think I'd get this close just having you in me. It's never like that with the fake." "Beth," I said as I resumed my movement. "The fake doesn't love you." Beth slammed down against me and shook with an orgasm that was almost silent but intense, nonetheless. "Mmm. Your first cock-induced climax," Allie whispered in her ear. "Just wait until we combine forces." Beth just panted and started working herself up and down my shaft again. I took the hint and resumed thrusting against her. She was building fast this time and with more intensity than before. I could feel the tightness in my balls as well. Apparently Allie could, too, as she kept stroking my balls and whispering in Beth's ear. "Remember when you told me you held Tony's balls in your hand and could feel him coming inside Lissa?" Allie asked. "I'm holding his balls now and I'm going to feel him come in your no-longer virgin pussy." Beth gasped and sped up. "Are you ready to feel it from the other side, baby?" I felt Allie's other hand slide between our bodies and begin applying pressure to Beth's clit. Beth escalated and began moaning as she gasped for breath. Allie clenched her fingers slightly and Beth tipped over the edge. That was all it took for me to start pumping into her. "Oh god!" Beth screamed when she felt the pulses inside her pussy. Her orgasm barely let her come down before it ramped back up and crashed over her again. She turned to kiss Allie again, then scooched up to kiss me as my cock slid out of her. I could feel Allie's hand move upward off my cock and into Beth. We rolled a little, depositing Beth between Allie and me. Beth breathed deeply and shuddered, kissing each of us back and forth. Allie brought her fingers up to Beth's lips. "You've tasted yourself after an orgasm, haven't you doll?" Allie whispered as Beth opened her lips to receive Allie's fingers. "Yours or his?" she asked. Beth's eyes shot open and she licked Allie's fingers more enthusiastically. "Did you just feed me boy-cum out of my own pussy?" Beth giggled. "Payback, baby," Allie laughed. I had no idea what that was all about, but before I could ask we were all caught up in a kiss. ------- "Oh! Yes! Oh!" Allie panted. Beth's moans were muffled. We'd been at it for nearly two hours and the two lovers were eating my cum out of each other's pussy. I was exhausted and sagging under the comforter half asleep. Allie gave a long sigh and rolled off of Beth and all the way over me to the other side. Beth pivoted and slid under the cover next to me. Both pulled my arms around them and then I felt their hands exploring my groin again. "I don't think so," I laughed. "I'm only human." "We're probably lucky we got that much from him with all the action in his bed." "Uh ... there isn't that much action, really," I said. "We're in my parents' house and there are a couple extra parents, the boys, and Jack all within ... um ... shrieking range. It's kind of awkward to have an orgy." "Oh, poor Tony! Six or seven nearly naked girls in bed with him and he has to come to a cold barn to get laid," Beth laughed. "How many girls who share your bed have you not had sex with?" Allie asked. "Well, until this afternoon there was you and Beth." "We fixed that," Beth said. "Oh god, did you fix that!" "Well, there's still Bree..." "Who's been having her chimes rung by Melody, I'll bet. I don't know what's with those two, but it shows," Allie said. "I thought they hated each other." "I haven't caught up with how things changed," I said. "It's confusing." "And... ?" Beth asked. "And what?" "Who else?" "Well ... Wendy, of course." "Yeah. Wendy who hasn't let go of either you or Kate the entire time you've been here." "I haven't caught up with that one, either," I said. "You are her hero and she's in love with Kate," Allie said. "It's pretty obvious." "What's holding you back?" Beth asked. "Well, we haven't really talked about it," I said. "We who?" "We Melody, Lissa, Kate, and me. I wouldn't fool around with anyone without them approving." "But you are here with us," Allie said. "And they know it. They knew what was going on here before I did," I said. "But it's different with Bree and Wendy. With Bree, everything is in Melody's hands." "Including Bree's tits, ass, and pussy," Allie laughed. "Well they're working it out their way," I chuckled. "I'm not getting in between those two. And as far as Wendy is concerned, well ... we've been really careful with Wendy. I've never met anyone so insecure or ... obedient. You have to be really careful what you tell her to do," I said. "Now that I've found out a little more about her father and her last boyfriend, I've begun to understand. I love Wendy and would do anything to help her, but I don't think making love with her would be a help." "Tony, did it ever occur to you that even though you are having sex with five of the seven women in your bed tonight, no one is upset about it. No one is jealous. No one is mad at you. And no one is falling back from being head over heels in love with you," Allie said. "I'm pretty crazy about Allison," Beth said. "But I know we probably aren't a permanent couple." She leaned over me and the two girls kissed. "But we might get to be together now and then for years to come. You know why?" "Because you're both insatiable," I laughed. "No ... well, yes, but ... we're going to be friends and sometimes lovers because we're always going to have you in our lives," Beth said. "We won't marry you and probably won't live with you. We won't be your business partners or your racquetball partners. We might not even always be your lovers. But we will always love you." I had tears running down my cheeks. Allie and Beth each kissed them away. I squeezed them so tightly to me that they had to push away a little to breathe. "Um ... Tony..." Allison said as she pushed away. "Gotta be careful of the boobs. They only squash so far when they're ... um ... this big." We broke up in fits of laughter, kisses and a little tickling as we all got our clothes straightened out, shook the hay out of them, and got dressed. ------- Wednesday morning, Dad convinced Lissa and me to have another match at the Y. It wasn't too hard a sell since we'd just given each other new Ektelon Turon racquets and were anxious to try out our six and a half ounces of graphite power. It was like swinging a feather, but the power when it connects with the ball was awesome. I was pretty sure it increased our ball speed by twenty percent. We had a small audience and played to keep the ball in action instead of playing for points. Dad had a big poster made up that showed us as the Open Mixed Double champions. I don't know how they got that picture, but we were going to use it on our website, too. Allie got on the court for a while with us to play cutthroat and I made Dad explain to everyone that she was the Women's 24 and under champion and that Lissa was the Women's Open champion. I think he enjoyed telling people that. By the time, we were back at the farm house, we were starting to realize that our winter break was coming to an end. Kate's family was coming into Seattle on Friday to spend the New Year holiday with us. The boys would start school on the third as would Bree, Wendy, and me. Beth started her flex term on the third, but Allison didn't go back until the sixteenth, like Kate and Melody. Jack and Lexi accepted an invitation from Mom and Dad to stay for New Year's. We'd take the boys back with us. Sam declined Mom and Dad's invitation because he had things to get ready for the start of school. With Sunday being New Year's Day, Monday was the official holiday and classes would start on Tuesday. Beth and Allison would both be waiting until Monday to leave as well and would be staying with Beth's family. When you've got fifteen people to move around, it seems like your whole life is logistics. Who is driving whom and when is what rental vehicle needed? To top it off, we had to get two big boxes to the UPS office and shipped back to Seattle with Christmas presents in them. The boys were a little sad to part with their newest acquisitions, but each had at least one new toy to take on the plane with him. Fuck. Last year at this time, I was still contemplating not going back to school. My life was nothing like I thought it would be. And I was so glad! ------- Jack drove us to the airport, but Lexi came along so she could say goodbye to everyone. It was a tearful parting for the girls and me when we said goodbye to Mom and Dad and Allie and Beth at the homestead. Jack had decided to trade the van we rented for a smaller car for the rest of the weekend. I was in the second row back beside Damon when my phone rang. I hadn't had a call or text all week since everyone who knew this number was with me in Nebraska. "Tony! Where are you?" "On my way to the airport," I answered. It was Clarice. "Running away or on your way home?" "Coming home, I hope. What's up, Clarice?" "You weren't supposed to send the brochure mockup to anyone. Didn't I make that clear?" she asked. "We didn't talk about that, but I didn't send it to anyone." I glanced around the car. It seemed like there was a lot of squirming going on and most of it wasn't from the boys. "Is Kate with you?" "Yes." "Put it on speaker then. We need to talk." ------- Chapter 36 I did as she commanded and suddenly the whole car focused on my phone call. "Kids, Tony's picture of Tent City made its way to a committee. Maybe two or three, I'm not sure. There is nothing like a disaster to mobilize a city. Even though the problem has been around for decades and Tent City for nearly ten years, now the city wants to acquire land for a permanent encampment that could house as many as 500 homeless people. You have become the focal point. Not only did you save the lives of nearly a hundred people, you painted what their lives look like," Clarice said. "But I don't get it," I said. "I didn't share the brochure with anyone. How did they get the picture?" I looked around the car and in the sudden silence I heard a whimper from Bree. I looked at her and tears were running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. God! That's all I ever say. I didn't know that's what they wanted it for. Eric asked if I'd seen it and could get a picture for him. We had a long chat on Monday. The brochure was open on your computer and I just copied the picture and sent it to him." "Didn't you learn your lesson in Tempe?" I snapped. "Please don't tell me I fucked up again," Bree cried. She was sobbing in earnest now and Melody shot me nasty look that would have frozen Medusa. Damn it! This wasn't good for any of us. "Clarice, has there actually been any damage by releasing the picture? I mean, are we liable for something?" I asked. "Everybody relax," Clarice practically shouted over me. "There's no harm done. I needed to find out if you had made any commitments to the memorial committee or the city or the college. It affects how I go about negotiating your commission." "What commission?" Now I was really confused, but I reached over the seat in front of me and laid my hand on Bree's shoulder giving her a gentle squeeze. She grabbed my hand desperately and held it to her face. I used my thumb to wipe away the tears while Clarice filled us in. "A number of students who were involved in the establishment and organization of SCU hosting Tent City came back early from their holiday break. They organized quickly and went to the Board of Regents with a proposal to create a memorial to the lives lost on their campus and use it to raise money to acquire land for a permanent encampment. The memorial they proposed was a Tony Ames mural of this picture painted on the wall of the athletic pavilion. When the regents asked for more information, Eric—remember I met him at your birthday party?—called me and asked me how they could acquire your services to do the painting." "The athletic pavilion? That wall is huge, Clarice. It would take me a year to paint it," I said. "I'll help," Kate said from behind me. "Me too," Melody said. "We could put together a team. Any art major at PCAD would volunteer to work on a project with you." I turned in my seat to ask Kate what she really thought, but as soon as I did, I came face to face with Wendy. The expression on her face was the closest thing to worshipful that I'd ever seen. There was really no question about whether I'd paint this mural if that's what they wanted. I looked over at Kate and she smiled that incredible smile of hers that lit up my life. Lissa on the other side of Damon from me just nodded her head. "I think we can do it, Clarice," I said. "They still have a huge number of obstacles to overcome and I'll need to figure out how to price your services on a piece like that," Clarice said. "You price it as a donation," I said. ------- "Tony? Melody?" Sam caught our attention as we were finding our seats on the plane. "I'm wondering if you could switch places. I'd like to talk to Tony about the schedule. I've got some pressure from the club about when we practice." "Oh. Okay," Melody said, looking at Bree who was moving in to the row her father was stopped at. "We'll switch back when you get your business taken care of." She moved back to the seat where Damon was going to sit between Wendy and me. Wendy was calmer and Kate was sitting in the next row back with Drew and Lissa. I did notice that Wendy held hands with Damon as the plane took off. "What's with the club, Coach?" I asked. "Nothing," he said. He sat between Bree and me a couple of rows ahead of the rest of the family. "It seems my daughter has gotten into other people's business, again," he said. "I want it clear that I'm not happy with it. She needs to apologize to you and make up for the problem." "No, Sam," I said. I seldom used his first name, but he'd made it clear we were talking family and not athletics. "I'm really sorry, Tony," Bree said. I could see tears forming again. "That's enough, Bree," I said. "This isn't about what you did or didn't do. It's okay. You acted in good faith and in spite of yelling when I first heard about it, I don't hold anything against you for it. The real issue is what Sam is going to do." "That's not really an issue," Sam began. "Yes it is. Are you going to let us paint the athletic pavilion? You weren't strongly in favor of having the encampment there according to what I heard in the meetings. You're the athletic director. Technically, the building is part of your department. If you object the Board will listen to you. So are you going to object or are you going to let us paint your building?" I asked. Bree sat back with her mouth open. She'd never really heard me challenge her dad. But I could see that she recognized the problem. "It's not really my decision," Sam said. "The University is a big place with a lot of committees." "Don't hedge on me, Sam. The question is about you and your position. If Eric and the rest of the student social responsibility committee have already been in front of the Board of Regents, between the holidays, there's enough momentum to carry it through the committees. You are really the only one who could block it effectively and if someone else on campus doesn't want it to happen, they'll talk to you. So it's really a question of whether you'll back us. What do you say, Sam?" I asked. He sighed. I was surprised that he finally turned to Bree and took her hand. "Is this really what you want, Peanut?" he asked. That was a cute nickname. The way Bree's face softened, I wondered how long it had been since he last used it. "Daddy, I just want you to be proud of me. I know I'm difficult sometimes, but I'm really trying," Bree said. "I just want you to love me." Sam wrapped his arm around Bree and hugged her, even with the armrest between them. "I'll back it," he said quietly. ------- It was good to be home. Sam and Bree took a cab straight to their place. The rest of us booked a limo which was cheaper than paying five adult fares on a shuttle even with two free kids. Even with the huge car, there was barely enough room for all our luggage. Stepping into the house, I realized we hadn't decorated for the holidays. Perhaps if Lissa and Melody had stayed home we would have had our own tree and stockings by the fireplace, even though we would be traveling for two weeks. But after the festive holiday in Nebraska, the house looked sort of bare. That didn't slow the boys down. They were crazed and wild. There was no food in the house, so a shopping expedition was organized. Laundry was organized. Childcare was organized. By six we had food on the table. By eight the boys were in bed, though unlikely to settle down for another half hour. At least the time-change was working in our favor. I sat in the living room with four tired women and we all had a glass of white wine to sip. We chatted about nothing and everything. Kate's family would arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon. I was going to have to go meet with Clarice and thought it would be a good idea for Kate to come, too. Melody and Lissa had to check on the new shipment of fabric and decide when they were going to organize the dying process. And Wendy... "Excuse me?" Wendy said softly. She was sitting on the arm of the chair with me where I'd read stories to the boys. "What is it tiger?" I asked. "Um ... may I still rent a room here?" Everyone smiled at that. "Of course you can, sweetie," Lissa said. "We need to fix things up for you. Do you know which room you'd like?" "Uh ... just ... if I take a room downstairs, can I still come up here? I don't always want to be alone," she said. "Tiger, if you'd rather, you can have the guestroom up here," I said. "You don't have to be downstairs. We only suggested that because up here you'd have to share a bathroom with the boys." "Downstairs is okay if I can..." She took a deep breath. "Can I still be..." She was really struggling and I didn't know what she was trying to say. Kate came over and snuggled up with us. She petted Wendy's left cheek. "You want to know if you can still be part of the family?" Kate asked. Wendy nodded. "Of course you can!" Melody said. We all hugged. "In fact," I said. "For tonight, I think we should see if we'll all five fit in the big bed. I've gotten kind of used to having a lot of women in my bed." That earned me a friendly punch in the arm, but there was also general agreement. Pretty much everything Wendy owned was either destroyed or damaged in the fire. We were all relieved to find out that after her last experience with Rafe, she'd opened a bank account and deposited her tips and paychecks daily. But she was going to need that money. There was some talk of restitution, but Wendy was pretty sure her father didn't have enough money for Tent City to sue him. The city had made some emergency funds available to help residents acquire new tents and the essentials for their camp. The camp was reforming at Haller Lake where they were supposed to go on Saturday when they left SCU. Many of the residents had been temporarily housed in a dormitory on campus and were returning to the camp, but it was smaller than it had been. Some had simply wandered away, no longer believing they were safe. Kate had shopped for Wendy before we left for Nebraska, so in addition to the clothes Kate shared out of her own closet, Wendy had new, decent underwear. They were similar builds, though Wendy was still pretty thin. I'd already decided that I was taking Wendy shopping tomorrow. She needed some school clothes and some things to just kick back in. She and Kate had raided the studio a few weeks ago to grab two of my paint smocks to wear as nightshirts. And they were pretty cute, I must say. "Wendy," I said. "Are you feeling any pain in your right arm now? I noticed you didn't really put salve on it before we left this morning." I hadn't put salve on my face, either, though I might continue to use the aloe Mom provided at night. It itched a little, but the redness was fading and was hardly noticeable. "No. The only place I'm still using it is my face and scalp. Most of my face is like yours now. Just the top part and my temple," she said. She pulled off her tiger scarf and turned her head to show me. Kate leaned over me and kissed her. "How about a hot tub, then?" I asked. "We've managed five in it before." "Sounds good to me," Lissa said. "Maybe we should not make it quite as hot as usual and not use the jets, though. We do have to listen for the boys." "The heat sounds good," Wendy said. "If my arm is too sensitive to it, I can always lift it out of the water." "Let me up, ladies," I said. "I'm going to go start the water running. Anyone who wants to get naked with me can come in when they're ready." ------- We were finally able to relax. We sat in the tub with the hot water almost up to our chins. Wendy was on my right and Kate was on her right. Melody was snuggled against me on my left and Lissa was between Kate and Melody. "Say, Mel? Do you think you could bleach Wendy's pubic hair into tiger stripes?" I asked. She looked up at me like I'd just grown another head. Wendy started giggling. "It's the only fur I have left," she laughed. Oh, that sounded good. In a way, I was still afraid to leave Wendy alone because she became overwhelmed with guilt when she thought about her father setting the fire. This time she laughed. "Um ... well ... I guess I could," Melody speculated. "I'd have fun playing around trying!" Wendy giggled and leaned across me. Melody met her half way and kissed her softly. "There's one thing about tonight, though, Wendy," Lissa said. "I hope you are okay with cuddling up to Tony. Melody and I are planning to make a Kate sandwich." "Mmm yum," Wendy said. "Do you mind if I have a Tony snack?" "Sweetie, you and Tony can do whatever you decide to do," Kate said. "You don't order him around and he doesn't order you. Got it?" "It's hard for me, Kate," Wendy said. "I'm working on it." "I'm sure it will be hard for you if that's what you want," Melody laughed. Her hand dipped between my legs and stroked from the balls up, where she met Wendy's hand, already in progress. ------- We didn't make love. Well, there was no penetration, okay? Not vaginal, anal, or oral. We slid into bed and occupied a very small edge while we watched Melody and Lissa devour Kate. We had too little time in Nebraska when we could simply let ourselves go and all three had been waiting for these few minutes. Wendy lay partially on top of me, humping subtly on my right thigh. As a result, she was also rubbing my hardening cock. I kissed her head and squeezed her butt. "Am I ugly?" she asked. The girls were making far too much noise to hear our whispered conversation. "Not a bit," I answered. "You have a beautiful head." "Really?" "Really. You should consider keeping it shaved. It looks good on you." "You're teasing." "Maybe a little. But there is nothing ugly about you, Tiger. You know what? I still remember the first time I went to Carmine's with Lissa, Melody, Jack, and Lexi. They were all out dancing and this incredibly cute waitress came to clear the table. She kept leaning over, right in front of me," I said. "It was almost as if she wanted me to peek down her blouse. Well, I did. I still remember the red bra she was wearing. It was all frilly." "Burned now," Wendy sighed. "Yeah, but there are other bras if you decide you want to wear one. You know when I saw that tiger girl next? She was right here in this house and stark naked," I said, remembering our first posing party. "I thought right then, 'Carmine's is going to become my favorite restaurant.' And it is." While we talked and kissed, I'd let my left hand glide down across her breasts so I could softly rub her nipples. She moved her hand to my cock and began gently stroking me, almost as if afraid she'd break it. "I thought, 'That boy is the odd one out, poor guy. Maybe I should flirt a little.' So I just bent over and flashed him," Wendy said. "I had no idea I'd end up in his bed or in his pictures." She pressed her pussy into my thigh and rocked back and forth as she stroked my cock. When we saw Kate come, Wendy's grip tightened and I pinched her nipples a little harder. We settled down for a minute, just keeping each other interested as we watched the hot action beside us. I could feel the wet, slick trail she was leaving on my thigh as she worked herself back and forth. I'd pumped out enough precum that her hand was also sliding freely. Lissa was next. Kate was between her legs as Melody sucked Lissa's bullet nipples. Lissa's leg came up so hard and fast that I thought she was going to kick us. Melody was on top of Kate in an instant with their faces buried in each other's pussy. It seemed like they were in a race to make the other come. Kate won as Melody yelped into Kate's pussy, driving Kate to a second orgasm. "Will you kiss me, Tony?" Wendy asked. "Anytime you want, Tiger," I said, matching actions to words. While we kissed, Wendy's rhythms on my leg and her hand on my cock picked up speed and we were scarce seconds away from the girls when we came, her juices soaking my leg and my flood coating her stomach. Without wiping it off, Wendy rolled further onto me and simply rubbed her body on the fluids, smoothing them over the two of us. It had been a long day and we drifted off into sleep, sticking to each other. ------- Semen is an effective adhesive. We became painfully aware of that when we woke in the morning and started to pull ourselves away from each other. Our grunts of pain woke our bedmates with expressions of concern until they found out what it was all about. By that time, I'd stumbled into the bathroom to shower. I was joined moments later by Kate. "So, aside from the glue aspect, how was your night?" she asked as I began shampooing her hair. She was returning the action at the same time and it made it difficult to concentrate. "Okay," I said noncommittally. "Is Wendy becoming our lover?" "I still don't know," Kate responded. "There's never been anything between us but fingers and kissing. She doesn't seem anxious to push that boundary—even having free access to you overnight." "Yes. Is it something you want?" "I'm not pushing for it." "We need to get her some clothes before classes start on Tuesday. And some more furniture for her room. I was thinking of going to Value Center where I got my studio chair and the smocks you two seem to enjoy wearing," I laughed. We rinsed and paused before we turned off the shower for a long and lovely kiss. "That's okay," Kate said. "It's consistent with her style. Make sure she gets work clothes, too. And, if you can afford it, stop someplace and get her at least one thing that is new and cool." "Shoes," I said automatically. That earned me another long kiss. "Better go get your coffee. I hear the boys in the kitchen. They'll want a story pretty soon." ------- I got coffee and fed the boys. Kate took cups to our lovers. Just when I'd settled down into the big chair for stories, Wendy padded out in her new bathrobe and cuddled up next to us. Gramdma Deb had given the boys the first Harry Potter book for Christmas and they were anxious to start reading. We laughed and giggled all the way through the first chapter. I told Wendy that I needed her help today if she could spare the time. She was a little unsure about going out, but I explained that we'd be stopping by Carmine's and she really needed to touch base with her boss. She was worried, but both Kate and I were meeting with Clarice, so she agreed to go. ------- As soon as we walked in the door, Carma came rushing out from the kitchen and wrapped Wendy in her arms. They went back to Carma's office as Kate and I picked up our drinks and breakfast sandwiches from the counter and joined Clarice. "I was too busy handling phones and press to tell you how devastated I was when I heard about the fire and then found out Wendy and you were hurt," Clarice said. "You look fine. How is she doing?" "A little shocked yet, but the burns are healing nicely. She has a doctor appointment this afternoon to check on everything. At least she's not in pain, physically. I understand that her father has been charged with three counts of murder and ninety-seven counts of attempted murder," I said. "The guy's wacko by everyone's account, but Wendy still feels guilty because he was attacking her." "You've been out of town for a week and there's been the holiday, but the newspaper has been full of reports. Your cell phone continues to ring several times a day with requests for interviews. I've put them off for now, but eventually we'll have to allow some access. Wendy's stepmother came forward with papers and notes that he kept. She was charged as an accessory, by the way, but her attorney is painting a picture of her as another of his victims, cowed into helping him and practically kept a prisoner in their home," Clarice said. "It's going to get nastier before it gets better, but the short of it is that he'd been ranting about people not knowing their place for years and had picked the homeless as his particular targets several months ago. Wendy wasn't specifically the target." "That's a relief," Kate said, "but she'll still have to deal with a father who is a murderer. We're all going to need some counseling." "You're right about that." "So tell us what we've gotten ourselves into," I said. "I was hoping the whole thing would be buried by the time we got back into town, but it's still front page in the newspaper." "Well, be glad no one has figured out you are back in town. We don't want reporters camped out on your doorstep. You need to be humble, but don't go denying that you did anything. Stick with the facts," Clarice said. "People get very emotional about heroes and could become angry with you if you deny helping people. Just don't go into bragging about it. That will make you a target. For the most part, try to keep the conversation focused on the victims and on helping to get them safe and permanent housing." I sighed. This is not going to be a fun winter. "Now, about the project," Clarice continued. "We need an estimate regarding the actual costs of painting a mural that is forty feet high and eighty feet wide." The very mention of the dimensions made both Kate and me cringe. "I have no idea how to estimate that," I said. "This is so much bigger than anything I've ever worked on." "Fortunately, you have resources," Clarice said smiling as she looked toward the door. Kate and I followed her gaze as Doc Henredden came in, looked quickly around and then came to join us. "Doc!" "Tony. Kate. I hope you had a good Christmas," Doc said. He turned to the bar and ordered a cappuccino then sat next to Clarice. "I took the liberty of calling for reinforcements," Clarice said. "Have you even slept in the past two days?" I asked. "Not much. So, I'll let Doctor Henredden take over from here," Clarice said. "Well, I guess that I should start by saying that I have asked Dean Peterson and Cary Randolph and they have granted me permission to take over as your adviser at PCAD, Tony. Of course, Cary will still be your dual degree advisor and ultimately you will need an academic advisor at SCU. And this is all pending your consent. I understand if you want to stay with Professor McIntyre," Doc said. I was floored. The idea of an advisor at PCAD had been the last thing on my mind this year as I was mostly at SCU. But next year I would be back to full time at PCAD and only a class at SCU. "Doc, that would be great," I said. I turned to Kate. "Maybe you should switch advisors, too if Doc has room. You've got Ardmore, don't you?" Kate grinned. "Ms. Holsinger became my advisee this fall, Tony," Doc said. "Doctor Ardmore is on sabbatical. I would have talked to you about this sooner, but there didn't seem to be any urgent need until now." "Okay. Did anyone take a holiday vacation this year?" I asked. Doc laughed. "You did. And I'm assuming that once we get this squared away, no one will interrupt me while I'm skiing at Whistler next week. You have to go back to school next week, but I don't start until the 16th. And I will still expect you in my class that day." "Of course, sir," I said. "Now, about your proposed project. You'll need to do some estimates, including surface preparation, paint, man-hours, equipment, and your reasonable work schedule, including weather adjustments," Doc said. "That's just it," I said. "I have no idea how to do any of that." "Which is why we have suggested that you enroll in an additional class credit of two semester hours of guided study," Doc said. "We'll work out mutually acceptable time for periodic meetings, but most of the work will be on you. I understand from Cary that your schedule this term at SCU drops the two-hour reading lab, but you'll still carry thirteen hours and be full-time. The new course will give you four hours at PCAD." "Yeah. I thought I'd be picking up another requirement this term at SCU, but this is fine with me as long as Cary says it works. He understands my program a lot better than I do," I said. "None of us understand it all that well," Doc laughed, "but we're determined to get you through it one way or another. Now to start things going, I've brought you some worksheets and an estimate grid. There's a thumb drive in the pocket of the folder that has some Excel spreadsheets on it to give you a pro-forma. It's exactly the same template that I use when I estimate a project." "It should take a good week or two before the Board at SCU is ready to meet, so we should have the estimates ready to present at that time," Clarice said. "The student activists at SCU are well-organized and are driving the project. They've gathered quite a lot of support from city government and you can expect they will start campaigning hard on campus when classes resume Tuesday." "Mainly meaning, I'd better get my act together and start the worksheets," I said. "As soon as I get back next weekend, we should meet to go over your numbers," Doc said. "We can do refinements at that time." "Simply having Doc as your advisor on the project will give the Board a reason to accept the proposal if the students can come up with the money," Clarice said. "I'm overwhelmed," I said slouching back. Kate, who had been silent through most of the meeting so far took my hand and squeezed it. "We'll get through it," she said softly. "And that is another thing that we need to discuss," Clarice continued. I thought she was going to talk about Kate's and my relationship, but she surprised me again. "I'm going to suggest that we postpone your opening exhibition." I looked at Clarice sharply, but Kate was already nodding her head. "Why?" "If this takes off—and I think it will—you will not have time to show paintings or to meet the demand for your paintings that will come after your exhibition. Kate, we can still go with your exhibition if you want, but..." "No," Kate broke in. She squeezed my hand harder. "Tony and I are in this together. I'm going to help on his project as much as I can. I'd rather not split my focus." "Good," Clarice said. "There is a second reason for postponing. If the memorial maintains as high a profile as I expect it to, there will be a much higher demand for all your work afterward. Tony, you've indicated that you will donate your time for painting and the design for it, but that doesn't mean you can't profit from your other work." "Is that ethical?" I asked. Both Doc and Clarice nodded. "No one will object to you profiting from your work when you are making such a big contribution. Can you afford to go without additional income for the next five or six months?" "I think so," I said. "Are you okay, Kate?" "I was never depending on my art sales as income this year like you are," Kate said. "I'll be fine." I nodded my head. I was projecting my best, most confident demeanor with my girlfriend, my agent, and my adviser. Inside, my heart was pounding against my chest and my brain was screaming, You can't do this! You don't know how! I might have broken down if it hadn't been for the screech and rush from Wendy running from the back of the restaurant toward us. Kate and I were out of our seats and moving toward her when she ran into us and hugged us. Her boss was coming out more slowly. "Are you okay, Tiger?" I asked. "What happened?" "Kate, look! They collected tips for me over the holiday! Look!" Wendy was crying, but now I realized it was excitement and joy that were causing the tears. She held up a check made out to her for $1,832.00. "I can buy clothes and books and pay my rent. Look!" Kate and I were crying, too, as we hugged Wendy. Carma came up beside us. I mouthed a thank you to her. She glanced over toward Clarice who was calmly watching us and smiling. "We don't have sick leave policy," Carma said. "But a regular customer of Wendy's found out what happened and suggested we just collect her tips from the people who knew her. I'm pretty sure there will be more over the next two days with the holiday." "Thank you," Wendy said again, hugging Carma. "Carma says I can come back to work in a week." "Don't rush it," Carma said. "Let's say you start back a week from Monday night for the dinner shift, okay?" ------- We went to the bank so Wendy could deposit her check and then dropped Kate off at home. With all her family coming in this afternoon, she felt she needed to be at our house cleaning and not leaving things to Melody and Lissa. Wendy and I headed for Value Center. While we were on our way, I explained to Wendy the things I was looking for—a huge vase, several chalices of different designs, steins, musical instruments, plastic fruit, baskets and trays, large jewelry—especially wooden or bracelets, but nothing religious—armor and swords, large pieces of fabric that could be draped and looked good under light, animal skins (faux), wooden boxes and stools, candlesticks, heavy chains, a large shell. "Do you think you're going to find all this at a second-hand store?" Wendy laughed. "I hope not," I answered. "The car's not that big. It's just the kind of things that I'm looking for that tie the image to classical paintings. The piece I'm planning to do is modern, but I want it to reflect some of the icons of the old masters." "When are you doing this one?" "Next weekend at our posing party." "A posing party. Like the one last spring?" Wendy asked. She sounded shocked. "I can't do it this time." "No one is going to make you, Tiger. But why can't you do it?" "Look at me. I'm bald. The side of my face is still red. I look terrible!" she cried. "Wendy," I pulled into the parking lot and turned to face her. "You don't have to pose if you don't want to. But there is nothing terrible about you. Remember, I'm not taking photographs, I'm painting a picture. You won't see you as a camera would see you. You'll see you as I see you. And believe me, I see a brave and beautiful woman when I look at you." She reached across the console to hug me and we didn't say any more about it. We found a bunch of stuff. More importantly, I was able to encourage Wendy to pick up a few pieces. I started out with an evening gown. "Why do I need an evening gown?" "Well, even if you don't want to pose, you are invited to the party Saturday night. It's going to be formal, dance and everything. There are only three guys besides me and they can share the guestroom upstairs and the upstairs bath. Do you mind if the girls share your bath downstairs?" "My bath?" "Sure. You didn't expect to have to run upstairs for a bathroom did you? We wouldn't invite anyone to use your bathroom without your permission, though," I said. "But it's your bathroom. You own the house." "Give me a dollar, Wendy," I said. She automatically fished in her pocket for a dollar. I knew she had some small bills because I'd been with her in the bank. She handed me the dollar. "You have now officially rented a room with a shared bath on the lower level of our house," I said. She started to protest. "I know this isn't the amount of your rent. This is the security deposit. It means that you are entitled to privacy in your quarters." "I'd be happy to share my bathroom with our guests," she smiled. "Then let's find you a formal." From the formal, that cost me all of twenty dollars, it was easy to point out a couple of shirts that I thought would look good on her, two pair of jeans, a nice skirt and one of her favorite style t-shirts. She found a pair of fancy sandals that she could wear with the gown. I paid for everything and we loaded the car. I'd managed to find a nice little vanity as well and Wendy would be surprised to find it as part of the furnishings in her room. I sat in the doctor's office with her and she dragged me in to her appointment. She never let go of my hand while she was examined and asked questions. The doctor wanted to see her one more time in a month to make absolutely sure there was no scarring from the few blisters. Otherwise, she had a clean bill of health. ------- It was cold out when we got home and there was an old station wagon and a camper trailer parked in front of the house. "It looks like Kate's family has arrived," I said. "They're earlier than they expected." "I'll go downstairs," Wendy said. "Don't be silly, Tiger. You might as well meet them now as later. You are going to meet them." "Yes sir." I stopped cold. Oh shit! "Wait. I'm sorry, Wendy. That wasn't very considerate of your feelings and I kind of ordered you to come in with me. If you really don't want to meet them right now, you don't have to," I said. "I know Kate will want to share her family with you just like I did." Wendy wrapped her arms around me and we stood in the garage for a couple of minutes like that. "Are they as nice as your family?" "They're different than my family, but nice? Yeah. Did you know that even before Kate had made love to us on our birthday that her family just gave us a room—or a wagon—together without any questions? And her mom figured out that there were more than two of us in the relationship before Kate ever said anything. She's a little spooky, but nice," I said. "Thank you, Tony. I'll go in with you. I really just wanted you to tell me to. I'm sorry. I'll be stronger." "Things take time, Tiger. It doesn't happen overnight. You're really doing well." I wrapped my arm around her waist and we opened the door. ------- Chapter 37 "So we camped in Ellensburg last night, just to see if we could actually all sleep in that thing," Ken said. That explained why they'd gotten here so early today. "It was a wee mite crowded until the kids all decided to sleep in the back of the wagon." "It was much more comfortable," Sunday laughed. "And no one was snoring next to our heads." I was surprised to find that in addition to Sunday and Willow, the family had also brought Rainbow, the other fifteen-year-old I'd met at the camp. They all looked very mature for what I found out was now sixteen for all of them. Willow was still a little shy and tentative when he spoke, but Rainbow was proving just as delightful as Sunday. It was funny to see them all sitting on the floor in the same bib overalls and t-shirts that Kate had worn the entire first year in college. I looked at Wendy. She was sitting next to Gypsy on the sofa, absently shuffling a deck of cards. I knew what was going to happen there and hoped that Gypsy was as kind to her as she'd been to me. Kate sat beside Wendy and Oke sat beside Gypsy. Ken was in the other big chair and I sat in the recliner with Lissa and Melody on the arms. For now, the boys seemed content to play on the floor with the trucks they'd brought home from Nebraska. "So how is your drumming coming along?" Ken asked, glancing at the stack of drums by the fireplace. The boys immediately lifted their heads and zeroed in on their own drums. "Kate dances!" Damon said. "Hey, buddy, so do Mommy and Melody," I laughed. "And you!" "Good, good," Ken said. "We brought a couple of drums with us. We'll have a pow wow later on." "Sounds like a good way to welcome in the New Year," I said. "A few drums?" Rainbow said. "That's why we slept in the station wagon. There's no room in the camper." "That reminds me," I said. "I can spot for you if you want to back the camper in next to the house. We've got that RV pad next to the garage that I never could figure out a use for. I was thinking of putting a basketball hoop at the end for the boys. But there's power and water on that side of the house, too." "That will be great," Oke said. "We have rooms inside, too," Lissa said. "Wendy has one of the downstairs bedrooms, but we have the upstairs guestroom and the other bedroom downstairs. It doesn't have much in it at the moment, but we have an air mattress that we can inflate." "That would be good," Gypsy said. "Papa Ken, why don't you take the guest room and let the children have the air mattress." "I see your method," Ken laughed. "That would leave just ... hmm ... you and Oke in the camper, right?" "What do you think, Papa Oke?" I asked. "Sound like a good plan to you?" He just grinned and patted his wife. "Well, we should do it while it's still light out. We're all going to our favorite restaurant tonight," I said. As we were getting up, I watched Gypsy motion to Wendy to draw a card and show it to her. Gypsy nodded her head and set the deck of cards on the coffee table. She glanced at me and headed for the front door with her husband. Everyone moved to "help" with backing in the camper. I passed the coffee table and couldn't help but quickly lean down and flip up the top card. I put it back and cut the deck, then headed outside. How could she be the queen of diamonds and still be so different? ------- Kate disappeared with the three teens and Melody and Wendy went to help her. We got the camper backed in and leveled. Oke hooked up the water and electricity and the camper lit up. I got a chance to look inside and saw that there were half a dozen drums stacked in the living area. It really wasn't that big a camper! We all got ready to go to Carmine's. Kate came into the bedroom with Melody while Lissa and I were getting dressed. It had taken a while to get Lissa extracted from Grandpa Ken's stories, but he had his duffle bag in the guest room and was supposedly getting ready, too. "They're so cute!" Melody exclaimed. "Isn't her family wonderful?" I said moving over to give Kate a big kiss. "Not just her family, the kids," Melody explained. "You'd think they'd never seen clothes." "You saw how I dressed the whole first year of school," Kate laughed. "We just don't have much occasion to dress up out in the boondocks." "Oh my gosh!" I said. "Do they need clothes for the restaurant?" The thought hadn't occurred to me. "Don't worry, sweetie," Melody said, claiming her kiss. "We already stole clothes of yours for Willow." "Rainbow can wear my clothes," Kate said, "but my little sister is a good two inches taller than me. I had to borrow something from Lissa's closet for her. Mine's a little thin at the moment because of the things I've given ... er, loaned ... to Wendy." "We got Wendy some cute things today," I said. "She insisted on buying her own work clothes, but I told her the other stuff was all mixed in with my costumes and props and I didn't really know how much it cost. I did buy her a pair of good shoes for working in the restaurant, though." "You know, she doesn't have to stay downstairs tonight, Kitten," Lissa said. "She's welcome with us any time." "She's still a little self-conscious about my family all being here," Kate sighed. "I think she might slip into bed with us New Year's Eve, though." Kate looked at the three of us in various stages of getting dressed. She didn't have a stitch on. "I was ... um ... wondering..." Kate began. I could see she was struggling with something and pulled her to me to sit on my lap on the bed. Melody and Lissa knelt in front of us. "What is it Kitten?" Lissa asked. "If it was okay with Wendy to share the bathroom, could I, maybe, rent the other room?" "Kate, are you still so unsure of us that you don't know you have a place in our hearts and in our home. Anyplace you want," Lissa said. "I love you so much," Kate continued. "I want to be closer. I want to be with you. But I want a space that I can call my own where I can go and no one bothers me. Where maybe I can take one of my lovers for a little special time by ourselves," she whispered. We'd all been on the receiving end of a little of Kate's special time. I understood what she meant. "Are you ... um ... planning to have Amber move in, too?" I asked. "Private space just wouldn't be the same without a voyeur." We all broke up laughing. "I was thinking you'd want to install a little spy camera in my ceiling and a big screen TV at the foot of your bed," Kate laughed. "That's not a bad idea," Melody said. "I was kidding!" ------- We had to take all three cars to Carmine's. I was seriously counting out how many seats we needed and debating whether I needed to get a bigger car. We could officially count seven in our household now. The Mazda only seats six and my Escape can only carry five. I took Wendy and the teens with me in the Escape and Kate rode with her parents. Lissa, Melody and the boys took the Mazda. Carma had fixed a big family table for us and didn't even ask what we wanted to eat. We placed our drink orders and food just started arriving at the table. Every few minutes a waitperson would stop by our table and hug Wendy. I think the whole kitchen staff made it out at one time or another during the evening. Dressed in a pair of Kate's black leggings and a pretty knit top, Wendy was on top of the world. All the Holsinger clan was suitably impressed with the food. "We haven't been to Seattle since we brought Katarina here for school," Oke said. Now that he had a couple glasses of wine in him, I noticed that his speech was not as hesitant as it usually was. Come to think of it, I noticed that back in Oregon when he was stoned, too. "You really like living around all these people, Lyubitshka?" I noticed he used Gypsy's pet name for his daughter. "Sometimes I miss getting away from everything," Kate said. "But there is so much to do here! I have art and friends and music and the zoo!" We all laughed about that. Kate loved the zoo. With thirteen people at a long table, there wasn't much way to have a single conversation with the group. There were half a dozen conversations going on at the same time. Gypsy was on one side of me and Melody on the other. Kate and Wendy were on the other side of Gypsy and Lissa, Ken, and Oke were across from us. The teens occupied the other end of the table with the boys at the end between Melody and Lissa. Gypsy leaned close to me. "What did you think?" she asked me. I knew what she was referring to. "I thought you were the one who interpreted the cards," I smiled at her. "She fits." "She's so different. It's not like with Kate. Or Melody and Lissa." "Perhaps not with you, or not now. But look." Gypsy leaned back a little and I looked past her at Kate and Wendy. It was obvious from my angle that they were holding hands under the table as they joked with Sunday. Gypsy must have caught the glint of a tear in my eye. "It grows, Tony," she said. "Give it fertile soil and it grows. Grow with it." I couldn't help myself. I wrapped an arm around Gypsy and squeezed her to me. I caught Oke's eye across the table and he smiled at me, nodding. ------- The meal was incredible, and being a Friday night, the band started setting up and clearing the dance floor. One thing about Kate's family: they loved music. When the band started to play, Gypsy and Oke were up on the dance floor in a flash. Ken was quite smitten with Lissa and asked her immediately to dance. Melody promised that she would be fine with the boys for two songs, but no more. I kissed her on her cheek. She leaned into me. "They are about to be left alone," she said just above the music. "You'd better dance." "Are you sure?" I asked. "I hate to leave you alone with the boys." "It's only for two songs," Melody smiled. "If it's more than that, rescue me!" I kissed her soundly and stood. The three teens were already on their way to the dance floor when I bent my head between Wendy and Kate. "I would love to take my tiger and my kitten out for a dance," I said between them. The look I got from both girls melted my heart. Their smiles lit up the room. They didn't say anything, but both reached up to kiss my cheeks and then stood to join me. I watched at the end of two songs and saw Ken, Lissa, Oke and Gypsy return to the table. Gypsy didn't sit but took Ken's hand and led him back to the hardwood. Lissa sat next to Melody and Oke slid down next to Damon. It looked like he was having an animated discussion with him, so I stayed on to dance another couple numbers. By that time, Ken and Gypsy returned to the table and Kate said she needed water. I walked to the table with Kate and Wendy and immediately pulled Melody to her feet and back to the music. As if on cue, the band switched tempo and started a slow number. Melody collapsed into my arms and I guided her slowly around the dance floor. "Look," Melody whispered as moved on the dance floor. She turned me so I could see Kate's brother, sister, and their friend dancing. The three were clutched together as they swayed to the slow music. "It's a good thing we've gotten Carma used to multiples," I chuckled. "See? They're both in love with her." I referred to Sunday and Willow both being in love with Rainbow. I wondered how that would work out. "They're in love with each other, too," Melody said. I could see what she meant. Sunday leaned into her brother and under the guise of whispering in his ear, let her lips brush against him. He and Rainbow both smiled at her. "I wonder how that's going to work out." We spun ourselves around and looked back at the table where we could see Gypsy looking lovingly—maybe even protectively—at the teens. She knew. It was something that I'd completely missed when Kate and I visited the family on Labor Day. Maybe it had only developed over the past four months. They were all sixteen years old and kids grow up fast in the country. I got a chance to dance with Lissa for a little while after she joined Melody and me. "The boys are fading fast," she said. "We never keep them out this late. We'd better head home." "I'm with you," I answered. "I'm pretty exhausted, too. Let's go put everyone to bed." ------- "Wendy?" I called softly as I knocked on her door. She opened it almost immediately and stood before me in a bra and panties. I was going to have to get used to this, I suppose. But damn! "I just wanted to make sure you were all right, Tiger," I continued, forcing my eyes back up to her face. She took hold of my hand and dragged me into the room, closing the door behind us. "Look, Tony! I have a room of my own! I didn't know you bought this for my room," she said, patting the top of the vanity. Even for having only moved into the room this afternoon, it was incredibly neat. The bags and packaging her new things came in were neatly folded and stacked next to the door, ready to be taken to recycling. Lissa had a complete bedding set for the room that matched the curtains on the window. The bed was turned down with two fluffy pillows and a stuffed tiger—one of Wendy's Christmas presents—perched on top. She opened the closet door. It was sparse, but all of her clothes were hung on padded hangers from Lissa's abundant supply. I recognized many of Kate's things among the items we'd purchased today. Wendy turned from the closet after I'd made and appreciative sound and flung herself into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close for a kiss that was not one a landlord would normally receive. "It's so perfect. Thank you so much," Wendy said. "Someday I'll invite you in as a guest. We couldn't have overnight guests in the camp." I laughed and began to extricate myself, but Wendy pulled me closer and rubbed herself against me. Someday I'd probably accept her invitation. "Tony, don't worry." I looked at her and was caught by the intensity of her green eyes, flecked with gold. She really was a tiger. "I won't steal Kate from you," she continued. "I couldn't. Not for your sake and not for hers. She not only loves you, Tony; she needs you. She needs you even more than I do. You're my hero. You're her god. I will love living in my new room—starting tonight. But that doesn't mean I won't come sneak into bed with you upstairs sometimes if I'm welcome." "Tiger, that's more than I've heard you say at one time since the fire. I'm so glad to have you back." This time, I kissed her. ------- When I slid into bed, it was next to Kate. She turned toward me and started to say something, but I silenced her with a kiss that went on and on. While I kept my lips locked onto her, I hugged her to me with my left arm and let my right hand explore her body, stroking and caressing everything I could reach. I felt her tender breasts as if it was the first time. I let my hand cup her ass and pull her toward me. I ground my cock against her stomach and pudendum. I felt her pubic hairs against my rigid member and pushed her to her back, all the time without breaking the kiss. Her legs opened to me and as I began to sink into her I broke the kiss so I could pull back far enough to look into her eyes. There was a look of wonder there—a look that, for the first time, I recognized as adoration. As I sank to my full depth her mouth stretched into that glorious smile that I loved and she raised her hips to get as much of me in her as she could. "I love you, Kitten," I breathed as we began to move together. "I love you with every breath I take. I am so happy you have chosen to share my bed and my life. I love you." She shuddered under me as her breath was sucked into a long whine, rising in pitch. I could see her eyes begin to roll back in her head, but I wanted her conscious. I pushed against her breasts with my palms forcing the breath back out and pinched her nipples. He eyes snapped open and the air escaped from her lips with a wordless exclamation that brought her focus back to my eyes. "Don't ever forget," I said as I continued to thrust into her and she built again. "I love you and will love you for the rest of our lives." My orgasm erupted with a force that turned my words into a vow and we pulled our lips to each other muffling our cries of pleasure and release. I felt Kate's hands grip my back and hug me to her so fiercely that her body lifted off the bed as I supported my weight on my hands. She kissed me over and over again—lips, cheeks, nose, forehead, chin. When she loosened her grip enough to sink back into the bed, tears flooded her eyes, but she didn't say a word. "So beautiful," I heard the whisper from next to me and for the first time became aware of Melody and Lissa next to us. We turned our faces toward our lovers to see them lying spooned together watching us. Both had tears streaking down their cheeks. Kate giggled a bit as my own splashed against her face. ------- "Hey, Justin, this is Tony," I said into the phone. "Are you back in town or still traveling?" "I'm back, Tony. What's up?" "Well, we've got extended family with us for New Year's Eve and they're all really into drumming," I said. "If you don't have plans for tonight, I'd like to invite you over. You were really great on the congas." "Oh. Hey, thanks. I've uh ... It sounds like fun, but ... well, I've got a date." "If you've already got plans, no big deal. Or you're welcome to bring her ... er ... him? ... along." "Her," Justin said firmly. "Well, we weren't going to do anything special, but just hang out. Mind if I give her a call and buzz you back?" "Great. Let me know." "Oh, if you were wondering, Amanda's back in town and called yesterday bitching about how no one's back yet to hang with. I know she enjoyed the drumming and dancing before our final," Justin said. Hmm. So his date wasn't with our study mate. Well, why not? I disconnected with Justin and dialed Amanda's number. "Hello." "Hey, Amanda. I just heard you were back in town," I said. "I was thinking maybe you'd like to get together tonight and go over the first chapter for Delfin's class on Tuesday. We could get a head start." There was a long pause. "Who is this?" "Shit. I thought you had me on caller ID. I forgot I changed phones. This is Tony." "And you want to study on New Year's Eve?" "Not really," I laughed. "But I'm glad you're taking me seriously. We've got extended family over and they are all into drumming and dancing. I thought if you weren't doing anything special tonight that you might want to come over and join us." "Oh. Really?" "Yeah. I'm going to check with Justin and Bree, too. We had a good time the last time we tried it," I said. "It sounds like fun, Tony. You really don't mind if I come over?" "Amanda, I wouldn't invite you if I didn't want you to come." "Okay. What time?" ------- Justin rang me back right after I hung up with Amanda to tell me he and his date would be here at eight o'clock. I decided I'd better call Bree and make sure no one was left out. "Hi, Tony," she said when she answered the phone. "At least my name comes up on caller ID when I call you. How are you doing?" "Vegging. Last chance before classes start." "Want to come join us for New Year's Eve? We're going to drum and I called Justin and Amanda to see if they'd like to join us. Kate's family is crazy into drumming and dancing." "Oh. Thanks. It's nice to know I'm invited, too. Sounds like it will be more fun than sitting on the sofa watching the ball drop over and over again. Dad's set top box is set up so he can get local games in all time zones. Of course, he's got a faculty party tonight." "Um ... Bree? Does that mean yes?" "Yes, you doofus. I'll see you at eight." I hung up. Did I tell her what time? ------- With three extra people, we had sixteen in the house snacking on everything we could get at Costco on Saturday afternoon. We had soft drinks, Pub Mix, popcorn, nuts, chips—even one of those huge shrimp platters. We didn't really have dinner, just started snacking at about three in the afternoon. Oh yeah. Just three extras. Justin's date? Bree. Now that was interesting. "Um ... Amanda," I said when I'd maneuvered her into the kitchen with me. "I thought you and Justin were like, seeing each other." "Me? With Justin?" she looked appalled. "I'd never date a med student. They're nuts." "You're a med student." "Ye-ah." She looked at me as if it was obvious. We both snorted and she gave me a quick hug. I felt her unfettered softness pressing against my chest. "Mmm. Free-boobin' tonight, huh?" "I figured I'd start the year right. Never know when they might be needed," she laughed. She gave me a gentle shove away from her and picked up the tray of vegetables I'd been preparing and took it downstairs. We'd decided to move the drums downstairs into the big party room. Aside from all the props I'd moved into one corner yesterday, there was really no furniture down there, though Lissa had purchased half a dozen fake oriental rugs at Ikea over the summer to cover the floor. We had our eight folding chairs and the dining room chairs down there so people had room to sit. There was quite a selection of drums scattered around the room, including Ken and Oke's big drum. I thought they'd sent me a huge drum, but theirs was easily half again as big around as mine. I saw with pleasure that Oke brought his strange guitar, too. Willow had a set of tablas and I asked him to show me how he manipulated the sound. Those drums are seriously cool. Bree sat with a set of bongos next to Justin and Amanda sat next to Grandpa Ken with an Irish bodhran. Kate, Gypsy, Sunday, and Rainbow had all disappeared into the teens' room. Wendy settled down next to me and picked up a tambourine. Finally, Ken started things off by hitting his drum solidly one time. He looked over to me and I answered with a single beat. Both drums were deep, but Ken's literally rattled the rafters. He started a slow steady rhythm. I joined in, hitting the off-beats. Oke brought his two mallets to play on the big drum with his dad and the noise kept getting deeper. I was glad we'd put earplugs in the boys' ears and was kind of wishing I'd done the same thing. Drew had put his drum down and had his head wedged beneath Lissa's arm. He looked happy, though. We'd been building up steam for about fifteen minutes when I heard the finger cymbals. I watched Ken and saw him change up the rhythm. We took three long loud strokes and everything went silent except the cymbals. Gypsy came spinning into the room with her fingers creating the rhythm. Kate, Sunday, and Rainbow were right behind. They did a complete circuit around the room and stopped. Kate faced me, Gypsy faced Oke, Rainbow faced Willow, and Sunday surprised me by facing Justin. All four women leaned forward and kissed the men. Bree nudged Justin and giggled. As soon as the women moved back from the kiss, Ken started the rhythms again, though I noted that he muffled the drum a little and followed suit. And the dancing began in earnest. Wow! What a New Year's Eve! The women danced, periodically drawing one of the others up to dance with them. Oke's guitar came out and he played some unbelievable finger work while most of the drums fell silent. I got my next surprise of the night when the drums had started up and a piercing flute rode over the top of them. Amanda was pretty amazing on the instrument and improvised with the drums. The rest of the evening was punctuated by the guitar and flute making their appearances and by sudden twangs as Willow cut loose on the tablas. I left my drum to spend several minutes in Kate's arms as we danced around the room, sometimes inside the circle and sometimes outside. Bree had drawn Justin up to dance as well and I noticed Amanda experimentally handling the mallets for my drum which soon joined the melee again. Kate hugged me tightly and spoke in my ear. "I have never been so consumed by passion—so possessed—as I was last night," she said. "Tony, my darling, never doubt my love for you. You are the center of my world." I held her and our dance included a long, luxurious kiss as she spun me back into the room and pulled Lissa out of her chair. The boys were both dancing wildly and I wondered how long they were going to last. Before I could return to my drum, Melody was in my arms and we danced together, just letting our feet keep rhythm while we looked into each other's eyes. "My darling," she said to me. "You overflowed last night. There was so much love in the room that Lissa and I left marks on each other where we gripped. I'm so happy you can give yourself so completely to each of us." I looked at her. "You didn't feel—left out?" I asked. "I've been on the receiving end of your intensity, lover. You have me forever and I think you cemented Kate into our relationship last night. It was the first time she was ever really not the one in control. You overwhelmed us all. I love you." The remainder of what she had to tell me she did with her lips pressed against mine. I thought I'd take a spin with Lissa before I sat back down with the drum again, but it was Sunday who came into my arms. We hadn't had too much time together since they arrived. The teens were all over Kate at every opportunity, but Sunday was the most convivial, easily joining in any conversation. It was nice to take the tall, thin girl in my arms and discover the differences in her dance moves compared to her sister's. "You make my sister so happy," Sunday said. "You all do. Look at her with Lissa. I've never seen two people so in love. Unless she's with Melody or with you or with Wendy. It's what we all want. It's so hard when we're so isolated." "You've got a unique relationship, Sunday. We can all see how close you are with both of them," I said. "Are you ... okay with us?" "Are you happy together?" "Oh god, yes." "Then why wouldn't we be okay with you?" "You really are everything Katarina says," Sunday said. She planted a kiss on my lips that was just a little more than sisterly, giggled and then spun away to join Rainbow and Willow. Wendy was in my arms when I turned around. We danced slowly as Oke picked up a mournful melody on the guitar punctuated by his son on the tablas. As they played, they were joined by a soulful counterpoint on the flute. Wendy didn't say anything. She just clung to me and let me lead her around the circle. As the drums flared up again, she raised her lips and kissed me tenderly. "Thank you, Tony. Thank you." Wendy turned to her left while I still held her and quickly pecked Bree on the lips. "Grrr rawr rawr," she said, smoothing her tiger striped scarf on her head. Then she was gone and Bree was in my arms. We ignored the increased tempo of the drums and just moved slowly together. I raised my hand and ran my fingers through her short-cropped hair. "You know, I don't think I've told you how much I like your hair short like this," I said. I noticed that Justin had moved to my big drum and was matching Ken stroke for stroke. "Thank you," she said. "I was afraid you might be mad at me for leading Melody and Kate into cutting theirs." "I'm not mad at you, Bree. Not even for the whole picture fiasco. It worked out." "I'm sorry Tony. When Eric showed me the picture he had, I just had to send him the updated version." "Oh, I didn't mean that picture fiasco. I meant the one in Tempe." "Oh you," she laughed. "Thank you for being my friend, even when I haven't been friendly this year. Or when I've been too friendly. You've taught me a lot." "I've learned a lot, too." Bree raised her lips to me and we kissed long and deep. She looked up into my eyes and smiled then slipped away. I was alone in the middle of the floor for all of a second before Lissa wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips to me. "Oh, my darling lover," she said. "Look at our babies." I looked in the direction Lissa was looking and saw Damon and Drew curled up with each other on a pile of pillows with a blanket over them. Even with the drumming and music, they were sacked out sound asleep. I kissed Lissa again. "Just think, darling," I said. "Someday our little girl will be sacked out with them." "I love you, Tony," Lissa said. "Last night while I watched you and Kate, I relived every moment that I've felt like the center of your universe." "Must not have been many," I laughed. "I had them on fast forward," she giggled. "Less than a year. And look at us. So perfect in every way." We kissed and danced together with our lips touching and sliding across each other. "You have another guest, love. Don't forget her." Lissa released me and I walked over to where Amanda was. She still held her flute. "Dance?" I asked. She put the instrument in its case and joined me. I was used to girls with no bras being pressed up against me, but there was something especially naughty about feeling Amanda's breasts pressed into my chest. "I didn't know you played the flute." "Twelve years. I played in band, orchestra, and jazz ensemble. If I wasn't going to be a doctor, I'd be a musician. I haven't had that many opportunities to play lately and this was really fun," she said. "I'm glad you agreed to join us tonight." "It's been wild. Kate's family is really great. I swear her grandfather's been hitting on me, though." "I think he does that with everyone," I laughed. "Feel free to hit back if you want." "He is kind of cute for an old guy." We danced a few minutes. "About the kiss..." "What kiss?" "The one that all your dance partners give you," she said. "It's not required," I laughed. "I was just going to ask if it was permitted. Um ... with me." I smiled and bent my head slightly to capture her lips and then let her lead to the depth she wanted to go. Her lips parted and her tongue touched mine tentatively and then with more commitment. She smiled at me. "You know, the next time I'm keeping you warm in a chair, I might not be so adamant about keeping your hand locked under my arm." She did that little shift that I've noticed girls sometimes do that rubs their nipples across a guy's chest. "You can take my pulse like that any time, Doctor," I said. Justin was still on my drum and making it sound a million times better than I ever did so I headed over to the unused congas. Gypsy spun into my path. "What? No dance for Mama Gypsy?" she asked. "Mama, there will always be a dance for you," I laughed, taking her in my arms. The women in a family may all be different, but there is something that tells you they are all related when you take them in your arms. Gypsy was far more bold in her dance-steps than Sunday or Kate, but she managed to drag me along with her in perfect rhythm. "You should just be thankful there are only four queens in a deck," Gypsy laughed. "Hmm. Maybe I should play with a double deck," I laughed. "No wonder they all love you," Gypsy said. I noted that only the big drum was pulsing now, a smooth even beat. It was like Ken was timing something. Gypsy kissed me politely on the lips and went to sit beside Oke. Everyone else had moved to the middle of the floor and I found myself surrounded by my friends and family. "Ready!" Ken called. "Ready!" we answered. There were three more beats before he called out. "Ten! Nine! Eight!" "Seven! Six! Five!" we joined in. "Four! Three! Two! One!" My girlfriends had maneuvered themselves closest to me and the four of us were so intent on our kiss that we actually lost our balance and fell on the floor in a pile. Lissa and Melody rolled together and Kate was joined by Wendy on top of me as we kissed. The two of them rolled aside and Melody came back to me with Bree and the three of us shared a kiss that almost became x-rated as I found my hands creeping up their fronts. When they rolled away, I was surprised again as Lissa dragged Amanda with her for a New Year's kiss that had me poking at both of them. "Wow! That was a new experience," Amanda said. She looked at Lissa and leaned in for another kiss with her. "Wow!" We struggled to sort ourselves out. I caught Melody and Bree double-teaming Justin for a moment before my eye tracked to the teens. They were making no secret of their love for each other as they kissed together and in pairs. Willow's hands were both beneath the shirts of Sunday and Rainbow and the three were in their own world. I looked past them then. While a little more demure, I saw Gypsy give her father-in-law a deep kiss as well before turning again to her husband. ------- We each had a glass of champagne or Catawba juice and eventually the party broke up. Ken was the first to make his way back to his bedroom. The teens never came upstairs, but went directly into their room. We said goodnight to Bree, Justin, and Amanda as they left with our encouragement for them to drive carefully. Oke and Gypsy headed for the camper. We started the shower and there was a parade in and out. With five of us, there was no way we were all going to fit in the shower at the same time. I started thinking about whether we could enlarge the already huge bathroom. Five? I realized that Wendy was slipping in and out of the shower with the rest of us and when we'd finally all emerged and started drying off, she slipped into the big bed with us. Somehow we managed to work out an arrangement that gave us all a little room. Melody was lying on top of me with her head on my chest and my cock pretty much between her boobs. Lissa was on the bottom of a kitten and tiger pile. It really didn't take long to fall asleep. Happy New Year! ------- Chapter 38 I woke up with a start on Sunday morning. Melody had my hands pinned beside my head and was lowering herself onto my cock. I could have shaken her grip off, but why? "Don't anyone move or I fuck the boy," Melody growled. I glanced to my right and discovered Lissa being double teamed by Kate and Wendy. They all giggled. "On second thought, go ahead and move. I'm going to fuck the boy anyway." "Oh, aren't you the tough girl," I complained in my best maiden-in-distress voice. "Having your way with me lying here helpless." "I've got a pussy and I'm not afraid to use it." Melody growled and then broke up in laughter as she struggled to kiss me at the top of her stroke. She freed my hands and I caressed her back as she slid back down on me. "I was the first one to fuck you last year, and I'll be the first one this year and every year from now on." Melody said. "That's big talk," I laughed. "What if I want Wendy first next year?" There was a little gasp and her bald head shot up in the air. "Oh, talk about big talk," Melody said. "There's two girls in this bed who are no longer virgins because of you, one that had that fresh-fucked look on her face when you finally came to the party last night. And then there is one who is still waiting for you to get around to her. You've got your work cut out for you, boyo." "Does it make a difference if I tell you how much I love you, Little One?" I asked, softening. "Mmm, yes," she said, lifting her eyebrows as she slid down my length again. "Tell me." "A gypsy fortune teller read my cards and saw that you were the glue that held me together. In fact, you are the empress who rules my heart. We would be nothing without you. You are my queen of spades." I heard Kate gasp, but I couldn't turn my focus away from Melody. "You hold my life in your hands. You steady our ship. You guide our lives. Yes, I say our. Vast as my love for you is, it is but a pittance compared to our love, my queen. The sun rises in your eyes and sets when you sleep. I am but your knave, a squire to your desires. I live to serve you and pledge my allegiance to your throne for evermore." Melody's strokes had sped up and I could hear heavy breathing from beside me as well. Her lavender eyes were burning into me. Her lips moved, but no sound issued. "I love you, Melody," I whispered. "I will always love you." The floodgates opened and Melody pounded back against me accepting the flow of my orgasm and matching it with her own. I remembered the first time Melody and I had been with Lissa and how she lay passive beneath us waiting for us to make her come. This time she took the dominant role, melting our hearts with her cries of pleasure as we, her partners, were released to our own. ------- "I know!" Wendy said as she bounced out of bed. "Coffee!" She headed for the door. "Tiger!" I called as I struggled to sit up. "Company." "Oh!" she said and grabbed a t-shirt from the floor. She checked quickly to see if she was adequately covered—which I didn't think she was—and headed to the kitchen. "I think I'd better go stand guard," I said as I crawled out of bed. I pulled on my sweats and looked back at the bed where my lovers had rolled into a clutch in the middle. "My darlings," I said as I knelt on the foot of the bed, "I am the most fortunate man who ever lived. And you, my dears—each one of you—are my fortune. I love you." I slipped off the bed and went to help Wendy with morning coffee. When the teens came upstairs, I let Wendy take the coffee to my lovers while I designed drinks for Sunday, Willow, and Rainbow. They only had tea at home, but all three wanted to try the Seattle thing—a latte. I debated about how strong to make their coffees, but decided that they wouldn't really know what coffee was like if it was just a flavoring for their milk, so I made them plenty strong, but mixed decaf with the regular shots so I wouldn't overload them. All three were dressed in much the same way that Wendy had been. They had long t-shirts on. I had a feeling that they wore nothing else as I could see both girls' hard nipples pressing out against the fabric and Willow seemed to be keeping his t-shirt wrapped tightly around him as he sat on the stool. "Mr. Ames," Rainbow said. "Whoa!" I said. "That's my father. And even he doesn't like to be called that except in the classroom when he's teaching. Please don't ever use that term again, Rainbow. My name is Tony." "Yes, Tony," she said demurely. I hadn't spoken much with Rainbow. It was such a jam-packed weekend that it just wasn't possible to have a private conversation with each individual. I'd barely spoken to Oke and spent only a few minutes on the deck with Ken as we discussed life in the city opposed to life in the country. I think he had a point, but I wasn't sure what it was. Still, Rainbow seemed to be the designated spokesperson for the trio. "I was ... we were wondering if it would be okay to ... um ... come for a visit this summer. I mean ... the three of us." "Well, we need to take that idea to the family, but I can't think of any reason that we wouldn't love to have you come for a visit." I looked steadily at Rainbow, then shifted my focus to Sunday and then to Willow. "There's no reason we wouldn't welcome you." The three all hugged each other, but Rainbow wasn't finished. "There's one other thing," Rainbow said. "I don't know why I didn't just do it, but I was afraid." "Afraid of what?" "I ... didn't get a New Year's kiss from you," she said, dropping her eyes. "Well, it's never too late for that, is it?" I said. She rushed to me and smashed her lips against mine. It wasn't a passionate kiss with a lot of tongue or anything, but I could feel an intensity in the girl that spoke volumes. She was really worried that we'd disapprove of them. I looked up to find Willow standing next to me. I looked at him curiously and he just leaned in and kissed me, softly on the lips, then he moved away. I'd just gotten kissed by a guy, but my immediate thoughts were how much like his sister's lips his were. "Thank you," he whispered. This boy was really lucky he had Sunday and Rainbow at his side. He would be lost in the world if he was alone. "Well, we'd better check with the rest of the family to make sure everyone's okay with you visiting this summer, right? Bring your coffee; we're all lounging in bed." We'd see if the kids' liberal views were limited to themselves. I opened the door and walked in. It could have been an orgy, but in spite of everyone being naked, it was pretty demure. Melody and Lissa were huddled over the comics. Wendy was sitting on Kate's lap. She dipped her finger into Kate's latte and smeared foam over her cheek, then licked it off. "Oh, wow!" Willow whispered behind me. The trio stood in the doorway behind me. "Hi guys," Kate said when she saw us there. All three teens had eyes as big as saucers. "Visitors, Mel," Lissa said, looking up. "Family," I said, "these kids have asked me something that needs a whole family decision. Rainbow, would you tell the family your request?" "Yes, Tony," she said. She stepped up beside me. "We were wondering if we could come and visit this summer—all three of us—together. We'd help with chores and everything and try to contribute some money, too. We just want to see the city and get away from the commune for a while. Okay?" "Would you come?" Kate said, almost dumping Wendy off her lap in her excitement. "Tony, could we drive down to pick them up after school is out and have them for the summer? Lissa? Melody?" Kate was bouncing. "Why would we ever say no to that?" Lissa asked. "Of course they could come." "What fun," Melody said. "Maybe we could violate some child labor laws and have you help in the shop with fabric dying for next season." I laughed. To Melody it was a shop. To me it was a studio. Ah, well. "Wendy?" She turned her eyes toward me and nearly panicked. "You live here, too, Tiger. Are you okay with these guys coming for a visit?" She just nodded her head and then hid her face against Kate's neck. I think she was just overwhelmed. "Well, there's your answer," I said. "The invitation is officially open. Come visit us this summer." The three turned and hugged me, then rushed to Kate and Wendy and wrapped the two in a hug. Melody and Lissa were braced when the trio reached them and hugged back with as much force as the kids used. Just then the door popped open again. "Tony? Read?" Damon asked. "Sure thing, Pal," I said. "Let's head for the chair." ------- "Tony," Gypsy said as the family was saying their goodbyes. "A moment?" "Of course, Mama Gypsy," I said. She smiled at me. "Thank you for welcoming my children. All of them." "I love Kate with all my heart, Mama. There isn't a reason in the world that I wouldn't love her siblings, or their girlfriend." "There is something you should know." "I think I already do..." "No. Different. Even at the peak of our community's population, we were small and sometimes the choice of partners was limited. My playmates were brother and sister and they grew to love each other. But they had different last names. Darling carried her mother's last name and Davis carried his father's. When Rainbow was born her mother duly registered a birth certificate in the county seat. When I had twins, I talked to Leo and Bliss and we registered Sunday as their child and Willow as mine. Legally they have different last names and different parents, even though they've always been brother and sister and lived in our home. You need to know that if anyone asks when they come to visit," Gypsy said. "Thank you for telling me, Gypsy. I hope we never have an issue with it." "When they come to see you, they may never come back home. They are sixteen and children often leave at that age. They'll have high school certificates," Gypsy said. "Now, about your fourth queen." "I don't know, Mama," I said. "I really don't know." "You should know one thing, though," she said. "The queen of diamonds is different than the other queens. None of your other queens would let you get away with anything. They would tell you if they thought you were doing wrong. She won't. To the queen of diamonds, her king—or her queen—is her ruler. She lives to serve. Be very careful with her, Tony. She needs you to be strong." "I still don't know, Gypsy. I'm totally in love with Kate, Melody, and Lissa. That's more than most people can comprehend right there. I'm lucky you are who you are. Melody's father was not accepting of us—at least not until the end. I just don't know where Wendy fits." "You'll figure it out. Well, it looks like I'm holding up the trip. Goodbye, Tony." Gypsy kissed me on the cheek and then hugged Kate, Melody, Lissa, and Wendy one more time. Then they got in the car and headed back to their communal life in Oregon. ------- We passed a quiet New Year's Day. I took time through the day to just hold each of my lovers, and they managed to get me to the bedroom to make leisurely sweet love with them. I spent time with the boys. We played parkour in the back yard and they were getting pretty good at it. I was looking forward to chasing Coach Fredericks around downtown Seattle on Tuesday. I spent some time cuddling with Wendy. We were trying to integrate her into the household without placing obligations on her. And we went to Sleep Country for their New Year's Day sale and ordered a queen size bed for Kate's room. They said it would be delivered on Tuesday. Kate moved her clothes down to the second bedroom downstairs, but she stayed Monday night with us in the big bed. Wendy did, too, and I wondered how often she would actually be using her own bed. Tuesday dawned entirely too early. I was up way before the sun. In fact, I'd be in class before the sun rose. The boys were still trying to catch up on their sleep from the two late nights over the holiday and hadn't been rising before eight. For me, it was the first day of school and I needed to get a shower and make it on time for my stupid seven-thirty class with Doctor Delfin. I felt a hand on my arm in the shower and opened my eyes to see Wendy slip in beside me. She reached up to help shampoo my hair. "Will you wash my head, Tony?" she asked. "Even though I don't have hair?" "Hey! What's all this? Peach fuzz?" I asked as I smoothed a special shampoo that had aloe conditioner in it. Parts of Wendy's scalp were still a little pink and flaky, but it didn't look worse than sunburn now. She wasn't tender anymore as long as I didn't scrub hard. "Itches," she said. We finished in the shower and I handed her a towel. I dried off and turned to her. "You'd better get dressed for school. I can drop you off if we leave early enough." She looked at me with a deer-in-the-headlights expression, her mouth coming open as if I'd spoken a different language. "You have class today, don't you?" I asked. She nodded. "Then I'll make coffee while you get dressed." SCU and UW have pretty much the same schedule, at least for winter quarter. We hadn't really talked about how Wendy was getting from Queen Anne to the U, but I figured that at least this time I could give her a lift. How could Delfin expect anyone to be on time for class the day after New Year's Day? I'd just finished making the second dark espresso when Wendy screamed. It was not a scream of fear or joy, but one of utter frustration. I ran for the stairs and could hear our bedroom door open behind me. I didn't bother to knock, but just threw Wendy's door open and barged in. Every article of her clothing—the things we'd bought second hand and the few new pieces and even the clothes borrowed from Kate—were scattered on the bed and on the floor. Wendy stood in the middle of the room in a pair of pink panties staring at her clothes in horror. "I don't know what to wear," she moaned. Tears ran down her cheeks. I felt Kate behind me more that saw her. I went to Wendy and wrapped her in my arms. "It's okay, Tiger. We didn't plan ahead, did we?" I asked softly. "You hadn't even thought about school starting for you today. Let's get ready, now. Here," I said, spotting the pink bra that matched her panties. "You look so nice in this set. Did Kate take you to Victoria's Secret?" Wendy took the bra and fastened it while nodding her head. "It's cold out and it's the first day of school. Those Guess jeans we got at Value Center would be perfect. You might need to catch a bus home, so better wear the turtleneck with them. And here, warm socks and your hiking shoes. Gosh, Wendy, you look like a Seattle girl." She put the articles of clothing on as I handed them, not looking at anything else in the room. I finally spared a glance at Kate. There were tears on her cheeks, but she was smiling. She silently mouthed a "thank you" to me. "Hey, Kate," I said, "you know what Wendy needs with this outfit? That Pendleton wool shirt in my closet—the gray plaid. Don't you think?" "It would be perfect," Kate responded. "I'll get it while you and Wendy have breakfast." "Come on, Tiger," I said. "Our coffee is getting cold." Wendy rushed into my arms and kissed me, then just hugged me. "I'll get better, I promise. Thank you. Thank you," she said. "It doesn't happen overnight, Tiger," I said. "We're your friends. Are you going to wear your wool cap today or your tiger scarf?" She looked at the two items. There were lots of other choices, but I'd intentionally limited it to two. She reached for the cap and looked at me to see if I approved. I tried to stay as neutral as I could be and she resolutely pulled it onto her head. "That really looks great on you," I said. "Let's go." ------- The first week of school wasn't that great. Yeah, Delfin did expect everyone on time the day after New Year's and he gave me a dirty look when I walked in five minutes late. Bree had saved a seat for me and both she and Amanda gave me as sour a look as Delfin had. Justin kept his head down and focused on taking notes. They all brightened significantly, though, when I handed them their invitations. As soon as Coach Fredericks started running, I realized I hadn't worked out at all in the past two weeks. It's not like you lose all your conditioning in two weeks, but damn, I could tell I was going to be sore. Literary Criticism is a lot different than Critical Reading! We were going to go through a lot of theory in this class, but Professor Strait was expecting us to apply it to some pretty difficult texts. By Tuesday night's racquetball practice, I was already beat. But we had two new members of the club and I needed to get on top of things fast. Sandra's boyfriend, Walt, had decided to use racquetball as his off-season conditioning. Somehow, Bree had enticed a feisty little Asian cheerleader named Rachel to join the team. Rachel was the shortest person in my immediate sphere outside of the boys. She didn't top five feet and was what the cheerleaders termed a "flyer." She's the one they threw in the air and then caught. Bree finally admitted that she wanted to play, too, and became a player/manager. Racquetball was looking up just in time for the winter competitions. Rio and Whitney both attacked me as soon as they saw me on campus. Squeals of delight and writhing girl-flesh pressed into my arms and against my body are always a high-point of my day. But they didn't push their boundaries. I handed each girl their official invitation created by Melody the night before. You should have seen their eyes when they read that the Saturday night party would be formal! "I need a dress!" Rio screamed. "I didn't bring anything like this to campus," Whitney protested. "Ragstock," I suggested. "Get something that you can iron and throw on that makes you look incredibly delicious." "Ragstock?" Whitney said. "You would make any rag look sexy," I said. "Remember, the purpose of wearing a formal is to be able to—how'd you put it, Rio?—have it accidentally fall off." "Oh, shee-it," Whitney drawled. "I'm gonn to cream mah panties." "There's a solution to that," Rio said. "Don't wear any. That's what I do." It was the first time I saw Whitney speechless. ------- I was working on the estimates for the memorial Tuesday night when Kate came in and perched on the arm of my chair. "You did good, Tony," she said. "You did it right." "Hmm? What?" "Handling Wendy this morning. I would have blown that one. We'd still be in there with me trying to make her make a decision," Kate said. "You led by example and never gave her a direct order then you tossed it right back to her to make a decision between just two things. I was mad at you for a while before I realized that it's okay to be assertive. It's what we're trying to teach her, after all. What better way than by being assertive." "Kitten, you know so much more about this than I do," I said leaning against her. "I didn't even think. I just started handing her the stuff. I was shaking all the way to campus." "I love you." It was a simple affirmation, but just the sound of her voice sent shivers down my spine. "Will you help me, Kate?" I asked. "With Wendy? Of course!" "Yes. But what I was asking was for help with the memorial. I feel so out of my depth; I don't know what I'll do. That painting was never meant to be eighty feet wide." "You'll have to do another one," she said. "The estimates for the project don't depend on what you are painting; just on how much paint and time it's going to take. We can figure that out and then you can come up with the design when you are sitting in the studio with a big canvas in front of you." "That's what I need, isn't it?" I said. "A big canvas that's the same proportions as the wall we're going to paint on. The subject is the same, but the presentation is different. Thank you." "Right, now what kind of paint do we use on an exterior masonry wall?" Kate asked. ------- By Friday night, I was a zombie. I'd been up most of the night every night either working on the estimates and proposal or on my homework. I was up at six each morning in order to make it to my seven-thirty class. It hadn't taken long for Wendy to decide that if she didn't have class until ten that she didn't need me to drop her off at seven. Even my morning coffee was alone. Kate moved down to her room on Tuesday and that night it was just Lissa, Melody, and me in the big bed for the first time in as long as I could remember. By the time I crawled in, they were asleep, and they were still asleep when I dragged my sorry ass out of bed in the morning. We had family dinner without the boys. Jack got back the day after New Year's and Molly had taken the boys to his house after school on Friday. I felt like I'd hardly seen them all week and now they were gone. We finished a quiet meal and I excused myself to go to bed. It must have been about half past seven. I was asleep before eight. I woke up Saturday morning with my hard cock pointed at empty air. No Lissa spooned in front of me. Arms were wrapped around me from behind, though. I turned slightly and saw the halo of fuzz around Wendy's head. We were the only ones in bed and for a moment, I thought it must be late and everyone else was up. The house was quiet, though. I rolled toward Wendy and looked over her shoulder to see if they were on the other side. "With Kate," she mumbled sleepily. "Oh," I said as I fell back. "Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb your sleep, Tiger." "'Sokay," she mumbled. "Cuddle." I held her in my arms and fell back asleep. ------- I was awake enough to function Saturday afternoon, so I managed to get the setting the way I wanted it in the downstairs family room. I was counting on my fingers how many people we had and making notes about the positions I wanted everyone in. Saturday night was seriously just going to be a party with everyone circulating and enjoying themselves on the set. During the party, I'd be making mental notes on who was where, who was doing what—or who—and how people circulated. We'd be playing music and encouraging people to dance. My theme was "Bacchanalia." People would start arriving at eight. It would be a twenty-four hour posing party. I didn't really figure I'd do any sketching until eleven or midnight, but having the party "on set" would get everyone comfortable with their surroundings. People started arriving before I was actually ready and I had to head for the bedroom before everyone saw that I was still in jeans. I needed a shower and a shave and my tux, so thoughtfully provided by Lissa. It would be fun. Yeah. Lissa came in and woke me up about nine. "Tony? Darling? Oh god, Tony, have you even showered yet?" Lissa asked. She, of course, looked divine. There was nothing ragstock about the gown she was wearing. I groaned as I opened my eyes and tried to sit up. The last I remembered, I'd sat on the foot of the bed to put my socks on. I apparently just fell back asleep. My feet were hanging over the edge of the bed and my legs were numb. "Can I just go to bed now?" I mumbled. "I can't walk." "Come on, darling," Lissa prodded gently. "I'll help you get dressed. At least your hair is short enough no one will notice you slept on it wet. I don't think. Come on. Pants next." "Let's just go to bed and cuddle up with each other and see if anyone misses us at the party," I complained. "Shirt. Let me fix the studs," Lissa continued as I put my arms through the sleeves and she started to button me up. "Studs for my stud. Where are the cufflinks?" "They should have been with the studs. Aren't they all on the dresser?" "Let me tie this bow for you," she responded, pulling the tie around my neck. "How'd I get so lucky to have a fashion maven lover who could dress me?" I asked. I tried for a kiss, but her fingers were right at my Adam's apple and I couldn't move forward. "I'll get you a cup of coffee while you get your jacket on," Lissa said. "I know you had a rough week, Tony, but you know how much everyone has been looking forward to this. You suggested the date, remember?" "I should have waited a week. Is everyone back from PCAD even?" "Sandra is practically living with Walt and he had to be in class Tuesday just like you did. Amy is hanging on Thor and Sonia—well, mostly on Sonia—like they might disappear if she lets go. And Melody and Kate live here. Were you expecting someone else?" Lissa asked. "Wait. There's, like, umpteen people coming to this party and only five of us are from PCAD? Doesn't it sound a little strange that all our friends are suddenly at SCU?" "It's the same five that were at the party last spring and you haven't been around PCAD making friends this year. You've been at SCU. Of course you are going to have more friends there." Lissa started toward the door but turned to look at me. I was just staring into space. "Tony? What is it, hon?" "I'm feeling a little lost and overwhelmed, I guess. I'll snap out of it. Did you say coffee?" "On the way. Get your shoes on." Lissa left and I bent to get my shoes on. I resisted falling back on the bed and going to sleep again. I was still tying my shoe when Melody came into the room. "Hi baby! Ooo, you look yummy in a tux, you know?" Melody, quite frankly, should not have mentioned yummy. Just glancing up at her, I was ready to make a meal of her on the spot. She'd chosen to go with a very Grecian-style tunic dress off one shoulder and plunging in folds around her waist beneath her right arm. The angle of the fabric made me believe she'd taped the drape to her right boob. Otherwise she'd be starting the nude part of the festivities long before anyone else. "I want to eat you," I said. "Later, darling. I have an important assignment for you. We have a guest emergency." "You can't mean Allison's here, can you?" I said. That would be a treat. "No. Don't we all wish. It's another guest. She needs to see you before we start the posing and all," Melody said. "I know it will sound strange, but sweetheart, listen to her request and know that it's okay. You don't have to worry about your wives or girlfriend being upset." "I'm not having sex with Bree before the party," I said adamantly. "Patience. Since you're dressed, I'm sending the guest in." Melody turned and left. She'd carefully not told me who the guest was, I noticed. The door opened as I finished the knot and I stood up to look straight at Amanda. She looked great in her light blue gown. It was a floor-length A-line with a beaded bodice and straps. It was cool how the fabric was all wrinkly—like crepe paper—with the creases going vertically over her breasts, then horizontal for a wide kind of belt-look, then vertical again as it fell from about her natural waist out to the floor. She'd chosen well. Amanda is pretty. She's not model material, but anyone would be happy to have her with him. She carries a little more weight on her five-foot-five frame than Lissa and Melody, but that just gives her a softness that you might miss if she was skinny. Her medium-length brown hair was done in a French braid that really accented her oval face. Man, I was already sizing her up for a portrait. "Hi, Amanda," I said. "You look great. What's up?" "Is it okay? I've never posed for an artist before." "Hey, there's nothing to it. Even a dead man can do it." "Tony!" she gasped. "Oh shit," she laughed. "Now I feel so much better." "What's up, Amanda? Are you really nervous about posing? Let me see the rest of your pretty dress." She spun around showing me that the dress was backless down to that horizontal waist band with just two inch-wide beaded straps coming from her shoulders down. This side showed how voluptuous her backside was. Mmm. Down boy! She faced me again. "I feel funny. I want you to know ... I talked to ... your girfriends ... about this and they said okay. So I'm not, like, trying to seduce you or anything." She was working her hands behind her back. "I just ... I know it's silly ... but I don't want the first time you see me naked to be with a whole bunch of other people standing around." She finally succeeded in unzipping the back of her dress below her hips and hunched her shoulders forward letting the dress slide off her arms. It took a little push to get it past her hips and then it pooled on the floor at her feet—feet that were in three inch matching blue pumps and did great things for her legs. I noticed the shoes because they were the only thing she was still wearing. "Amanda? Not that I'm unappreciative, but why?" I asked. She stepped forward and turned slowly around so I was looking at her back. "Your girlfriends are all so beautiful," she said. "And Bree and Sonia and Amy and Whitney. Even though Rio is overweight, she flaunts herself like she's an absolute sex goddess—and she is! Sandra is beautiful. Wendy is so ethereal. God, Tony!" She turned back to face me and came toward me to put her hands on my shoulders. "I didn't want to be compared right next to them the first time you saw me ... like this. I thought somehow ... maybe if they weren't there ... you'd think I was beautiful, too." "Amanda, you are beautiful." I said. "Come here." I took her hand and led her to the full-length mirrors on our closet doors. Lissa had them designed so that if you opened the doors just right, it created one of those three-panel mirrors like you find in dressing rooms when you're trying on clothes. I stood behind Amanda and we looked at the triple image of her staring back at us. "I'm overweight," she whispered. "That depends on you. Look at you. Look at this nose," I said, reaching around her to stroke once down the bridge to the tip of her nose. "Straight. Delicate. Just a little dip here at the bridge and the tiniest upturn at the end. Elvin, I'd say. Your neck is straight like the rest of your posture. You hold your head regally." I turned her head slightly to the left, knowing she could still see the center mirror as I traced her jawline and down her neck to her shoulder. "There's unusual strength here. You don't clench your jaw. You hold it relaxed, but I have the feeling you could bite my head off if upset you." "You already knew that," she laughed sadly. "I bitched at you enough times last term." "You didn't know me yet. We're getting along much better now. Look. You're standing naked in my bedroom in front of a mirror while I paint you with words," I said. She did look and a tiny shudder went through her body. "You don't have to touch my breasts ... if you don't want to," she whispered. "Why would I not want to touch this beautiful bosom? Why would I miss tracing the line from your throat through your cleavage to your navel? Why would any man not want to weigh them in his hands or watch your nipples respond to his caress?" I suited action to words as I lifted her breasts in my hands. They were about the same size as Lissa's, but hung a little more softly. Large areola surrounded a puffy hard nipple that stood out proudly from her breast when I pinched it slightly. She sucked in air in a gasp. "Look at your beautiful tummy," I said. "I'm fat," she responded. "No. Fat would be hanging over here." I pinched what she had of love-handles and she squirmed. "Your tummy is slightly round. Do you know that would make you the most highly prized woman in some cultures? Look. There's no crease where your round tummy meets your pudendum. It just blends in smoothly. One flows to the other and they both complement the way your hips flare." I stroked down her tummy and her hips and moved toward her center. "Tony," she whispered hoarsely, "if you touch me there I'll come." "Is that what you want, Amanda? Do you want to watch in the mirror as I stroke your pussy and you come?" There was a long silence and I thought I'd misinterpreted her desires for a minute. I let my hands rest lightly on her hips, but I didn't attempt to pull her back into me. "Yes," she whispered. "When you paint me, will I look like I've just had an orgasm?" "Let's see what that looks like," I said. I moved slightly to her right, lifting both hands up beneath her arms and sliding softly across her breasts once more. They heaved beneath my fingers as she gasped in more air. I let my left hand lead, circling her body to her back as my right hand gradually came off the lower slope of her breast onto her abdomen. As it paused there, making tiny circles around her navel, my left hand continued down to cup her butt-cheek. "Did you know that there has never been a single pop song about a woman's skinny ass?" I whispered in her ear. I could feel the shiver as it coursed through her body from her scalp to her spine to her legs. I squeezed her butt in my hand and stroked down onto her thighs and back up. "When you sat on my lap in the tent in your sweats and had my right hand trapped beneath your arm, it was all I could do to keep from sliding my left hand into your sweats to get a better feel of that beautiful ass." "Mmm, Tony." Her breath was coming in short bursts, her breasts rising and falling hypnotically. Her head was tilted back slightly, her lips parted and her eyes drifting closed. I cupped the underside of her belly in my right hand, making tiny circles with my palm and stretching the skin above her slit with each stroke. I moved my left hand to the center of her ass-crack and started to slip my finger slowly down between her cheeks. They began to clench and unclench around my finger as she became lost in the feeling of me approaching from the rear. Just as she let her head roll back, and her eyes drift closed, I moved my right hand down to cup her sex. She drew in her breath and I thought I was about to have a real screamer on my hands, but instead she simply gasped "Oh!" three short times and then let all the air out of her lungs in a long slow syllable, "Ohh!" "Amanda," I whispered as she relaxed back against me. "You are a beautiful woman. You are smart and sexy and I am so honored that you want me to paint you." "Mmm," she whined. "Thank you." I smiled and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yes, I thought I could capture that expression when I painted her. ------- "Is the coffee cold?" I whispered in Lissa's ear. "You're lucky I didn't make it when Melody told me what was going on," she said. She pulled my hand to her lips and kissed it, inhaling deeply. "Did you relieve her tension?" she asked, sniffing several times for a scent that wasn't there. "Yes, love," I chuckled, "but I never got my fingers wet. Quite amazing, actually." "If she spreads the word, every girl here will want Tony's magic fingers. I know I do." "Oh? What about poor Tony?" I whined. I was teasing and resting my head on Lissa's shoulder as she made my espresso. She whipped around in my arms to face me. "Tony? Oh my god! Tony, when's the last time we made love?" "Um ... last week, New Year's Day." "And with Kate?" "Yeah. Same day." "And Melody?" "Sunday morning, first one of the New Year." "And not one since!" "Um ... we've been busy. I've been busy, I guess." "And you just gave a beautiful orgasm to your friend and didn't have one yourself, did you? "It was awfully quiet. I don't know if she enjoyed it all that much." "Oh, you poor baby!" "Yeah. Like I should feel sorry for myself. My wives send a perfectly beautiful woman into my bedroom to undress for me. Poor Tony." "Tony, I want you to look at every guest and family member here tonight and then tell me which one you want. Even if it's Amy, I'll find a way to make her yours." "Um ... how about Walt?" I laughed. "If that's what you want, baby, I'll find a way." "And how about if what I want is already in my arms?" "Can you wait for coffee for another fifteen minutes?" ------- I appreciated Lissa's offer. Really I did. But the reality was that we had guests and I'd been out of it for nearly two hours of our party already. I don't know if I would have been up to it even if Amanda had tried something. She had just kissed me softly for a minute while I ran my hands all over her back and ass, and then she pulled her dress on and asked me to zip it. I wandered downstairs with my coffee and started greeting guests. They were all getting into the swing of the party. We were playing Strauss waltzes interspersed with big band jazz and ballroom dance music. Melody had actually found a used The Best of Lawrence Welk CD at Silver Platters this week and added it to the mix. There were some predictable combinations as I walked through the party and greeted people. Sandra and Walt were talking with Kate. Sonia and Amy were sitting in a rocking chair together. I looked around and found Thor dancing with June. What a contrast with the little Korean girl and the huge Scandinavian god. Melody and Bree were dancing with Justin and they were doing their best to confuse the poor guy. Amanda had found Whitney and Rio and they were collapsed on the daybed together, each with a plate of food and a soft drink. Lissa had come downstairs with me and the party was in full swing. I looked around, though, and couldn't find Wendy. I started to say something to Lissa when a pair of hands covered my eyes from behind. "Guess who!" she said. "Grrr rawr rawr," I answered. There was a quick pivot and the hands went behind my neck and Wendy pulled herself to me. We had a quick kiss and then she turned to kiss Lissa as well. "I was worried when I didn't see you out here," I said. "Kate was busy with everyone and I ... I didn't want to come out before you got here." She pushed away from me and spun around so I could see her dress. It was great. "Did Melody do that?" I asked. "We were having fun with fabric at the studio while we were working on the new shipment," Lissa said. "Melody said she could make tiger stripes for Wendy's new dress by tie-dying in bleach. Pretty impressive, don't you think?" "Not only is it impressive, we should be selling these," I said. "This is beautiful. Only you can't sell our model. I'm keeping her." I hugged Wendy. As I looked more closely at her dress, I realized it was cut with a full back and a collar that supported two strips of fabric attached at the waist. These provided the only covering there was for Wendy's breasts. The back, on the other hand, was full, leaving the sides bare from armpit to waistband. They'd reversed the front and back! "Who designed the dress?" I asked. "Another of Melody's creations," Lissa said. Wendy stood up on tiptoes to whisper in my ear. "She made tiger stripes in my hair, too," Wendy said. I ran my hand over her head, which had no more than peach fuzz growing on it. "Not that hair, silly," Wendy laughed. Oh shit! ------- Chapter 39 "Okay, Bacchanalia doesn't quite mean drunken orgy," I said as everyone laughed. I was trying to get them into their first pose. "And there are rules, here, too, everybody. Eventually there will be a lot of models who don't have any clothes on. There might even be a naked artist or two. But there is absolutely no touching without the touchee's explicit permission—even if you're a couple—or triple—or quadruple. And while I want to capture a lot of flirtatiousness in the painting, we're not talking anything X-rated. The only thing that will make it R-rated is the nudity. Got it?" "You take the fun out of everything, Tony," Whitney laughed. "Can't it be a little more R-rated?" Rio chimed in. "Like that ad with the guy's hands covering the girl's tits. What was that product?" "I didn't think you wanted them covered, Rio," I laughed. "Tonight we're just going to try some positions anyway. I want some fully clothed sketches and reference photos. You all look so good in your formals and tuxes, guys. It seems like a shame to lose them so soon." "I don't get it," Whitney said. "You're going to paint nude pictures of us with all our clothes on?" "Remember what Rio said at Halloween? The Rubens nudes looked like their clothes just fell off of them? That's what we're going to go for. I can't have them just falling off if they aren't on. There's, what, sixteen of us here? I hate to tell you, but it's going to take a long time to get this right. And I can't stay up all night tonight. I'm going to have to get some sleep." "Shit. I'm gonna be up all night," Justin said. "This room is full of the hottest girls I've ever met." "Oh, aren't you sweet," Bree and Melody chimed from either side of him. They both planted kisses on his cheeks. It took a while, but I managed to get a composition that I liked, managed to get everyone to hold the pose for twenty minutes, and managed to take a couple of reference photos and rip through half a dozen sketches. Some of them were of the whole scene, and some were just of the tableaus that made up the scene. I still wasn't satisfied with the flow from focal point to focal point, though. I knew that if doc was looking at this scene, he'd see the flaw, but this was one I had to find the flaw in. After I'd maneuvered people into two more poses and did a dozen more fast sketches, I told people to go ahead and party and enjoy. I was literally going cross-eyed. One of my sketches had a big black mark down the middle of it where I'd just let my hand drift down the paper as my eyes closed. I had to get some sleep or I was going to be shit tomorrow. About two o'clock, we broke up for sleeping arrangements. We let Walt and Sandra have the guest room. Kate gave Thor, Amy, and Sonia her room and said she planned to spend the night in our bed. Wendy offered to share her bed with Bree and we put Justin in the boys' room. That meant Amanda, Rio, Whitney, and June got the daybed and air mattress in the big room. I couldn't believe we actually had sleeping places for all sixteen of us. ------- I was asleep before my lovers got to bed. I love waking up with my cock nestled between Lissa's nether cheeks seeking entrance to paradise. This morning I woke up to an uncommon pressure on my bladder and my cock already in a warm wet place. I was lying flat on my back and rather than open my eyes I decided to just lie there and see what I could identify with just my other senses. Oh yes. It was definitely Lissa on top of me, facing away. It felt the same as when we are spooning. And those lips gently caressing mine—that probing tongue—were Melody's. I rolled my left hand palm up and Melody immediately got the hint and positioned herself to ride it. That meant the tongue washing my balls and then stroking up Lissa's slit making her moan would have to be Kate. I love waking up with my family in the morning. I used my right hand to pet Melody's short hair and stroke her side. I raised it to feel Lissa's back as she arched toward me. I felt her buns against my gut and squeezed them with my hand. I wanted so much to have Kate close enough to touch, but the only—only?—contact I had with her was her tongue on my balls and my shaft. Lissa was building fast, more active than she usually is in the morning. The extra pressure this position put on my bladder and from there on my prostate meant I wasn't going to last long. And I wasn't going to fight it. I worked on Melody's clit and her lips came off mine so she could gasp. Then she bent her head and nipped at my nipple. My butt came up off the bed and I nearly bucked Lissa off of me as I erupted. I felt Kate's hand at our coupling and knew she'd moved to muffle Lissa's moans with her mouth. I rolled my finger into Melody so I cupped her entire sex in my palm with a finger rubbing her sensitive spot inside and was rewarded with a gush of fluids and Melody's muted hum against my chest. We began to collapse together like candles melting in the sun. "Me-e?" Kate whimpered. I opened my eyes and saw that she was the only one who'd been left out of the group orgasm. "Come here, Kitten," I whispered. She crawled up the bed to me and I settled her on my mouth as I reached up and stroked her beautiful breasts. "Oh-h," she moaned. For all that she'd had no direct stimulation, she wasn't far behind the other three of us and I drank as much of her as I could, savoring her sweet and tangy pussy. My hands were displaced on her breasts by Melody and Lissa moving in to nip and suckle them. I hung onto Kate's waist to keep her from falling backward as she whined her orgasm. "Mmm. So much better," she moaned as she joined our boneless heap stretched out on top of me. "Coffee!" a bright voice said from the doorway. Wendy and Bree walked in carrying trays with the aroma of life emanating from them. "How do you always manage to know the right time to come in?" I asked as they climbed on the bed with their trays to join us. "I listen at the door," Wendy said simply. We all looked at her like she'd just grown another head and then shifted our focus to Bree for confirmation. I raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me. She taught me," Bree laughed. "So you both just walk in while we're in a coital afterglow. Should I be embarrassed?" I asked, laughing. "Mmm, not yet," Bree ventured. "Remember Wendy and I shared a bed with you four for a week in Nebraska—in your parents' house, no less. But, if you don't get up and out to the kitchen soon, you might have another ten people in here wanting to play." "Oh god," Melody said. "We need a bigger bed." She reached up and kissed Bree—a kiss that was soft and lingering. "Good morning, Red." "Mor-ning," she sighed. Kate was similarly welcoming Wendy and our tiger was curling up next to her like a happy cat. ------- I was exhausted when I went to bed last night, but my mind was in turmoil. I had flashes of naked models dancing in my head, moving around the studio room downstairs like chess pieces on a board. I'd shift one and then another, trying to get the perfect pattern. It's not like there weren't obvious ways to get the focal points lined up correctly and create that path that the eye would want to follow, but getting the right one—the one that would say more than here's a party of naked college students—was the hard part. If our theme was Bacchanalia, there were a few conventions that had to be adhered to. But I'd been so captured by Rio's description of the Rubens nudes looking like their clothing had just fallen off—even if I didn't think that was an accurate description myself—that I wanted to see what would happen when their clothes really did fall off. I finally thought that I had a starting point. "Okay friends," I said. "Everyone have your props? This one is going to be our pose for the day. Damn! I wish I had a bathtub. Justin, I need to raise the air mattress up. Wendy? Can we steal the mattress off your bed for a while? We'd never get Kate's moved in and out of her room without having to rearrange everything." We managed to get the mattress into the right spot and then put the air mattress on top of it. I got some pillows and managed to get Justin in a pose that looked like he was relaxing in a tub. Bree stood over him with a bunch of grapes, feeding them to him one at a time. Melody had a big clay pot that she was supposed to be using to pour water into the tub. I kept Amy, Sonia, and Thor together with him tipping a flask to drink from and the two women poised to kiss each other across his chest. I'd been so struck with the way Wendy was curling up on Kate lately that I put them in that position with Lissa hovering over them. Whitney, June, and Amanda whispered together nearby. Front and center, Sandra and Walt were looking expectantly at Rio who was supposed to be telling them jokes. I liked the flow and felt that with the food laden table, various champagne and wine glasses, and the other props I'd picked up integrated into the scene, I about had it right. I snapped a few reference photos and asked people to memorize their positions right now. I scrawled through a few rough sketches and was ready to begin. I glanced at my cell phone. It was ten o'clock Sunday morning. Most of these people had been up till at least three last night and I was amazed that I managed to get them all dressed in their formal wear again after breakfast at half past eight. But everyone was excited to be in the actual scene. We took a quick break after twenty minutes and I called everyone together to look at the picture of where they'd been. "This time, I'm going to be looking for natural reactions," I said. "Whenever I say 'Freeze!' I want you to literally hold that position while I take a reference and sketch. One thing you need to know is that not every photo will be of the whole group together. Eventually I'll need you all to come to the studio in your small groupings so I can do detailed sketches instead of the kind of general stuff I'm doing today. But you'll all get a nice individual drawing out of it, too. I'm sorry I can't pay you more, but that's the life of a starving artist." Everyone laughed. I went back to the easel, and did another quick sketch, more to get them relaxed than to actually record anything. I put a fresh sheet of paper on the board and stepped around to approach Rio. I'd gotten them used to my moving them around between sketches a little. This time, though, I came up right behind Rio and leaned in so I could whisper in her ear. "Last chance," I said. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" I moved my hands down her shoulders to the zipper on the back of her dress. It was strapless, so when I let the zipper down, it was just going to fall off. I moved the zipper just a little. Rio was shaking like a leaf. She tried to speak but only a squeak came out. She nodded her head. I began slowly pulling the zipper down, holding the top of the dress up and together so it wouldn't fall until I let go. As I pulled the zipper, I let my hand glide down the bared skin, all the way to the middle of her butt. "Don't move now," I said. "Just let it fall." I let go and quickly moved to the camera, snapping several pictures as the dress fell in a pile at Rio's feet. People's expressions changed. Their heads turned. Their mouths opened and I started sketching like mad. Yes, Rio is overweight by our standards today. But just try to find a skinny girl in a Rubens painting. The truth was she was voluptuous and beautiful. Her skin wasn't dimpled, it was just full. Her thighs were smooth, not like cottage cheese. Her belly was soft and full, but didn't hang down over her neatly trimmed pubic hair. Jeez! In Rubens "Judgment of Paris" even Venus had little tits, big hips, and thunder thighs. And unlike Beth, who had huge tits when she was overweight and didn't lose them when she dropped the pounds, Rio's breasts were no bigger, really, than Lissa's. "Only me?" Rio squeaked. Everyone laughed as the tension was broken. "We'll get you some company," I said. "Sandra? Would you mind?" "No." Her answer was short and abrupt. She wasn't moving. "Um ... Sandra? What's the problem?" "You took hers off of her. You can undress me, too." I looked at Walt, seated between the two babes. He was laughing. "You created her," he said. "I've got this to look at." Turning his head back to unabashedly stare at Rio got him a slap on the back of the head from Sandra, but she laughed, too. She still refused to move. Sandra was in her signature Cadmium Scarlet dress. That girl knew how to wear red! This dress was a one-shoulder affair that had a bow on top of her right shoulder. A tie passed through a slit in the left side and another wrapped around the outside on the right. Two knots that held this masterpiece around her body. I glanced at Walt again and he was nodding. "Sandra," I whispered in her ear, "are you a virgin?" She giggled. "Not anymore." "Did Santa bring you what you wanted for Christmas?" "Oh, yes. Santa came. And came. And came," she breathed. "So did I." I worked on loosening the bow on her shoulder but left the straps lying there so the dress didn't fall yet. "Did Santa suck on your big fat nipples?" I asked as my hands stroked down her sides. "Yes," she moaned as I reached the bow tied in back. "And how about that big fat clitty of yours?" I asked as the bow came undone. "Did Santa like that?" "He sure played with it a lot," she said. She let out a long, slow, and very audible moan as she felt the fabric loosen. "Breathe deep," I said as I let the straps slide off her shoulders. The dress caught for a moment on those huge nipples and then slid off, lying partly across Walt's left leg. I could hear him moan. "You have to get his shirt off while holding your pose as still as you can," I whispered in Sandra's ear as I returned to my easel. Another reference shot and I was sketching as Sandra did her best not to change her body position as she unbuttoned Walt's shirt. She got some unexpected help from Rio, who got the message that she wasn't allowed to break the pose, but still used her upstage hand to help slip the jacket off Walt's shoulder, quickly followed by his vest and shirt. I was surprised to see that Rio and Sandra had their eyes glued to each other as they worked and snapped another reference photo. I sketched other parts of the scene. Thor had leaned forward and was nearly crushing Amy and Sonia against his chest. Their cheeks were pressed together. "Oops!" I heard Melody's voice. I glanced up. Intentional or accidental? The adhesive tape that held the right side of her dress to her boob had given way and the fabric of her dress fell to her waist, baring the right side of her torso and that delectable breast. Justin's head had come up as if he was reaching to grab that morsel between his lips while Melody's water jug had tilted more directly toward his face. Another click and another sketch. Amanda and Whitney looked like they were about to devour June. Their hands had moved to her shoulders and she looked at them as if she was their last meal. Amanda glanced at me and I nodded to her. In a second, June's dress was in a puddle at her feet. The little Korean girl had a wild and untamed bush and her dark skin in contrast to Amanda's pale skin was amazing. Another click. Another sketch and I walked to where the three women were standing. I circled them examining the tableau critically. I moved Amanda's arm, put my hand on Whitney's hip and pushed her a little more forward. I circled again and pulled Amanda's zipper down, but didn't push the straps off her shoulders. I moved back behind Whitney. Thinks she's a tease, does she? Whitney had chosen a classic black evening gown—sort of. From the front, the top looked like a typical one-shoulder design. The skirt, though, fell to heel length on the right and swept up in an asymmetrical hem that cut across about mid-thigh on her left. I see her in shorts on the racquetball court every week, but that girl has some serious long gorgeous legs. She's about two inches taller than I am anyway, but in the heels she was wearing she towered over me. In back, there was just a strap that came from the right shoulder across her back to hold the front against her tiny bosom. There was nothing else until the skirt picked up just where her butt flared out slightly. I stood behind her and tried to figure out how it came unfastened. I was suddenly aware of a presence beside me and turned to give Lissa a light kiss. I don't think Whitney realized she was there. Lissa pointed to the two clasps that held the dress together I looked at her and nodded. I ran my hand down Whitney's back, tracing the line of the dress down across her upper butt. I could see tiny bumps appear on her dark skin. Nice. I left her and returned to Amanda. Whitney looked at me mournfully, as if asking why I hadn't chosen her. I slid my hands under the straps of Amanda's blue gown and pushed them off her shoulders. The dress clung to her form for a second before gravity exerted its power over all things and—as it did in the bedroom the night before—the dress fell to a blue pool at her feet. I checked the scene and took another shot then sat at my sketch board. I looked up and nodded to Lissa. She deftly released the clasps on Whitney's dress and it sprang open, hanging for a second on her hips, then slithering to the ground. The expression on her face was precious and I snapped another reference photo and got straight to work. Lissa stayed behind Whitney with a hand on her shoulder. While I watched, Lissa released the clasp that held her own pale green gown to her shoulder, gave a quick twitch of her hips to let the gown fall, and moved closer to Whitney so they were just touching. I loved it. It was the kind of fluidity in the scene that I was looking for. I called a break. We'd been working for an hour, though no one seemed to mind as the entertainment unfolded. There were drinks on the table and Lissa and Wendy ran to the kitchen to make another round of coffees. Kate brought sweet rolls down and Melody poured fruit juices. I took several pictures of the table as it was filled and emptied and filled again. When we all had our coffee or tea or hot chocolate, I went back to the easel. Everyone was expecting me to call them back into position, but instead I just cleared my throat. Attention shifted to me. "Ladies," I said. "The gentlemen suddenly appear to be over-dressed." The look on Thor, Justin, and Walt's faces was classic deer-in-the-headlights as the women descended on them. Not to be left out, the four women I had most recently teased joined in the stripping of Thor and Justin. June was just a little more enthusiastic than I expected, getting on her knees in front of Justin to pull his trousers and boxers down. I'd snapped a couple of shots when I felt hands on my shoulders. My jacket was long-since gone, but my suspenders were pulled aside and Kate's face appeared in front of mine as she unfastened my tie. "No fair leaving the artist clothed," she grinned. I laughed and let Wendy and her divest me of my clothes. I shared a warm kiss with each as the chaos began to settle. While I was at it, I unzipped Kate's purple gown and let my hands stroke down her sides as I pulled the slinky fabric slowly down. I was captivated by her breasts as they came into view and checking around me to see that no one was paying any attention to us, I placed a quick kiss on each nipple. "Me, too?" Wendy moaned. "You bet, Tiger," I said as I let the purple dress slide off Kate's hips and down her beautiful legs. "Remember the first time?" Kate whispered. "Kitten, every time is like the first time. You take my breath away." We turned and lifted Wendy's skirts. Her dress had to be pulled over her head, so her tiger-striped pubic hair was the first intimate part revealed. "Oh my god! You did get your stripes!" I exclaimed. We all started giggling and I patted both girls on the butt and sent them back to their scene. "Places, everyone!" I called. Oh, man. A dozen naked women and four naked guys with hard-ons. Correction. Eleven naked women. Bree was still standing next to Justin with her handful of grapes fully dressed. I walked over to their little tableau. "Are you waiting for me to undress you?" I whispered in Bree's ear. "Mmm-hmm. Melody said so," Bree said. "Ahh. Well, you know what? I like having one dressed woman in the scene. I just want to bring up this side of your gown and tuck it in the belt." I pulled the right side of her skirt and pulled the hem through the belt so her leg was fully exposed up to mid-thigh. Then I knelt and removed her shoes. "Much better," I said. "I can't get naked with you?" Bree complained. "Not yet," I said. "Soon." I turned to Melody who had dumped her dress unceremoniously on the floor. "And you," I said. She grinned. I pulled the dress back up around her hips and, lacking any other way of fastening it, tied the loose fabric in a knot behind her butt. It was precarious, but the fabric draped low enough to expose the top of her mound and then gather around her feet as if it was in the process of falling off. "You know, if I move it's going to come back off," Melody giggled. "Yeah," I said. "Don't move." I kissed her exposed neck and went back to my easel. Wow! I started getting some serious sketching done. ------- Once the fun part of stripping was done, the tedious part of getting into position and really holding a pose for half an hour at a time became hard work. After I had general composition done, I started sketching individual groupings so those not involved in the scene could relax and continue to enjoy the party, food, and naked company. It was about two when we took a major break for lunch and by that time, everyone had relaxed into being nude and most of the time the guys' erections had subsided unless they suddenly realized their surroundings or started talking to a different girl. Each lady got her salute from each gentleman. I got another idea when I saw Whitney, Melody, Thor, and Rio chatting at one end of the table. I moved Wendy into the scene and asked them to hold the pose for a minute. I snapped a photo and did a quick sketch. Then I got June to lie on the daybed, with Justin, Kate, and Sandra huddling over her for a sketch. I got Lissa to hold Amanda as though she had just fainted with Walt kneeling on the floor beside her. Remembering how effective it had been last spring when I painted Rhapsody, I moved Amy, Sonia, and Rio into a corner with the two taller girls bending to kiss Rio. That ended up being a pretty hot scene and the guys regained their stiffies. I glanced over and saw a very unhappy Bree standing with her arms folded across her chest. She was still the only one dressed and the day was almost gone. I walked over to her with a tray of fruit and a tankard. She sighed as I positioned her with the tray lifted in one hand and the tankard held out in the other. "I'm just a servant," she sighed. "Mmm. Maybe," I said as I got behind her. "Hold still." I unfastened her belt and unzipped her dress. She was suddenly more excited and the tray was beginning to shake. "You know why armies don't fight in the nude, don't you?" I asked. "You wouldn't be able to tell the generals from the privates." I made absolutely sure this time that I peeled the dress off Bree, making full contact with her hard nipples and dragging the fabric slowly across her pudendum before I let it fall to the floor. I stood behind her for a moment continuing to whisper in her ear. "Do you think you can hold that pose for fifteen minutes while everyone is looking at your tight little body for the first time today?" I whispered as I let my hand run across her buns and dragged a finger lightly up her crack—not penetrating, but letting her know how close I was to her. The tray was rattling and I reached up to steady it. "There you go. Do you need help holding it or do you want to be alone for this one." "Yes. I mean alone," she whispered. "I can do it." "Look at Melody," I directed. "She can hardly contain herself. You'll be lucky if she doesn't put you in this pose the next time she wants to tease your pussy," I laughed. Snap. Sketch. It was almost twenty minutes before I finished and Bree was seriously having trouble holding up the heavy tray and tankard, but the sheer lust that shown in her eyes as she looked at Melody was perfect. ------- "That's it!" I announced. "I'm exhausted and I'm sure you must be, too. It's only five, though. There's no reason to dress before dinner." Everyone laughed and we kept partying, bringing soft drinks, cold-cuts, bread, and soup down from the kitchen. For the first time I really changed my perspective from artist to horny college kid and saw the party for the near orgy that it was. Twelve perfectly luscious girls. While I was undressing them, I was seducing them in a way, but I wasn't getting much out of it myself. I know. Poor me. But posing people and sketching as fast as I could for nine hours was hard work. I really wanted to enjoy some of the guests that I didn't usually spend time naked with. "So, June," I said as I settled next to her on the daybed. She'd pretty much claimed it as her place since the sketch I'd done of her there. "What's Rick going to think of all this decadence?" "It's going to be too late when he finds out," June giggled. "I think Rick is going to find a new girlfriend. And not introduce her to you." "Are you okay with that?" I asked. I was genuinely concerned. "Rick was the first boy I met when I came here to school," June said. "It's been nice, but I need to find a nice Korean boy. Rick's parents hate me. We kind of went separate ways over the break." "I'm sorry to hear that. I like Rick." "Yeah. Me too. But that's life." I wandered over to Amanda who was standing by my easel flipping through all the sketches I'd done. "What do you think?" I asked. "I think I've decided that being an artist is just as important a career as being a doctor," Amanda said. "You've really convinced me." "I wasn't really trying to," I said. "I know. But working with you and Bree last term and then participating in this little party of yours has helped me realize that I've been a real stuck-up priss. I've gotta get out more. And..." she paused and looked up at me. She was seated on my stool and I stood behind her. She reached for my hands and pulled them down to her breasts. "For the next few weeks, every time I masturbate, I'm going to be thinking about how you described my body and touched me in front of the mirror. Thank you." I squeezed her breasts and she released me. "I like you, Amanda," I said. "You'll always be welcome here. We need to have some doctor friends." We laughed and I found Rio sitting on the air mattress with Justin, Amy, Wendy, and Bree. I put my arm around her as I sat down and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Well, was it all you hoped for when you came up with the idea at Halloween?" I asked. "It was fun and sexy, so yes..." she started. "Yes? But?" I prompted. "Well, I was hoping to get better acquainted with this," she said, reaching over and grabbing my cock. I hadn't actually been quite erect before. Her move threw me off-balance and lacking the ability to do anything else, I gave her butt a smack. "Hey, no touching," I said. Whatever response I was expecting, it wasn't what I got. She did let go of my cock, but she thrust herself forward onto her hands and knees. "I knew you'd want to spank me. Go ahead. Again," she said breathlessly. "No!" I said. She collapsed back. "Ohh. Sadist!" she spat at me. I extracted myself and left Rio to be lectured by Wendy and Bree, who lit into the poor girl and both offered to pick up the spanking where I'd left off. That conversation was degenerating rapidly. I looked around the room and found Whitney standing with Lissa on the stairs. That was a nice pose, too. I was thinking I might want to sketch that, but I was really too beat right now. Whitney has two inches of height on Lissa and never took off her spindly high heels, so her legs and ass were lifted and shaped. Lissa stood on the next step up so they could look at each other eye-to-eye. Whitney is thin, probably weighing less than Lissa in spite of the height difference. She has tiny breasts with prominent nipples. Her skin is darker than Lissa and her black hair contrasted sharply with Lissa's yellow blonde. I stood just below them. "I've finally found the valley of the Amazons," I laughed, looking up at them. "No, not yet," Whitney said in her soft Louisiana accent. "Step down another step and you'll be closer to the valley." I was already at eye-level with her tits, so if I stepped down, there was only one more valley I could think of. "It looks to me like your seduction is going rather well," I laughed. "Yes," they both answered. I looked between the two, smiling at each other. "Oh. I see," I said. "Maybe I should just let you get on with it, then." I started to back down the stairs, but Lissa caught my arm and pulled me up to her step. "Don't worry, love," she said. "We plan to include you." She leaned in to kiss me and I felt Whitney join the fray as well. She pulled my hand to her waist and then pushed it down onto her butt. "Whitney has some creative ideas about what the two of us could do with you," Lissa giggled. When she spoke, I realized it was only Whitney's tongue invading my mouth. I let her for a few more moments while I squeezed her butt cheek gently. "Now are you interested in stepping down a step or two?" Whitney asked as she pulled her face away from mine. "Um ... not here ... now..." I stumbled. Man! I was used to Melody manipulating situations and being bold with other people, but not Lissa. Wow! ------- Everyone helped to clean up the mess, put away food, take Wendy's mattress back to her bed, and do dishes. It seemed like we all stayed naked as long as possible, only pulling on the clothes necessary for our guests to make their escape. With the dish washer running and the trash bagged and in the garage, those of us remaining were pretty exhausted. We collapsed in the living room, the girls finally submitting to putting on t-shirts and panties and me in my typical sweats. I held Kate and Wendy in my lap in the big chair and the two were lovingly nestled against my shoulders, occasionally lifting their chins enough to plant a kiss on my cheek or lips. I looked across at the sofa. Melody and Bree were cuddled against Lissa in much the same way. Bree? What was she still doing here? "Uh, Bree?" I said. "Are you staying?" "Is it okay, Tony?" she asked a little worried. "Of course it's okay," Melody answered for me. "We invited you." "There you have it," I said. "I was just the last to know. We can carpool to class in the morning." "Ugh. I suppose that means we'll have to sleep tonight," Bree giggled. Kate and Wendy got up from my lap and walked over to the sofa pulling Bree and Melody away from Lissa. They got the message and in a second, Lissa had two cats cuddled on her lap, licking and kissing her face while she giggled and tickled them. Bree and Melody crawled into my lap and proceeded to give me the same treatment. For me, the response was more obvious, poking my sweats up between them. "You were so mean to me today," Bree said. "I thought I'd never be able to get naked like everyone else. It was embarrassing." "And then to make her stand there with props in her hand unable to move while you did undress her in front of everyone," Melody said. "That was not only mean, it was incredibly sexy." "I could tell," I laughed. "You were dripping." The two leaned in to kiss me and I ran my hand up under their t-shirts to rub their backs. That caused a bit of squirming and did nothing to relax my hard-on. "Lissa?" I asked. "Can we get six in the hot tub?" She came up for air from her kiss with Kate. "Mmm? Hot tub? I suppose. If we don't put too much water in, don't run the jets, and don't mind being stacked on top of each other." "Oh. Does anyone mind being stacked on top of each other?" I asked. ------- The tub was fun with each of us squirming around to take time with each of the others. We ended up with three on the outside and three on the inside leaning back against us. There was a lot of caressing and it was obvious the ban on touching didn't apply to us anymore. Each time I had a new girl in front of me, we had a very sexy kiss while I pretended to wash them. Then we'd switch places and slosh water all over every place. I think we ended up with more water on the floor than in the tub. I had Bree in my arms and was gently pinching her nipples as we kissed when I felt Melody's hand on mine. Bree and I looked over at her, afraid that we'd gone too far. Melody smiled and dragged my hand down Bree's torso until she'd tucked into Bree's pussy. I felt the warm flood of juices from Bree as I worked my finger into her and rubbed her clit for the first time. Bree stiffened and looked frantically at Melody. Melody leaned close to us and whispered. "It's okay, Red," she said. "You can come." It was as if the words released the floodgates and Bree shook in my arms as she whimpered out her orgasm. She pressed her lips against mine and I could taste the salt of her tears as we kissed and she finally gripped my hand to stop the motion of rubbing her. I could hear a collective sigh from everyone in the tub as we all relaxed from Bree's orgasm. ------- Getting six naked people into one king-size bed is a trick. I was right over on the edge and knew that if I wasn't careful I'd end up on the floor. The combinations were different than I anticipated. Melody lay mostly on top of Lissa on the opposite edge of the bed. Smack in the middle, Wendy and Bree held each other and were asleep almost before the lights were out. Kate was stretched out on top of me softly and lazily kissing me, keeping my aroused cock pressed tightly against her slit as she moved ever so slightly on top of it. One by one, we heard our lovers near us drift off into the deep even breathing of sleep. I was tired, but with Kate on top of me I wasn't really sleepy. She slipped out of bed and stood next to me, holding out her hand. I took it and went with her, out of the bedroom and back downstairs to her new queen-sized bed in her room. "Make love to me, darling?" she asked as she pulled me into the bed with her. Yes. I knew I was tired, aroused, and tense, but I hadn't realized how stressed I'd been feeling. We didn't feel a need to rush things and go to sleep or to delay our gratification. We simply let ourselves move together and when I came, Kate worked her way down my body to lick me back to hardness. Once I was seated back inside her, she let herself ride the waves of orgasm. We rolled over so I was on top of her and I pressed inside trying to feel and distinguish every nuance of her pussy. "You're so intense, baby," she sighed. "I love the way you make me feel. What are you thinking?" "I'm trying to memorize you again," I said. "I want to memorize how you feel around my cock. I always want to remember the little gasp you make just before you come. I want to hear the whine when you start inhaling as it climbs. I want to remember the scent you release when you come that's just a little stronger than it is before. I want to remember the taste of your tears when you are so moved by our coupling that you can't contain it. There are just so many things to remember and hold in my heart, darling." "Oh, Tony. You make me feel so good. I'll always be here if you need a reminder. Just because you remember doesn't mean you can't repeat it again." "Really, Kate? Will you really always be here?" I asked. "I love you, Tony. Even if I'm a million miles away, I'll still be here." ------- Chapter 40 The world turned to chaos by Monday morning. Bree and me going to Delfin's class together in the morning was about the last thing I remembered clearly. Life started to gradually spin out of control. There was my meeting to go over the estimates for the mural with Doc Henredden. He corrected a few items. Then I got a call to meet with the student organization and the Board of Regents. My role there was little more than to present the cost estimates and my actual painting. Eric and several other committee members had put together a proposal to raise funds, both for the mural and for the fund to benefit the homeless. Doc surprised me by informing the regents that he'd already talked to a nationally known paint manufacturer and that they had agreed to supply all the paint. Clarice showed a slide show of my work. It seemed like the project was a go. "Mr. Ames, is this exactly what the mural would look like?" the President of the University asked me. Bree had been right beside me, filling me in on who was who. Otherwise I wouldn't have known who I was talking to. "No, Dr. Haywood," I said. "This painting is proportioned differently than the proposed project and is intended for viewing by an audience that is at eye-level with the horizon line. It is a painting that I did before there was any talk about a mural, in fact, before there was any reason for this project. It shows, conceptually what I can do with paint, but the actual painting will be appropriately proportioned for the surface of the building. I also have to carefully check the texture and uniformity of the surface to find out what special considerations would be needed." The panel buzzed as they talked to each other off the microphones that were set in the middle of the table. There was a nodded agreement among them and they announced a tentative approval of the project. Final approval would be based on fulfillment of half a dozen additional requirements, most of which fell to the student committee. I had to be at the next meeting in thirty days to present the final rendering of what the wall would look like. Classes this term were whipping me. My Human Physiology team was meeting to study every other day and drill each other on the finer points. It was obvious that a piece of artwork wasn't going to carry our grade this term, no matter what we put with it. And Literary Criticism had more reading each week than I had hours to put into it. Rio spent an hour with me any day I wasn't with my HP team to go over our current material. It doesn't sound like much, just having two classes. Three when you count the hour a day I spend chasing Coach Fredericks around campus or downtown Seattle. And two more hours each day spent practicing racquetball and another trying to ease the pain out of my muscles. And trying to manage a fucking eighty foot wide mural when the most I've ever painted on a fucking wall is a picture of Melody and Lissa! Fuck! Not to mention that I'm trying to paint a couple of fucking masterpieces in a studio that always smells like bleach because I've got a fucking business that needs to dye fabric for our next sales run and... Fuck! And let's not forget two studio classes with Doc and another meeting or two to go over the planning for the mural. It was only the end of January and I was so fucking behind that I couldn't see straight. Fuck! ------- I almost forgot Melody's birthday. She was twenty years old. "Um ... Tony?" "Hey Tiger. What's up?" I'd been working on my rendering for the mural and it wasn't going well. I turned on my stool and saw Wendy stretching out on the daybed. She was just wearing her usual jeans and a scoop-neck t-shirt, but something about the way she rolled toward me to talk just struck me as cool. "Don't move. Talk to me, but don't change position, okay?" "Yes Tony," she said simply. She didn't move a muscle. "I wanted to suggest that we all go to Carmine's for dinner tomorrow. I'd love to just treat everyone, but I can't afford it by myself. Would you ... um ... chip in?" "Sounds like fun," I said, quickly sketching the way her left knee was bent over the right leg and her head rested on her hand. "What's the occasion?" "Tony?" she got up and walked over to me. "No! Oh. I didn't take a reference shot. That was a great pose." "I'm sorry, Tony." She was almost hyperventilating and I realized I'd been giving her orders and she'd just disobeyed. Shit! I'm not supposed to do that! She was really in conflict now. "This is really important," she nearly whimpered. I held out my arms, dropping my sketchbook on the floor. Wendy practically jumped into my lap and buried her face against my shoulder. "I'm the one who is sorry, Tiger," I said. "I wasn't paying attention and said things I shouldn't have. Please. Will you tell me what's on your mind?" I only hoped that I'd done this correctly. Wendy was really still very fragile. "It's Melody's birthday Monday," she whispered. "I wanted to do something nice for her, but I can't afford to do it alone." Oh, shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! How could I forget my wife's birthday? I'm a cartoon character spouse! "Wendy! Oh my god! What am I going to do?" "You forgot?" "Please, don't tell her that! I've got to get a present. And yes, Carmine's is a great idea." We'd talked about this before the posing party and decided that it would be just one party. We even sang to her. "I won't say anything, Tony. You can say that dinner was your idea." "Not on your life, Tiger. It's a wonderful and thoughtful gift on your part. I tell you what; you pay for Melody's meal and I'll pick up the tab for the rest of us. Okay?" "What will you do?" she asked. "I think I need to go shopping," I laughed. "You are so caring and thoughtful, Wendy. It's no wonder Kate loves you!" I regretted that as soon as I'd said it. "I mean, we all love you, but it's kind of obvious that Kate is really in love with you and you with her," I stumbled on. "You don't have to love me, Tony," she said. "Just let me be with you, okay?" "Of course, Tiger. I want you to be with me. I just don't know how to put things together right now." "Right now, maybe you could take me shopping with you?" Our shopping trip was successful. I knew where to go at Pike Place Market where there was a woman with a shop on the Underground level who sold hand spun yarns. It took us a while to convince her that I really did want to buy thirty skeins—all she had— of one particular Alpaca yarn, but I managed to get them all gift-wrapped in a big box and gave them to Mel when we went out to dinner. Melody was happy with both the yarn from me and the dinner from Wendy. I still felt like shit. ------- I found another second hand shop when I made a wrong turn and got caught on 99 with no place to exit and then had to wander around trying to get back across the water to find where home was. I couldn't figure out where the entrance was so I went through Fremont and spotted this place. It was already dark—it gets dark in this stupid town at a few minutes after noon in the winter, I swear—and I saw a light in a store with a chair in the window. It looked a lot like the recliner I'd bought for the studio, but of course, I couldn't really work there for long periods because of the smell and sleeping there was out of the question, so I pulled up and went into the store and found this old recliner for fifty bucks. I bought it and asked directions to get back home. It was already Friday night and I lugged the chair into the basement where I'd been doing some work and just flopped down in it. That was all she wrote. I slept through supper and bedtime and woke up trying to figure out where I was. Once I figured it out, I could hear the boys moving around upstairs. They'd come back Friday night while I was out trying to find my way home. I covered up my head with my coat and went back to sleep. ------- The next time I woke up, the house was quiet. I checked the time. I'd slept till one. It was the first time I could remember that I'd missed family dinner. Even the night I fell asleep on the massage table, I still made it home and had some time with the family. I felt crappy. I'd abandoned them all. Why would I expect any of them to be here when I finally deigned to wake up? I went up to use the bathroom and shower. I had a shit-load of reading to do. We had to write a critique of an 18th century novel in an appropriate style. Then we were going to have to compare our work with the works of contemporaries of that period. And there were two chapters of HP that I needed to read before class on Monday. I'd fallen a chapter behind last week and my team was pissed at me. I stumbled out of the shower and grabbed my towel. There was a cup of coffee on the sink. Hot, strong, and black. God, I needed that. I just stood there with the water dripping off of me as I sipped it and came to life. My headache started to disappear before I realized I had one. I finished drying, shaving, and dressing and headed for the kitchen. There were fresh bacon, eggs, toast, and another cup of coffee sitting on the breakfast bar. But no one was around. "Hello?" I asked. "Is this my breakfast?" No one answered and I decided that like the coffee on the bathroom sink, this was intended for me. It was like I was being waited on by a little house fairy. I couldn't see it, but it kept providing things for me. Well, I needed to get that reading done, but I'd left my school bag downstairs where I'd slept last night. I tromped down the stairs and stared at the recliner. My coat—that I'd slept under—was gone. A neatly folded blanket and pillow lay on the arm of the chair. My books were unpacked from my schoolbag and sat on a table next to the chair. A lamp that I used as a prop lit the scene just where I'd need it to read. It was nice, but this chair wasn't nearly as comfortable as the big chair upstairs. I collected my lit books and my laptop and went back upstairs. We've got a gas fireplace in the living room. Say what you want about how gauche that is, it's nice to have a fire burning next to you when you're sitting around on a gloomy Seattle day in January. Low light shone behind the clouds in the West already signaling the day was more than half over. The fire was lit. Beside my big chair, a glass of my favorite cocktail—cranberry and ginger ale—sat on the end table. The lamp was lit. Not a soul was around. It was starting to get spooky. I sat in the chair and opened my book. I kept glancing up, waiting for someone to show up. No one came in or disturbed me. It was impossible to study like this. "All right, I give up," I said out loud. "I can't get anything done like this. What's going on?" I closed my book and started to get up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into Wendy's eyes. She crawled onto the arm of the chair and put her arm around me. She pointed to the book. I picked it up, but I couldn't just start reading. "You did all this?" She nodded. "Where is everyone?" She sighed. "Amy's bout." "Oh shit!" I said, struggling to get up. "She's skating her first roller derby! I have to get there." Wendy held me back. "It's okay," she said. "She knows. It's too late to go now. You'll see Amy skate next time. She's going to be great." Wendy's voice was so calm and soothing that I relaxed. "I wanted to see her. She'll be disappointed I wasn't there." "She said she has a surprise for you tomorrow afternoon and said you should rest up." "What's tomorrow afternoon?" "You are sketching the vignette with Amy, Rio, and Sonia," Wendy said. "You'd better study now. Do you want me to stay?" Vignettes. I was trying to get the people for each of the little vignettes that I had in the Bacchanalia to come over to stage just their bit and let me work on it for a couple of hours. I didn't even remember scheduling this one. I sure hoped it was in my Daytimer. "I'd love to feel you near me, Tiger," I said. "I understand, though. You must have studying to do, too." She shook her head. "I have to go to work at five, but that's three hours from now. Just study. I'll be here." She cuddled against me. I opened the book and read. ------- I got a lot done. When I'd finished my reading and needed to start writing, Wendy got down and made me more food as I sat at the dining room table with my computer. I was pretty much finished with my paper by the time she had to leave at five. I had a quiet house to myself for three more hours before the family got home. The boys were wired, but they settled down pretty quickly. Everybody was tired, so after we'd had a chance to catch up with each other, we decided bed was a good place to be. All four of us spooned against each other—Kate, then me, then Lissa, then Melody. We talked quietly. "I'm sorry I've been such a poop lately," I said. "I didn't mean to sleep downstairs last night." Kate petted my arm, but Melody answered me. "You've been exhausting yourself, Tony. You needed time to recharge. We're not mad at you. And Amy isn't mad either." She knew I'd been thinking about missing Amy's first bout. As it turned out, she only skated about four jams and was lost in the middle of the pack the whole time. But it was her first time on the boards with her new team. I still wish I'd been there. "Well, you and Kate and Wendy have school, too," I said. "And you are running a business without my help." "And you are painting without our help," Lissa reminded me. "Melody's work is nearly over and I'll be handling most of the work in the business for the next couple of months. Amy did a wonderful job of setting up automated systems for us." "Well, it would be over if it weren't for Ektelon," Melody said. "What's going on?" I asked. Had I been so out of it that I didn't know Ektelon was putting pressure on us? "It's not a huge deal, Tony," Kate said. "But it does mean that the studio is still going to be pretty worthless for painting for the next couple of weeks." "Great," I said. "What's happening?" "Ektelon sent us a contract to market our men's line through them. They will send us a thousand men's t-shirts for us to work our magic on and send back to them. They'll market them at a 20% premium over the standard solid color shirt. We get the 20%." "What's that come to?" "Depends. Six to ten dollars apiece," Lissa said. "It's not bad, actually. We're not making a net of more than that per piece that we sell of the women's sportswear. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to take over that line next year." "Can we handle a thousand pieces?" "It should be fine," Melody answered. "In fact, it should be a lot easier than doing bolts of fabric. We just have to be careful of wastage since we'll be billed for anything that isn't returned." "Ice Queen Knights," Kate supplied the answer to my unspoken question. It seemed she was up on all this, too. "Ektelon presents Ice Queen Knights, technically," she added. "Are you saying that the shipment will give us six to ten thousand dollars of profit without having to buy stock and warehouse product?" I asked. "Well, it's all profit if you figure my time is free," Melody laughed. "But yes. We weren't earning any more than that with the other. We stand to make a slightly better margin on the spring line, simply because we are manufacturing in Oregon and there's no tariffs and less shipping. We might even rent a truck and go pick up the stock ourselves." "You're all so brilliant and I'm trying to give away my art," I sighed. "Tony, don't," Kate whispered in my ear. "You are doing something wonderful. Do you have any idea what it means to Wendy that you are donating your art for this fundraising project? You are an inspiration. Doc has cancelled his mural project for spring semester and is requiring the same hour commitments for his fundamentals class on your project. Every painter you've ever worked with at PCAD has volunteered his or her time. All the figure-painting and fundamentals classes from last year and all the 2D classmates this year. Every sophomore who can wield a brush, or even clean them up after you has volunteered. You don't have any idea what you've started, darling. "We're so proud of you, Tony," Lissa said, turning to face me. Melody rolled behind her to spoon the other direction. "You are working hard and we love you. We want to support you more." "I feel like I'm letting you all down," I said. "I'm not being present. I didn't even read to the boys last night." "And you didn't know that they came down and kissed you goodnight as you were sleeping in the chair downstairs last night," Lissa said. "Even my little hellions are proud of you." "Thank you, loves," I said. "It means more than I'll ever be able to tell you to know that you are with me." "You'd better get some sleep, baby," Kate said, petting me and snuggling up closer behind me. "Amy's got a big afternoon planned for you tomorrow." "That's the second time I've heard that today," I said. "And we want you to know," Melody added, "that it is all girlfriend approved. Don't hold back. Don't second guess. Just go with Amy. She knows what she's doing." "Well, it can't be too bad with Amy," I chuckled. "We're friends, but she's not into boys." There were giggles on both sides of me, but I was too far gone to notice. I had Lissa's lips on my forehead and her boobs in my face. Kate was spooned behind me and my hand, reaching over Lissa, was being held by Melody. This was really all I needed in life. ------- I faced the huge canvas and shook my head. Everything was there. All I needed to do was paint it. I'd worked and refined the sketch, laid it out on the four-by-eight foot surface. It was the biggest canvas I'd ever painted and it was really just a rendering. It was Tent City the way I envisioned it for the mural wall. It just wasn't right and I was beginning to panic. "It's a beautiful sketch, Tony," Kate said reassuringly. I could hear the doubt in her voice. "What is it, Kate?" I asked. "Doc is going to be here in an hour and it just isn't right." "I can see what you mean," she answered, "but I can't identify it. It really is beautiful. Maybe it's just nerves." "Maybe Doc will just take it over and put me out of my misery. We're supposed to be talking about the process of mixing exterior latex, not hassling about whether the damn thing looks right," I said disgustedly. "I think it's just the size. You aren't used to working on a canvas that big," Kate suggested. This was huge, all right. As a reference work for an eighty-foot wide mural, I needed something that would be big enough for my painters to be able to do the expansion. Each foot of the canvas would equal ten feet on the wall. It had to be durable, too. I'd hauled a full sheet of three-quarter inch plywood into the basement via the sliding doors to the back yard. Then I'd prepped and sized it and glued the biggest, most expensive piece of canvas I'd ever used to it, stretching it and stapling it to the back of the board. Kate had worked with me to make sure the canvas was sealed tightly and that we didn't warp the weave of the fabric. PCAD had provided the canvas. I got the feeling Doc had pulled some strings with the Theater Department and traded off some work for a piece of their ultra-wide cotton duck. We'd used it for painting scenic backdrops last year. I bet the freshmen were putting in double time for that trade. ------- "The focal points work," Doc said. "The flow will draw people to it. The colors in your original painting will add drama without distracting from the composition. You want to avoid getting an area that is too dominant in one color, like all the blue tarps. They need enough variation and texture to not overwhelm things. And you can't be too subtle about that. But tell me about the concept again. How did you plan to explain it to the Board?" "The idea is not to simply paint a picture of tents, but to hold a mirror up to student life on campus and what remember," I said. I'd been practicing this speech as much as I'd been working on the drawing. "The field is returned to a recreational state. We see the shapes of students playing, but overlaid on that is the reflection of what was there." I still wasn't satisfied with the concise explanation but it was getting better. "That's it, Tony," Doc said. "You set the horizon line lower than in your first painting, but you are still thinking of people looking at it straight on. They aren't going to do that. They are going to look up at it. You need to tilt the mirror." Oh my god! It was as simple as that. The perspective still showed too much blue sky and the tents were all in the bottom half of the mural. I'd tried to adjust the view from about half way up the wall looking out at the tents, but I hadn't tilted my head down far enough. We spent the next half hour propping up the canvas so it was exactly vertical, then calculating the distance away that the average viewer would be in scale with the painting. Then we looked at the piece from a vantage point that put our eyes about ten inches up from the bottom of the canvas and ten feet away. The perspective was all off! "We need to tilt it now," Doc said. Kate volunteered to hold the board, but I wanted her eyes with me. We called Lissa and Melody down and they tilted the top of the board toward us as we watched until our eyes hit the horizon line. Once we got it into the right position, it didn't look so bad, but it was tilted forward about a foot. I couldn't tilt the building, so I had to adjust the perspective, projecting through the canvas to a vertical surface behind it. I could see it all taking shape. I could actually see it. We spent another hour talking about how to mix exterior latex and what would be too subtle in blending or overwhelming if not blended. Doc brought over a selection of quarts of paint, based on the colors in my original painting and a couple gallons of white base to use for mixing. It was going to be amazing. ------- "Tony, this project is both time-consuming and energy eating," Doc said as he was getting ready to leave. "It's good and important, but don't forget to do something for your soul. What are you painting for fun?" I laughed. I was going to have three naked girls downstairs in about two hours. I showed Doc the sketches I'd done at the posing party and the development I was doing with them. He laughed about the concept and thought that it was good that I was putting a degree of humor into one of my paintings. I felt a whole lot better when Doc left. Kate and I hugged. We both understood. ------- "Now, Tony, we're taking the boys to that new movie and then eating dinner. That should give you about four hours of peace in the house," Lissa said. "Leave your phone on because I'm going to text you before we come home." "I'm a little envious of you this afternoon," Melody said. "After her performance at the party, there are a couple of things I'd like to do to a naked Rio. Just experimental, mind you." "I can't think of a naked woman you wouldn't like to do a couple of things to," I laughed. "Maybe, but Rio's been asking for this and with Amy's help, you are going to give it to her." "Somehow I imagine Amy giving her a lot more than I do," I said. "Maybe so, honey," Lissa said. "But you've been under incredible stress lately and we sometimes add to that stress rather than taking it away. Rio wants to have fun. Amy wants to have fun. I think even Sonia wants to have fun. We want you to have fun. Nothing is off-limits as far as we're concerned. If you have willing partners this afternoon, be a willing participant, okay?" "You mean... ?" "Tony," Kate whispered to me, "no reservations." ------- It was an interesting afternoon. Amy, Sonia, and Rio arrived together soon after the family left for the movie. So soon, in fact, that I thought they might have been watching to see when my family pulled away. Wendy was working Sunday afternoon and evening, so she was gone as well. All three women had different formal gowns than at the party as I wanted to not repeat styles. Amy told me they'd all gone to Ragstock and got the dresses for three dollars each. They'd ironed them, taken a couple of stitches and put them on with nothing under them. I was wearing my usual sweats and a t-shirt and they seemed disappointed I wasn't in a tux. "It isn't fair that we got dressed up and are going to take them off while Tony is sitting there in sweats," Rio complained. "Come on, Tony. Take them off." "You are such a slut, Rio," Sonia laughed. "Amy, put a leash on her." They all laughed, but Rio was surprised speechless when Amy reached up and fastened a collar around our pudgy friend. "What? You... ?" Rio sputtered. "Now, my little pet," Amy whispered, "behave yourself or I'll have to punish you, understand." I swear Rio came. "I'll take care of getting Tony ready," Sonia said. Most of the times that I'd been with Sonia, even at parties, she'd been sexy and friendly, but slightly demure. Hanging out with Amy—well, more than just hanging out, I guess—seemed to have changed her. The sway she put into her walk when approached me was worthy of Scarlett Johanson. The dress, or rag, she was wearing was very slinky and almost transparent. I could certainly see her nipples prominently displayed. Okay. I decided right then and there that I was following the family's advice. I'd play. Sonia very slowly pulled my t-shirt up my torso and over my head, never letting her eyes leave mine. I thought she might eat me alive. When the shirt was off, she slowly raked her fingernails down my chest and bent to suck and nibble on my nipples for a moment. Well, between the sexy treatment and the direct stimulation, there was no question about what direction my cock was pointing when she put her thumbs in the waistband of my sweats and began pulling them down. I didn't move to assist her, so she had to push them all the way down to my ankles and then lift my feet one at a time to get them off. That put her cheek about an inch from my bobbing cock. When she reached across to pull the sweats off my left foot, my cock brushed all the way across her face from one side to the other. Even though I touched her lips, she didn't make any attempt to kiss, lick, or suck it. She just let it glide across her, leaving a little trail of pre-cum in its wake. I heard a moan and glanced up at Amy and Rio. Rio was actually straining at her leash and Amy was holding her back. I was actually thankful Amy had put the collar and leash on. It was going to make an interesting addition to the composition. Sonia stood up and faced me with both hands on my chest, her thumbs lightly rubbing my nipples. "Do you know how many times I've kicked myself for being such a chicken in the kissing contest last year?" Sonia whispered to me. "I feel like we both got cheated a little bit, don't you?" "What about Thor?" I asked as her lips got closer to mine. "We've expanded our relationship since then," Sonia answered. She closed the gap and kissed me. My God! I remembered guessing it was Sonia when Amy kissed me last year. This was way better. When her hand wrapped around my cock, I gave in to temptation and palmed her tit with one hand as I pulled her closer with the other. If she'd kept up for another minute, we'd have had some clean-up to do, but sadly, she pulled away and let go. "I win," she breathed. She turned and rejoined the other two. "What about me?" Rio whimpered. "I didn't get to kiss him last spring. Can't I try?" "Quiet, pet," Amy snapped as she slapped Rio on the butt. "I'm sure Tony will get to you whenever he thinks you're housebroken. How would you like us posed, Ames?" she asked sweetly. "Well," I squeaked. I cleared my throat and started again. "You know, we've got Rio front and center in one vignette. What we're missing is a good rear view," I said. I walked up to the three, actually rather proud of my erection. How perverted is this? Amy reached out and stroked me once. My eyebrows shot up as I looked at Amy. "Not the first one I've touched," Amy said. "Just wanted to see how it compares." Rio reached out and Amy slapped her hand. "No personal sniffing, pet," she said. Rio looked crestfallen, but when I looked straight into her eyes I could see a sparkle that told me she was having fun. So be it. I turned Rio facing three-quarters away from me and had her slip her arms out of the sleeves of the dress, but hold it up. I wanted a full view of her ass in the picture, but I also wanted a partial view of one tit. Then I had her let go of the dress and it fell in a bundle on the floor. Damn! There is definitely something to say for a girl with a full-size ass. I restrained myself slightly. Rio was shaking slightly as I petted her rump. "What a nice pet you have, Ames," I said. "Have you named it yet." "Still thinking about that, Ames," she answered. "Trying to decide if it's a bitch or a pussy." Rio moaned. I slid my hand down the back of her left thigh. "Bend this knee forward," I instructed. "Up on tippy-toe. Now look back at me ... just your head. Bring your right hand up to your mouth like you are surprised your clothes just fell off." She turned correctly and I snapped a reference shot. "Who shall I position next?" Amy nodded to Sonia. I figured Amy didn't want to spend any more time naked in front of me than necessary. She was a good sport and was making sure Rio knew her place, but she is a lesbian. Frankly, the idea of getting my hands all over Sonia again had me throbbing. "Okay, slinky," I said. "You are going to be profile with both hands on your pet's shoulder, like this," I said, demonstrating the position and making sure Rio knew well that it was my hands gliding over her skin. I stepped back and Sonia took the position, smiling at me. "Mmm. Okay, I forgot about your sleeves," I said as I unfastened the back of her dress. When it was open to the crack in her butt I reached around her. "Go ahead and slip out of the sleeves. I'll hold your dress up." I held it up by taking a firm grip on her tits and rubbing her nipples with my thumbs as she pulled her arms out of the sleeves. I'm pretty sure I heard a little moan from her, as well. When she had her hands back on Rio's shoulder, I gave her further instructions. "Now lift your right foot behind you so your knee is at a ninety degree angle, but still touching your other knee." She lifted her foot. It was a classic Vargas calendar girl pose. When she was stable, I let the dress drop. The front fell to the floor, but the back caught on her leg and draped down. I looked then quickly slid her left hand down off Rio's shoulder to her butt. "We need to be able to see this beautiful tit in profile," I explained, softly rubbing her left breast to indicate which one I was talking about. It was the first time I'd touched Sonia's bare tit. I wasn't disappointed in either the feeling or the response that it engendered. My right hand caressed her butt and I raked against her pussy from behind. It was very wet. "Mmm. That's nice," I said. I jumped back and took a reference photo again then shifted the camera slightly to take the photo from further to the right. I knew I wasn't going to use that view in the painting, but frankly, I wanted a picture of that puffy bare pussy framed by her ass cheeks. Damn! I looked at Amy as I moved the camera back. "Now what to do with you, Ames," I said. She motioned me over to where she could whisper in my ear. "What you'd better do is treat me exactly the same as you do the other girls," she said. She kissed me with a passion that reminded me of the kissing contest. "Just like any other girl." She ended her whisper by nipping my earlobe. I smiled at her and she licked her lips. Okay then. Amy is a very pretty girl, even though she's almost straight from her narrow waist past her hips. I think they call them boy-hips. Not much flare, but they were nicely rounded in back. She was wearing a strapless dress with an empire waist, cinched in just below the breasts and then falling straight with a lot of fabric. Amy is familiar with my painting and my attraction to drapery. This dress was ideally made for it. "Okay, step a little closer to your pet here," I said as I put my hand on her right hip and pushed her toward Rio until her left cheek made contact. I moved her leash hand so the leash draped down Rio's back and made a loop back up just short of her butt crack. Then I made quite a production of tightening the fabric around Amy's butt and smoothing the folds out. "I'm sorry I missed your bout yesterday. I was out cold. I really wanted to be there for you." "My two minutes of fame?" she giggled as I pressed the fabric down over her mound. "Mmm. You're making it up to me today." "Here's the scene," I said. "You've just noticed what's happening over there to your right, so you aren't paying any attention whatsoever to these two. So lift your right hand as though you are about to reach for a drink being served." I unzipped the back of her dress, careful to keep it up with my other hand. Taking her at her word, I slipped my hand inside the dress and cupped her ass. The muscle tensed for a fraction of a second and then relaxed. "Now, I'm just going to guide the dress down so it falls but is caught between the two of you, okay?" She nodded. I slid my hands around to the front of her dress, keeping hold of the fabric while I caressed her breasts for the first time ever. I felt so incredibly wicked feeling up a lesbian like this. I don't know if I expected her to feel different than a hetero- or bi-sexual female, but what I felt was every bit a woman. And a damn sexy one at that. I pulled the dress down slowly, keeping my hands in firm contact with her torso until the fabric caught at her left hip. Then I slid my hands around so the left was behind her and the right was in front as I continued to push the fabric down over her butt and pussy, until it hung at an angle from her left hip to the floor on her right. I caressed her leg and thigh as I stood back up and she cocked her leg slightly to be sure I knew not to avoid her pussy. Sonia was shaved bare but Amy maintained a dark triangle of hair that pointed like an arrow at her slit. As I passed my hand over it and let my fingers dip in slight, I realized that Amy was just as wet as Sonia. I raised my eyes and Amy had a crooked grin. I held her focus as I licked my finger clean. "No wonder girls love you," I whispered. She actually blushed. I rushed to the camera, clicked a reference shot and sat to start sketching. It had taken longer to get the girls into this pose than I'd normally take because of all the playing and I was afraid they wouldn't be able to hold it long enough for me to get any sketching done. I'd never get the fabric draped like this again, so I was going to hold them in the pose for as long as possible. As much as I wanted to focus on things like Rio's butt and Amy and Sonia's tits, I roughed in everything and then focused on the drapery so that when I put them back in position after our break I could ignore where the dresses were. They were able to hold the pose for half an hour as I worked, so I got detail in up to their butts before we took a break. ------- I ran upstairs to use the bathroom while the girls took their break, partly to avoid standing around naked with them when their hands had nothing better to do. The first bit of my sketching was painful enough as I waited for my erection to deflate. Once I got into actually drawing, it didn't take long for me to forget about any sex play. When I came out of the bathroom, I almost ran into Amy. She was still very naked, as I was, and I had to keep reminding myself that she's gay. She made that hard to do when she closed the distance between us and kissed me with so much passion that my cock was soon poking up between us and she was grinding down on it. "Ames. Ames!" I gasped as I managed to push away from her. "What's going on?" "I ... I wanted you to know that I was ... a willing participant and that you ... weren't forcing me into anything," she panted. "That certainly seemed willing," I admitted. "But tell me what's really going on." "We talked before this," Amy said. "I don't mean just the three of us. We talked with Melody and Kate and Lissa. After the posing party where Rio kind of went wild, we thought we needed to set ground rules. I was put in charge of controlling things. I've got to tell you, though, that it's just as hard to control me as Rio or even Sonia." "So you all decided it would be all right to fool around with me," I said. "Do I get any say?" "That's why I'm here, Tony. If you want me to rein things back, I will, but none of us want to. Rio is about to break her leash." "Yeah. She could take some sub lessons from Wendy," I laughed. "Rio isn't a sub," Amy said. "And Wendy isn't into pain. Wendy accepted pain as something she had to put up with to be submissive. She gets incredibly anxious when she has to lead in anything. She'll do it, but it's hard for her. Rio, on the other hand, barely accepts being submissive as the price of having pain. Not a lot of pain, mind you. She's not a full-blown masochist. But she gets off on having a guy bend her over his knee and spank her naked bottom. She likes her nipples squeezed tighter than would make me comfortable. But she doesn't trust anyone enough to let go of her control. Push her any further than she wants to go and she'll castrate you." "Great," I muttered. "That's why I've got the leash, Tony. She desperately wants to get off on you spanking her, but I don't really think she's ready to fuck you. Can you live with that?" "I can live without any of it, but if she trusts me for that, I'll follow your lead. But that still doesn't explain you, Amy. You're sexy as hell, but you don't have to force yourself to let me touch you or kiss you. We're friends. I don't want to hurt you. And what about Sonia? She's always been conservative around guys other than Thor." "Okay. I'm here to control Rio. We all agreed you aren't likely to get super turned on by Rio's kink. Sonia's here to turn you and me on." I chuckled. "I know you are lesbian," I said. "But I've gotta tell you, Ames, you turn me on just fine." "Actually, thanks. Really. Um ... neither Sonia nor Thor know this yet, but I'm probably going to sleep with him." "Amy? You're kidding, right?" "I really love both of them, Tony," she said plaintively. "It's really hard not to give him anything he wants. But there's something else. If I do decide to have sex with Thor, I'm coming to you first." "Hmm? Why?" "To have sex with me. This is probably crazy, you know? But being with Sonia and Thor is pretty intense. What you experienced when she undressed you didn't even begin to scratch the surface. I'm scared to lose control with them, no matter how much I love them. You are my friend, Tony. You've proved it over and again. I trust you to make that experience okay for me." What could I do? I hugged her. I wanted to cry on her shoulder, protect her, make sure nothing bad ever happened to her. She was right back on me, rubbing my stiffening cock again. "Maybe I could get Melody to help us," I said softly. Amy shoved me back on the bed and ground her pussy against my cock as she kissed me. "Do that and we can do it tonight!" ------- I got everybody back in their pose and sat at my easel. At least now I understood what was driving everyone. I looked carefully at the pose and at my reference photo. I walked up behind Rio and before she recognized that anything had changed, I bent and smacked her on the back of her left thigh. "Bend that knee and on your tip-toe like you were before," I snapped. She gasped and her eyes flew wide open. Her leg was back in the correct position in an instant. "Don't make me spank you," I growled in her ear. She bit her lip and whimpered. I glanced at Amy and Sonia and they were both grinning at me. I leaned down behind Sonia and saw her buttocks tense as if she was expecting that I might spank her, too, but I just pulled her dress back up over her heel like it was originally. Then I ran my hand up between her thighs. "I think these were just a little wider apart," I whispered to her. Her legs parted giving me a full sweep of her pussy from clit right into her wet hole. I brought my finger out and raised it to my lips and took a lick while I watched Amy's hungry eyes. I held out my finger to her and she sucked it into her mouth. "Not quite as sweet as yours but pretty yummy, don't you think?" I asked her. "I'd eat her off of you any time," Amy said. I went back to my drawing board and started filling in the details of the upper bodies. None of the fabric draping, bend of the legs, or spread of them made a bit of difference to me at this stage. It took me just over half an hour to finish the sketch, stopping once to smack Rio again when her attention wavered and she turned her head. I placed that one square on her right butt cheek and it so surprised her that it elicited a little yelp. ------- I'm not going to go into detail about what happened when I finished drawing. I'm still trying to sort it out in my head. Shit! I'd never do anything like that! Suffice it to say that I spanked Rio. It was what she wanted. Really. She came. I felt terrible. But I still came. Amy licked my cum off Rio's face, chest, neck, and everyplace else it spewed while Rio ate her out. Lots of screaming. Sonia dove onto my wet, cum-covered cock and sucked me clean until I left another deposit in her mouth, which she then fed to Rio. Real people just don't do this shit. I guess I'm not in Kansas—er ... Nebraska—anymore. ------- Chapter 41 I was an automaton. I went to the kitchen and took food out of the refrigerator and ate it. I don't know what it was. I drank a large bottle of water. I went into the bathroom and completely filled the tub and turned on the jets as high as I could get them. I threw up in the toilet before I got in the tub. So much for food. The thought of just drowning myself occurred to me. I didn't do anything that anyone didn't want to do. I didn't do anything my lovers hadn't told me I could do. I didn't do anything wrong. Why the hell did I feel so ashamed? When the ladies left, they dressed in clothes they'd brought with them, leaving their dresses in the exact piles where they'd fallen when we were painting. "You might need those for another scene," Amy quipped as she left, still tugging Rio behind her with the leash. I never did kiss Rio. Before she left, Sonia stopped to give me another kiss. A very deep, arousing kiss. "I'm a triple-play girl," she whispered in my ear. "I could stick around if you want to go for the other two." "Uh ... family ... will be home soon. Thanks anyway." Fuck Sonia? Pussy and ass? Holy shit! ------- I had my ears underwater, blocking out everything but the sound of the spa jets. Only my nose and eyes were above water when Lissa walked into the bathroom. She stood looking at me and I could see understanding on her face. "You're not drowning, are you?" I lifted up enough to hear and shook my head. "Do you want some dinner?" I shook it again. "We'll be in soon." I nodded. She left. I silenced the jets and drained the water, drying myself and brushing my teeth—then brushing them again. I crawled into the middle of the bed, curled up in a fetal position, and pulled the covers over my head. ------- "Too much?" Melody whispered as she cuddled against me. I just nodded my head. Lissa kissed my forehead and encouraged me to look up at her. It was hard to do, to meet those beautiful blue eyes with the black flecks in them. It made me want to cry. "It's our fault," Lissa said. "We thought it would be a way for you to release the pressure without being concerned about us. You've been so stressed. I'm sorry, Tony." I was shaking. It's not like I was cold, but it was the same kind of shaking you get when you've got a really bad fever and even when you are sweating, you're freezing. "Kate?" I whispered, looking around. "I'm here, baby," she said. She stood at the foot of the bed. She hadn't undressed for bed yet but she crawled over the top of me and lay down on me over the covers. With my three lovers sandwiching me in, I stopped shaking so much. Kate's weight on top of me helped. "Amy said they talked it over with all of you. You said it was okay," I croaked. "Amy was supposed to keep it under control," Melody said. "I'll talk to her." "No. She did her best, and we didn't do anything people didn't want to do. But it still made me feel like shit," I said. "Kitten, it was just sex." "It's never just sex, Tony," Kate whispered to me. "Not with you. If it had been just sex, you wouldn't feel so rotten." "Darling, at the party, you gave Amanda what she needed and she adores you. You did the same for Rio," Lissa said. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't just sex for her, either." "Lovers, everything I want in the world is in this room. Please don't do that to me again." "We can't always be everything you need, love," Melody said, rocking me. "Unfortunately, we might not always guess right at what you need, either. But there are three women here right now, touching you, touching each other, who love you like no others." Kate pushed away and got off the bed. "Kitten?" "I was going to sleep downstairs tonight, but I changed my mind," she said as her clothes dropped to the floor. "Make room for me?" She crawled under the covers. Melody made room through the simple expedient of lying between my legs with her head on my chest. Kate scooted up against me on one side with Lissa held to me on the other side. My head began to clear. I had been so overwhelmed sensually that I couldn't think straight. Now with the three most important people in the world lying next to me and touching me, my mind went to work filtering the images of this afternoon. Breathing was evening out into the patterns of sleep when I spoke, just above a breath. "It's going to make a hell of a painting." ------- Classes were a blur and my team was really carrying me in Human Physiology. I hated feeling like I wasn't contributing adequately, but they seemed to understand the pressure I was under for the Board presentation coming up Wednesday night. As soon as I could get free, I rushed home to paint. Lissa wasn't happy that I wasn't practicing, but she understood that I'd miss the next couple of days as I got things ready for my presentation. What Doc told me Sunday morning had burned an image into my mind. I knew what I wanted to paint, but getting the damned perspective right was killing me. I had my headset plugged in and was screaming along with Maroon 5. Kate came out to look at my progress at about midnight. When I saw her I unplugged. "It's almost there," she said. "I don't know how you can see things so big. It makes my brain hurt." "I'm at a point where I'm afraid I'll make a mistake if I keep going tonight," I said. "I have to keep backing up to here and getting on my knees to look at it in order to tell if the perspective is right." "At least when we paint the building we'll only have to look at a grid-block at a time." "That's part of the problem. I have to have enough detail in each square inch of this board to translate to a foot," I said. "And hero or not, nobody at school is cutting me any academic slack so that I can go paint. You know if I was full-time at PCAD, they'd let me out of all my classes to do this." "They'd base your entire grade on it," Kate laughed. "And you'd ace it." "I've got to get to bed," I said after a long luxurious kiss. "Come ahead. Remember? Lissa and Melody kissed you goodnight a couple of hours ago. Just come on into my bed," she said, looking into my eyes. "Let me hold you, love." ------- There was already someone in Kate's bed. When I slipped between the covers, Wendy cuddled against me on one side and Kate on the other. "Hey, Tiger," I said softly. "Hey, Tony. Keep me warm?" "Do my best." I kissed the top of her head and we were all asleep in minutes. ------- Kate has later classes than Wendy's and mine, so when my alarm rang, the two of us left Kate sleeping while we went to take a shower. I'd usually go upstairs and shower and dress, but Wendy took my hand and led me to the bath the girls shared. I find it amazing that I'm so comfortable in such intimate settings with Wendy, even though we aren't technically lovers. That doesn't mean we don't fool around a little, but it's never gone beyond a well-placed finger or hand. We washed each other thoroughly. "Was it hard?" Wendy asked. "I'm hard, yes," I answered. Wendy looked down and soaped up my cock and started stroking it. "I mean, was it hard to be with Rio? To, you know..." "Wendy, I know it was only play and that Rio really gets off on it, but ... I hit her." All of a sudden, my cock was forgotten and I was crying. "I hit her, Wendy. I saw her in class yesterday and I ran out as soon as class ended and came home. We're supposed to meet today to study and how am I supposed to face her?" Wendy hugged me. With all she'd been through, she must hate me for what I did to Rio, but she was still hugging me. "Did you beat her, Tony? Did you take off your belt and hit her with the buckle? Did you kick her in the ribs and whip her breasts? Did you slap her face and punch her in the stomach?" I sank down in the shower on my knees, just listening to Wendy and knowing that she'd endured that and more. I shook my head back and forth. Wendy was on her knees in front of me. "You didn't hurt her, Tony. You weren't out of control. You gave her just what she wanted and nothing more." "But that's no excuse for hitting her." "Maybe. That's up to you." "What do you mean?" "Find out how she feels about it and let her own her feelings. Separate them from your feelings. You have to know what you feel in order to cope with that apart from her," Wendy said. "I do know some ways to give her the experience she wants without you ending up shamed, though, if you'd like to know them." "You do?" "I'm not into pain, Tony, but it was so much a part of my sexual experience with my dad and with Rafe that I learned a lot." "You were so abused, Wendy," I said. She turned off the water and we stepped out of the shower. "Yes. But I'm not now. Not even when you tell me what to do." "What? I don't ... I try not to tell you what to do," I said, astounded. "That's right, but giving commands is a part of everyday language. Even if you say please at the end, you give a command. 'Pass the salt, please.' It is a direct imperative. The difference between other people and me is that I hear it as an imperative and I want to obey you. Like the day school started. You calmly handed me clothing to put on and I put it on. You could have handed me anything in my room and I would have worn it. It's what it means to be truly submissive. I will do anything you tell me to. I will do anything you ask me to. And you kindly hand me my choices and let me submit." "I don't get it, Wendy. You'd just do anything anyone asked you to?" "No. I'd do anything you asked. Or Kate," she said. "I'm getting counseling, but I've got a lot to work out. It will take a long time. Maybe years. But being with you and Kate makes it easier for me. I can ignore what other people might order me to do because I have the two of you. I trust you." "We don't want you to serve us," I said. "Then don't ask for service. But it's what I want. I have so much difficulty making decisions sometimes. I get overwhelmed and can't even move. It's so frustrating. I just want you to help me." "Why us?" "You are my hero." "That's a lot to live up to," I balked. "But I trust you." With that, she pressed her naked body against mine and kissed me so sweetly that I melted against her. "Tony, will you tell me what to wear today? Please?" ------- Physiology. Team meeting. Parkour. I led and let Coach chase me. It felt good to run flat out until I was so exhausted I couldn't move. I barely had time for a quick shower before Literary Criticism. This was it. I entered the room and spotted Rio on the other side. I crossed the room and sat beside her. She looked up at me, a little surprised. "You okay?" I asked quietly. "Yeah. You?" "I'll live. Talk to you later." ------- I sat with Rio in the cafeteria after class. We'd slid into a booth and she was surprised when I sat on the same side. I looked at her closely. She was wearing a turtleneck, but I could see a bulge under it. She saw that I noticed and rolled the neckline down exposing the collar she was wearing. She started digging in her bag and pulled out the leash. She handed it to me. I sighed. But Wendy really helped get my head on straight this morning. I reached over and clipped the leash to her collar. Rio inhaled haltingly. I reached around her and unbuckled the collar, pulling it off and dangling it at the end of the leash. "You aren't a submissive; you aren't a slave; and you aren't a pet," I said. "You don't need a collar and a leash." "Do you hate me?" she asked. "No. Actually I'm rather fond of you." "Really?" "Yes. But I'm not going to have another sado-masochistic orgy with you and/or anyone else." "That's mean," she laughed. "What do you really want, Rio?" I asked. "What does everybody want? Love. Fulfillment. A little pain." "Why the pain?" "You'll laugh." "The one thing I would do less of than inflicting pain is laugh at it," I said. "I'm not pretty, Tony. No matter how you paint me, it's not going to take fifty pounds off the real me. It's not going to give me a pretty complexion or silky hair. I learned early about sexual pleasure—on my own, no tutors. But I found that I could only get so close. It was frustrating. One day I got so frustrated that I grabbed my own nipples and twisted them as hard as I could. God, it hurt! It was my first orgasm," she said. She looked me in the eye. "I realized what I wanted then. I just wanted to come. And a little pain—not a lot—was the ticket to getting me there. And boys ... boys always want to spank the fat girl." "I don't." "You got hard." "You were lying on my cock rubbing it." "You won't do it again?" "No." I hesitated and she dropped her head. "But I'll make love to you one day." Her head snapped up and she turned to face me, looking in my eyes for the truth. "When?" she whispered. "One day, when we're ready." ------- Wednesday arrived with an overshadowing aura of doom. At six tonight I was to stand before the Board of Regents at SCU and present the design for a new mural. I cut all my classes and focused on the painting and the presentation. I installed handles on the back of the three-quarter-inch plywood panel that had canvas and my painting on the opposite side. I resisted the urge to keep adding paint. It was barely dry enough to transport as it was. And it wouldn't fit in either of our cars. Doc came over at five o'clock and we loaded the covered painting into his van. He transported stuff like this all the time and the rest of the van was filled with his painting supplies. I rode with him, even though the rest of my family was driving over as well. I didn't say much and Doc didn't press me. There was a huge crowd outside the Board Room where the meeting was to take place. In fact, there were so many people that we couldn't even get to the room. Eventually a message was passed back from the doors that the Board of Regents would reconvene in the auditorium to discuss the Tent City Memorial and we should all move there. "Better yet," Doc said. "The auditorium has projection equipment. Grab someone to help you get this on stage and I'll go set up." I'd prepared a slide presentation in PowerPoint, even though I don't really like doing it. Melody helped me with it. Lissa dressed me in plain black slacks and a nice open-collar, black shirt. Wendy was clinging to Kate like a sandbur when I saw the four of them come into the auditorium. I saw Bree and other friends join them. My own private fan club. Unfortunately, there were a ton of people around me and I was being introduced to people I didn't even know existed. The Student Social Concerns Committee had made Eric their representative for the project. "Who are all these people?" I asked Eric. "Interested parties," he responded. "That's Mayor McGinn. I think that's most of the City Council with him. I don't know who those folks are," he said pointing. "I know them," I said. "It's my degree advisor and several professors from PCAD, including Dean Peterson." "Hey, Tony, I understand we kind of put you on the spot when we stole your painting. I hope you understand that wasn't what we intended," Eric said. "It's okay, Eric. I feel like I'm in way over my head, but I've got good friends to help me. I think you're going to owe me a pose for a painting I'm doing when this is over, though." "Sure. Now you want me to get naked," he laughed. "The whole thing just went viral, you know. You were a hero and I had a snapshot of the sketch you did from the roof when we were up there," he said. "I uploaded it because it seemed it was the only picture there was that really showed what the place looked like before. When Bree said there was a copy of the finished painting on your computer, I practically begged her for it. Then all of a sudden there was talk of a memorial and doing fundraising. Everywhere there was a message, your picture was pointed at. There was no way to stop it." "I hope everyone likes the actual painting for the building," I said, motioning to the covered board. "The whole thing scares the hell out of me." "Well, understand that you've got a lot of people supporting you. You'll see. Here's the Board." We took seats in the front row of the auditorium and the Board of Regents filed in and sat behind a table on stage. I noticed some flashes going off and when I looked around I saw a dozen people with cameras, video cameras, and recorders. The press was here. "We are here to consider the request to have a memorial mural painted on the athletic pavilion. Staff is currently distributing a printed summary of the project, so we hope not to have to go over everything in detail. We are here to discuss the plan, funding, impact on the school, goals, and feasibility of the project before approving or disallowing the project," the President of the School said. "We will hear first from the Student Social Concerns Committee which has prepared an agenda of items to be covered. I want to say that the committee has done excellent work so far and consulted with me on the agenda, so it should address all our concerns." That was Eric's cue and he hopped on stage to stand behind a podium. A slide flashed on the big screen behind the regents and Eric was off. He talked about the culture at the school and its background as a community of concerned people who were always willing to help. As a result of that, the students had invited a disenfranchised community to share the school grounds for just three months. He told about the attack and named the dead and injured. I flinched when he named Wendy and Paulie. That image of her running toward me was seared into my mind. He said the students wanted to help Tent City rebuild and felt that emblazoning the image of Tent City on our wall would not only memorialize those who had what little they possessed taken from them, but that it would keep our attention on the continuing problem of homelessness and would be a focal-point for our fundraising efforts. It was a beautiful speech. He got applause and the president of the college thanked him. Eric was followed by half a dozen different speakers who talked about the impact of a project of this scope. It covered everything from materials to insurance and security issues. I didn't realize they were on the agenda, but Doc and Clarice shared the podium for five minutes to address the artistic resources, faculty advisorship, and professional management. There was a motion to revise the banking of the funds raised so that the money could be used to help the homeless in other ways should the city or circumstances prevent the acquisition of a permanent site for the encampment. "Tony Ames, artist. We've reached the part of our meeting where we'd actually like to see what this wall will look like. Can you show us?" President Haywood asked. "Yes sir," I said going to the stage. I went to the podium and my first slide came onto the screen. I couldn't believe there were almost a hundred people in the auditorium. I took a deep breath and looked directly at Wendy. She smiled at me and Kate hugged her. "President Haywood, Regents, Mr. Mayor, fellow students, and guests," I almost couldn't go on. I was scared to death. All I could think was What if they don't like it? I should have written this all down. "I'm honored to have been asked by my fellow students to create a very large painting that will fulfill the goals that have been laid out this evening. And really scared." That's not what I intended to say. There were a few chuckles from the audience. "They've asked me to prepare a memorial for something that I don't want to remember. I don't want to remember finding a guy who'd told me a joke at ten o'clock lying dead in front of me at four a.m. I don't want to remember seeing a fireball arcing in the sky while I was frantically trying to turn off gas valves. I don't want to remember seeing a dear friend running toward me in flames. I don't want to remember being so frightened and panicked and so terrified." I couldn't help the tears running from my eyes. I heard a few sniffles and held my eyes on Kate and Wendy. "But there are things I do want to remember. I want to remember my first day coming to this campus and stumbling into a student rally and a guy in a bright blue t-shirt that said 'Pitch-a-Tent' on it becoming the first friend that I made on my own at SCU. Thanks, Eric. I want to remember students at PCAD getting involved by putting together backpacks for med supplies and toiletries so they could be a part of this project, and the fact that after the fire they did it all over again even though they were all on winter break. Thank you, Kate, for coordinating that. I want to remember a huge recliner that Derrick loaned us for the security tent because that overnight shift was really cold out there. I want to remember the fact that when I came to SCU I promised that I would become involved and more aware of what was going on around me. Not just aware of ball games, though I've enjoyed a couple of those, or the sport that I was recruited to play, or the unbelievable friends I made at orientation and in my classes. I wanted to be aware of my community. That is what I want to remember." There was some applause and I looked at my friends and my lovers. It surprised me. "Um ... thanks ... I guess. Members of our collegiate community, when I look at the wall of the athletic pavilion, what I want to remember most may not have happened yet, but will. I want to remember that we made a difference. That in some way, we left the world a better place than we found it. That is what I've tried to capture in this painting that I offer as a scene for the wall of the athletic pavilion." I went over to the painting, took another deep breath, and flipped the cover off of the painting. At the same time, Doc projected a slide of the painting on the screen behind the regents. It wasn't quite as big as the wall we'd paint, but it was damned big. There was silence for a couple of minutes and the Regents got up to come over to the big painting and look at it. I showed them where to stand to get the best idea of what it would look like. They gathered together in front of the painting and the audience started to whisper and shift. The board members filed back to their seats. The president leaned over his microphone. "Project approved," he said and hammered his gavel once. Pandemonium broke out in the auditorium. ------- Over the weekend, scaffolding sprouted up around the athletic pavilion. Re-facing the building would be the first step in the mural project. Somehow, the school had come up with capital funds to do all three of the exposed faces of the building in a matching smooth finish that would be easy to paint. The original surface was textured cement that would have been almost impossible to draw on. Just the mural wall would cost close to twenty-five thousand dollars to surface. The school had discovered, however, that the new surfacing material would give energy savings of nearly 20%. On a building that size, the job would pay for itself in less than five years. I was at the site when they started putting up the scaffold, just to watch and begin to accustom myself to an eighty-foot wide canvas. Melody and Bree went with me and each was holding one of my arms as I threatened to hyperventilate. God! What have I gotten myself into? I'm just a kid! I'd started to go up to help put up the scaffold, but the guys had flagged me back and said I couldn't come past a yellow caution tape they were stringing up around the building. That was going to make it tough for me to paint. Eric found us as we were watching. Eric had brought John Stratton, the chair of the Student Social Services Committee with him and the two carried a big box between them. I introduced John to Melody and Bree but he already knew Bree because she was on the committee. "Don't tell me you tried to cross the yellow tape already," Eric laughed. "That's a construction zone now and is officially under City building code and OSHA rules. That means you have to have a hardhat in order to cross the tape." With that, he and John opened the box and showed me about twenty hardhats. I laughed. "You mean just wearing one of these will get me across the line?" I said. "Anybody could do that." "No, you have to have this one," Eric said, pulling out a red hardhat. My name was stenciled on the front. "This is the site foreman's hat. That's you. What you say goes. Of course, no one is really expecting you to say anything to the crew that's doing the surfacing unless you don't like the quality. But it's going to get you in to inspect the work." He handed white hats to Melody and John and crammed one on his own head. "These are volunteer and worker hats. If you look over at the site you'll see that pretty much everyone over there is in a white hardhat." Then he handed a yellow hat to Bree. "This is the crew coordinator's hat," he said with a smile. I looked at Bree. I had no idea she was taking that big a role on the project. "That's cool, Bree," I said. "How are you handling the added responsibilities?" "Well, my new schedule is a lot easier. My program is consolidated this quarter, so I'm clear at noon each day. Since so much of my work is going to be in-class, I've got a lot more free time now." "See the guy over there?" Eric asked. I looked where he was pointing and saw another guy standing with a yellow hat. "He's the crew-chief for the scaffolding crew. There will be a different guy here on Monday to manage the surface crew. You can always tell the crew chiefs by the yellow hardhats. Let's go meet him." We walked over to that corner of the building where he had one bunch of guys with a forklift moving scaffold framing from a flatbed trailer to various stations along the front of the building. Once there, other crew members were assembling the first tier of scaffold on the left side of the doors. As soon as they had it done, they hoisted up frame pieces and built the second tier. It was pretty amazing. I was introduced to the crew chief, who really didn't care who I was because he was only going to be onsite today. Monday it would be someone else. He let us through, though, so I could see how far away from the building the scaffold was. It was back about eighteen inches because the guys would need room to spray the wall and then work the compound into a smooth surface. That looked like a reasonable distance for us to work from, too. I was satisfied and we left the jobsite through the building. "You two should keep your hardhats and have them with you whenever you're over here. The white hats will be stored inside the pavilion for now. When you are ready to start working, there will be a temporary shed built at the corner to store your paints, brushes, cleaner, and hardhats," John said. "That's also going to be where our security sits. As an official school construction site, there will be professional security dudes hired to make sure no one comes around the zone who isn't authorized." "I guess that's comforting," I said. "It's a little different than what we had with Tent City." "It's a lot different," Eric said. "We're a pretty high profile project right now, so most of the security team that has been hired will be off-duty policemen. They can work the site in full uniform. Daytime will be rentacops. Nighttime will be pros." "It seems like a lot of commitment from people. This must cost a bundle," I said. "The school is getting a ton of publicity and has even designed a new campaign for prospective students emphasizing our social activism. You might think this is all a benefit to the homeless, but stark reality is that a university is a big corporation and if they didn't think you'd have this project finished for a Memorial Day dedication and to hold graduation in front of, the project would never have gotten off the ground," John said. "Memorial Day?" I asked. Shit! "That's like less than four months! Do they have any idea what that means? I'm a student! They don't just give me time off to come out and paint." Shit! What have I got myself into? ------- "It's a good thing the Board of Regents likes you," Cary said as we sat in his office. "And that none of my other dual-degree students require much time or effort." "Sorry to be such a pain in the ass, Cary. This thing just has me overwhelmed at the moment." "Don't sweat it, Tony. I'm serious. The rest of the program is going so smoothly that I don't have that much to do. We won't start recruiting next year's students until March at PCAD and end of April at SCU. Until then, I need a challenge," Cary said. It's nice to have a program adviser with a sense of humor. I was trying to relax. Really. "I just don't see how I can carry my class load, sports, and this project at the same time. I'm supposed to be preparing for a show in May, too," I said. "It seems like it would be counter to the school's philosophy for me to drop out of school in order to do a project for the school." "You hit it on the head. President Haywood was adamant that we make sure you are successful as a student and still working toward your degree," Cary said. "But they are also satisfied with the concept of being creative with your program. Are you willing to work with me?" "Sure." "Do you really want to do the project, Tony? If not, I'll raise a stink and get it scrapped or changed." "No, I really want to do it. It's just time that has me stressed out." "Okay. Then here's what I worked out. At the end of this quarter—which is just six weeks away—you'll be back at PCAD and won't have classes at SCU. You'll get a week off to go play in the Intercollegiate National Championship and then you'll have two solid months with nothing on your plate but the mural." "How can I go back to PCAD in the middle of the semester?" "Since you volunteered for this project and are not being paid for it, PCAD is granting an additional eight hours credit on your existing two-hour practicum, and another four hours for summer session since semester ends the third of May," Cary said. I nodded. It was remarkable that PCAD was willing to do this, but I was pretty sure they were planning to get their money's worth out of this project just like SCU was. "The net is that you are going to end up with more credit hours than you would have normally because you'll have gained two quarters and one semester this year. If we can keep your extra-curricular activities at a minimum next year, you might still be able to finish in four years instead of five." "Really? That would be cool." For some reason, my mind jumped to an image of Lissa, pregnant with our child. A graduation present. Now that's getting ahead of myself! ------- "I'm finally caught up," I announced to my family Friday night. It was a good feeling. I'd spent the entire week focused on my schoolwork, knowing that in just six—make that five weeks now—I would be through at SCU. Even my Physiology team was satisfied that I was back on track and was sad that I'd be leaving the team at the end of the quarter. It felt like such a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I'd still have a pretty intense month ahead of me while we got the project started, and I was still preparing for Nationals, but then I would have two months of nothing but painting. I was really looking forward to it. "That's great!" Melody said. "Just in time for Valentine's Day!" "Oh no! I haven't made any plans for my valentines," I said. "I hope we can still get reservations somewhere. I'm sorry, lovers." "They are already made," Lissa said. "We knew how stressed you were, so we've decided to make this a holiday you'll never forget." "A little role reversal," Kate giggled. "The girls are treating the boy to a weekend of luxury and are hoping to get lucky." "You know that all you'd have to do is wink at me and you'd get lucky," I laughed. "Are you serious?" "We're going to wine and dine you and pretty much fuck your lights out," Melody said. "We're not going to get another shot at you for three months, so we're planning to make the most of it this weekend." "The whole weekend?" "Actually, Monday, too. It's convenient that SCU has a faculty symposium on Monday. It gives us a day for each of us to pamper you and then Tuesday night we're taking you out to a wonderful dinner after racquetball practice," Lissa said. "We each get to do with you whatever we like most." "Oh wow!" I turned toward Kate. "The zoo?" I asked. She grinned. "Let me see," I said, turning to Melody. "A luxury hotel room somewhere, right?" Melody smiled so big she got deep dimples in her cheeks. I looked at Lissa. "It's awfully cold to set up the tent and camp out," I said. "We might have to find someplace warmer," she said. I could tell she had a plan, but no one was really letting me in on it. This was going to be a great weekend. ------- Chapter 42 Friday night the girls treated me like it was a competition. I was kept on edge but never over the edge as they played with me and each other. We shifted around, switching partners and all ending up in the spa. Sweet agony. Just being able to relax for a few minutes after the hellish first six weeks of the year was a relief. But to have a hot tub with three naked beauties and then snuggle with them as we drifted off to sleep was just so wonderful. I woke up Saturday morning with just Kate in the bed with me. That was unusual. Normally I'm the first one awake because I have the first class in the morning, but this was really nice. Kate and I hadn't had the big bed to ourselves since before we left for Christmas—actually, before the fire. This was really great. I wondered if the next two days would be similar. I smiled. "Awake, sweetheart?" Kate asked softly. "Just drowsing here enjoying holding you next to me, Kitten," I said. "I love this feeling." "Mmm. Me too." We kissed softly, but in no hurry to part. "I need the bathroom, love. You?" "Yeah. But can we come back here after?" "Oh, yes," she sighed. We used the bathroom, brushed our teeth, and decided to take a quick wake-up shower before we went back to bed. I just wanted to worship her body. I loved her so much! She didn't let me get too carried away in the shower and I wondered if this was going to be a Kate teasing Tony day. Well, there were worse things. Once we were in bed, though, Kate showed me that she had some very specific intentions. She pushed me back on the bed and then worked her way around so she was facing the foot of the bed. She pulled me toward her and we ended up in a sixty-nine while lying on our sides. "I always wanted to try it this way," she said. "Do you mind?" "Mind? Kitten, I have my face just inches from my favorite place in the world. Why would I mind?" "Why don't you show how much you like it, then?" she suggested. I buried my face between her thighs, taking in the fresh clean scent of our shower comingled with her increasing arousal. I was in heaven and lost myself in the sensations of her pussy on my tongue. When Kate captured my erection in her mouth there were new sensations to enjoy. As she rose to her peak, she hummed and screamed around my cock, never quite releasing it from her mouth. She clamped her leg down on my head preventing me from reaching her with long strokes, but I did manage to occasionally get the tip of my tongue in contact with her clit. Each time she shuddered and moaned. Those sensations were transferred directly to my cock where she had begun to work in earnest. "Kitten, if you want to make love, we should move around. I might come soon." "We are making love, Tony," she said. "I know I don't often take you in my mouth, but I want you, sweetheart. I want you to come in my mouth." I relaxed then and let her do the driving. It wasn't long before she got her wish. ------- "Coffee?" Wendy asked as she came into the room. Kate had moved around so we were both leaning against the headboard kissing each other and lazily petting. I looked up at Wendy. "Do you have a video camera installed so you know when to come with coffee?" I asked. "No. I just know." Wendy kissed me softly and licked my lips. "Yum. Kate," she said. She kissed me deeply and gave me my coffee. Wendy ran around to the other side of the bed and kissed Kate. She broke the kiss and looked at Kate with wide eyes. "Is that... ?" Kate nodded. Wendy attacked her mouth with passion. Both girls were panting when the kiss ended. "Um ... latte?" Wendy offered. Kate took the drink and Wendy curled up beside her with a cup of her own. Kate put an arm around Wendy and petted her short hair, just an inch long now. "It won't be long now, Tiger," Kate whispered. "We'll get your stripes back." "Love you, Kate," Wendy said. She got out of bed, took both of our cups and smiled at us. "Breakfast is in fifteen minutes." I caught her hand before she left and pulled her close enough that I could kiss the top of her head. "Thank you, Tiger," I said. She smiled brightly and left. "She's in love with you," I said softly. "And I love her," Kate said. "Do you mind if she comes with us today?" "Of course not. As I understand the rules, you are in control," I said. "Uh ... I don't think I'm ready to actually make love to Wendy, though. I like playing with her, but there's something I'm not sure about." "You know what she wants, don't you?" Kate asked. I nodded. "I love her, Tony. I love her like I love you and Melody and Lissa. But I haven't done anything more with her than you have. I ... I can't be what she wants." "I don't know if I can either," I said. "Let's just have a fun day." ------- That's what we did. We showered again. Breakfast was magnificent, but Melody and Lissa had already left. Kate explained that it was her day and tomorrow she and Lissa would be gone so Melody could have me all to herself. She also explained that Melody and Lissa were having a fun time together as part of their valentine play. After breakfast, we dressed warmly and headed for the zoo. Kate wore a maxi-skirt and heavy, bulky sweater with a scarf and knit hat. She looked like a picture from some twentieth century Irish village. She was so cute! Wendy opted for her lumberjack look. She dressed in jeans and high boots with a heavy sweater and my Pendleton wool plaid shirt over the top. Her hat even had earflaps. She wore gloves except when she was holding either Kate's or my hand. We'd be walking along and she'd be swinging Kate's hand opposite me and the next thing I knew she was beside me, holding my hand. The whole time, Kate and I just kept our arms around each other as we walked through the zoo. It was a little after noon when I realized Wendy wasn't holding my hand and wasn't holding Kate's either. "We lost Wendy," I said. Kate looked around frantically. We began retracing our steps. Wendy is older than either of us, but I swear we were acting like parents who'd just lost a three-year-old. Kate had her cell phone out and was texting when I held up my hand and pointed. Wendy was sitting on a bench overlooking the tiger grotto. We watched as she looked at the female Sumatran Tiger that prowled the exhibit. She looked at her arm, made a claw, and swiped forward. She sighed and sat back. Kate and I came up on either side of her and sat. She looked at us and smiled then turned to Kate and lightly bumped their foreheads together. "Isn't she beautiful?" Wendy asked. I thought at first she meant Kate, but her eyes were back on the tiger. "She sure is," I said. I pulled out my sketchbook and began rapidly laying in the outline of the prowling tiger. Wendy watched me happily. "What makes you so fascinated with them, Tiger?" I asked. "She's powerful and independent," Wendy said. "She doesn't belong to a pack. She hunts alone. She's all the things that I'm not." "Not all those things are fun to be," Kate said. "And you can be powerful and independent without being alone." "I can with you. You let me be independent. I'm still afraid of the world, though, and run back to our safe pack as quickly as I can." "We're happy to have you in our pack," I said. She nodded and we got up to follow the path to the elephants. ------- We'd had lunch at the food pavilion and it was close to two o'clock when Kate led us to the North Meadow. It sure looked different than when we were here for Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the summer. It was chilly here in February and a light mist was falling. There was pretty much nobody in the area. Kate led us into the trees on the east side of the meadow and turned to kiss me. Wendy enthusiastically joined our fun. I was thinking it was time to leave the zoo and find a nice warm bed, but Kate had other ideas and apparently Wendy was in on them. It sure wasn't my hand groping the front of my pants. I had one hand up under Kate's sweater as she backed into me and the other petting Wendy's breast as she pressed into our side and unzipped my jacket and jeans. "You girls are daring today," I whispered. "What if someone comes?" "I expect someone will come," Kate said. She pushed my hand down off her bare breast and into the waist of her skirt. I quickly discovered she was wearing nothing beneath the long full skirt and that she was already slippery with her dew. I leaned forward and Kate turned her head to kiss me as Wendy continued to make sure my cock was hard and ready. In a few minutes I felt a chilly expanse of skin against my erection. Wendy had pulled the back of Kate's skirt up and I was nestled between Kate's cheeks. "Do it, lover," Kate whispered. "I've always wanted to make love at the zoo. I'm ready." I dipped my knees slightly and Kate maneuvered back onto me. It wasn't exactly the easiest and most comfortable position with me backed against a tree and Kate pushing back onto me with Wendy holding her up. I felt one of Wendy's hands reaching under to be sure I was lodged, then beginning to stroke and rub Kate's clit. As Kate's arousal became more vocal, Wendy kissed her. I could feel the intensity of Kate's rippling muscles. I wasn't in far, but the most sensitive part of me was being massaged and just the setting of being partially exposed at the zoo was getting me close. I felt Kate's climax as she reached behind me and clutched at my ass to get me further in. Wendy finally released her lips and Kate gasped. "Come, sweetheart. I want to feel it. Push me." She leaned forward against Wendy and Wendy looked straight in my eyes. She held my gaze as I pumped in and out of Kate a few more times and then erupted. By the way Wendy gasped and the look in her eyes, I'd have sworn she came at the same time. It was almost more intimate than making love to each other would be. As I came down, I saw Kate pull her hand out of Wendy's pants and lick her fingers. It took us a few minutes, just leaning against each other and the tree for us all to come down. We didn't rush our uncoupling, but when I slipped out, I tucked myself in and zipped up as Kate's skirt fell back to cover her. We pulled ourselves together and enjoyed another long leisurely kiss together before we felt able to move and leave the zoo. ------- We drove around for a while and finally ended up at the Market where we found a place for a hot drink and a bowl of soup. We weren't overly hungry, but we all wanted to warm up. It was good and we looked out over the Sound as the rain began in earnest. At five, we dropped Wendy off at Carmine's so she could go to work. At home, Kate prepared hot tea and finger food that she brought downstairs. We picnicked in the recliner as we kissed and talked about all the things that were happening in the next few weeks. In addition to everything else, Kate and I had to get our gallery show finalized. Clarice had sent us a message that the show was now scheduled to open the first weekend in June, meaning that it would immediately follow the dedication of the mural on Memorial Day. She's clever. Our time together got progressively more intimate and before Kate had lost all her clothes, she'd come two more times as we cuddled and kissed. She jumped up from the chair and took me to the bathroom for a shower. She sent me to her bed and said she'd be there shortly. I could hear the blow drier in the bathroom as I stretched out on Kate's bed. My eyes were beginning to get heavy when she walked into the bedroom. They opened immediately. Her hair was neatly styled and she wore a hint of makeup to accent those delicious hazel eyes. She wore a red ribbon and bow around her waist. "Would you like a piece of valentine candy?" she asked. "All you have to do is unwrap it." I unwrapped and ate my fill. Kate was very happy and I was once again very hard. "You know what comes next, don't you?" she asked as I crawled up her body, kissing everything as I progressed. My cock slid smoothly into her. "That's nice," she said, enjoying the moment, "but it's not what comes next." She pushed me back until I was out of her and reached for a bottle of lube on her nightstand. She stroked my cock with the slippery substance and then applied a little to her butt. "Are you sure?" I asked. We'd only done this once before. She nodded and pulled me forward, aligning me to her tight rose. "Just be gentle, love. I want to feel you slowly sliding into me." I pressed forward a little at a time, giving us both time to adjust and enjoy the sensations. Once I was fully inside, we moved apart and together slowly. I was surprised to hear Kate begin to whine as she came, clenching and unclenching around me so rapidly that there was no hope that I'd be able to wait. I mashed my lips against hers as she gasped, feeling my hot semen splashing in her bowels. She clung to consciousness but I nearly lost it. We clasped each other together. "It's so intense that way," she whispered as I shrank. "I would never have thought that I could come from that." "You know I love to make love to you any way you want," I said. "Why did you choose that way?" "Mmm. I know you've been putting off painting another grouping with Sonia," Kate said. "Now she no longer has the mystique of being a girl who will do you three ways. You've had a triple play in one day with me." I grinned. "You are a devil," I said happily. "And I love it." After another shower, Kate led me upstairs and we crawled into bed with Melody and Lissa. ------- I woke up seconds before I came. I'd been dreaming and it was a luscious erotic dream that I couldn't capture a single image from. The dream was probably the result of the fellatio I was receiving from Melody. How late had I slept that Melody was awake before me? And that Kate and Lissa were missing from the bed? I touched Melody's head with my hand to let her know that I was fully conscious and she finished swallowing me in her throat. She looked up and smiled at me. "Good morning, lover," she said. "Did you sleep well?" "I slept well and woke up even better," I said pulling her to me for a long lovely kiss. I wasn't going to let go of her. I just held her and kept kissing. "Happy anniversary, my darling," Melody whispered in my ear. "Anniversary? I thought we were celebrating Valentine's Day," I said. I kept petting and kissing her, letting my hands roam over her body and explore my first love. First love. "Oh my God!" I said, sitting up. "You were totally clueless, weren't you?" Melody laughed. "I had no idea what the date was. I don't mean today ... well yes, I do mean today. I'm still not sure what the date is. I didn't know when it was then. I mean..." "Just a year ago today, you took my precious cherry and don't even remember it," she pouted. "I do remember it. I remember it like it was yesterday. I just didn't remember what date it was," I frantically explained. "I'm so sorry, Melody. I didn't mean..." She kissed me. "I'm not very sentimental about things," she said. "I forgot until Lissa said something to me last night and we got out a calendar. It was actually yesterday, the eleventh. February was pretty ... um ... eventful. It was only two weeks later that we came back here with Lissa." "Did we do anything special for Valentine's Day last year? I don't even remember it." "Well, Valentine's Day was pretty anti-climactic being the day after we spent our luscious first weekend here. Professor McIntyre refused to accept our concept sketches of each other for our final project and we were 'forced' to paint Lissa instead. I think I snuck you into my dorm room for about thirty minutes, but I was too sore to do anything after the weekend," Melody said. "So much has happened," I said. "So overwhelming." "Well, today is about total relaxation. We're having a spa day. No more stress and worry. Let's take a shower and start our day together. I might even let you sketch me sometime today," she said. "Wouldn't you like me to make love to you first?" I asked. "You gave me a wonderful orgasm this morning and I'd like to return the favor." "Later. I'm saving myself," she said. "I think I'll get plenty." ------- When we got out of the shower, we discovered two luxurious bathrobes laid on the bed and fresh coffee just the way we liked it. "Mmm. I detect the hand of my little angel at work here," I said. "What's this? I thought she was your tiger. Now she's your angel?" Melody laughed. "Oh she's always been an angel when she brings us coffee in the morning," I laughed. "Well, she'll be an archangel today, then. I recruited her." "You didn't give her any orders, did you?" I asked. "No. I offered to pay her to get some things ready for us. She agreed," Melody laughed. "Tony, I think that you are the only person who can give her orders now. I don't want to test it, but I'm pretty sure." ------- Wendy served the most delectable goat cheese omelets I've ever eaten. When we left the bedroom, Melody led me straight to the dining room. Wendy brought fresh coffee to us and five minutes later brought us our omelets. "Man! Can she cook?" I asked as I savored the food. "She sure can," Melody answered. "Better tell her." "Wendy!" "Yes sir?" she answered from the kitchen door. She looked like she was afraid something was wrong. "Come here, Tiger," I said. She approached me. I put my arm around her waist. "Have I told you how much I like your cooking? Every time you do something, I'm just amazed. This is so good." I pulled her face down and kissed her. She pulled back. "Thank you, but this is Melody's day," she said. "And Melody wants to thank you, too," Mel said motioning toward Wendy. She kissed our Tiger soundly. "I've wanted to tell you for a long time that I'm glad you are a part of our household, Tiger. It's getting almost time to dye your stripes upstairs again." Wendy smiled and thanked Melody before retreating to the kitchen. "What is next on our agenda, first love of my life?" I asked. "Mmm. We have barbering next, I think." "Are we going to the mall?" I asked. The doorbell rang. I could hear Wendy's voice answering the door. "No. I got them to come here instead. Did you know that Donna who cuts your hair is also a fully licensed beautician in addition to being a barber? They are going to do a little trimming, shaving, and waxing for us," Melody said. "Waxing? Are you going to have Donna wax you?" I asked. "It was either that or have Howard shave me, and Donna won by telling me she had a special lotion she uses after waxing and she takes a long time to apply it," Melody smiled. Holy crap! ------- "So how many of you really live here?" Howard asked as he wrapped a steaming towel around my face. "And are you really the wife? How old are you kids? You don't look like you're out of grade school yet, I swear. Donna, how old do you think they are?" "Howard, shut up. You're embarrassing them," Donna said. "It's okay," Melody said. She was facing away from us and Donna was applying hot wax to her pussy. "We're an unusual grouping. Lissa and I share the big bed with Tony and we consider ourselves all married together. There has never been a legal ceremony, though, so it's just among ourselves. We have a formal partnership so that we can own property together and our businesses and take care of the kids." "Oh yeah, those boys," Donna said. "Even their dad talks about Tony." "We all love Damon and Drew," I said. "They are like the cement that holds the family together." "What about the wild one with the purple hair?" Howard asked. He started lathering my face so I spoke quickly before he got the razor near me. "Kate is our girlfriend. I mean Melody's, Lissa's, and mine. We all love her to pieces, but she doesn't want to settle down yet, exactly. She rents a room here," I said. Howard began scraping whiskers off of me and I heard Melody give a little yip as the first strip of wax came off. "How about the little butch girl that answered the door?" Donna asked, finally getting into the swing of things. "She's not really butch, Donna," Melody said. "She was in a fire and lost a lot of her hair. She had her head shaved." "Shit! Is that the girl you saved from the fire?" Howard asked. "We heard that story on the news and were all taking bets on whether or not it was you. Just the kind of thing we'd expect of you." "That's her," Melody said. I couldn't talk while the razor was at my throat. "Wendy is Kate's girlfriend and Tony's ... uh ... special friend, but we all love her. She rents a room here, too." I'd never heard her referred to in those terms before. Glad Donna and Howard were asking the questions. "Is that everyone?" "Yes," I said. "Well, everyone official," Melody said. I groaned. "There's my girlfriend and a few others we play with sometimes." Wait! Melody has a girlfriend? "What?" "Shh, lover. You don't want to get nicked." I shut up. ------- We were both freshly barbered, shaved, waxed, trimmed, and apparently Melody really enjoyed the lotion that Donna applied. Or she enjoyed Donna applying it. In any case, Donna and Howard left in time for us to have another snack while we waited for the manicurists to show up. When the bell rang, Rio and June were led to the lower level 'salon' that had been fixed for our use today. What a surprise. "Um ... we're not doing any posing today," I said as I was led to a chair. Both girls were stark naked. What a contrast. They were about the same height, but June is a tiny Korean and Rio is ... not. "This kind of thing gets so messy," Rio said. "It's much more comfortable to work this way. Ask Whitney." "What?" "Who do you think does her gloriously perfect nails and keeps them repaired when you break them up on the racquetball court?" Rio asked. "And June became a licensed manicurist to help pay her way through school," Melody said. "Isn't that cool? We're paying them standard rate for manicure and pedicure, though. I didn't exactly request naked girls." "We thought we would help you keep it up for the day," June giggled. Since our naked posing party, June had really come out of her prim and proper Asian persona. Her posing session with Amanda and Whitney had been a little less dramatic than the one with Amy, Sonia, and Rio. But she was certainly nice to look at and I was having no trouble keeping it up. ------- More food—the last before Wendy had to get ready and go to work. Sandwiches, soup, and my favorite cocktail all served to us on linen cloths and our best tableware. While we were still in bathrobes. There had been neither opportunity nor desire to dress. Sitting at the table, though, I kept glancing at Melody's robe. It seemed like it kept getting looser and looser and I couldn't keep my eyes off the gap created when she shifted. What is with that, anyway? I sleep naked with Melody almost every night. If I even whispered that I wanted her naked, she'd drop all her clothes even in public. She loves being naked. Yet, I glance over at her and see her robe gapping open a little and I just get hard from hoping that she shifts a little more so I can see her nipple through the gap. I get so tongue-tied from watching that pretty soon she's bound to notice that I'm staring at her tits. "I have an idea," she said, leaning over toward me. Oh god! Heaven! I could see all the way down her robe. She is so damned beautiful! "Let's take our Catawba to the hot tub and then you can undress me so you can see what you're looking at without the robe in the way." ------- We fooled around in the hot tub. Kissing. Fondling. Probing. Never quite getting each other off as the jets tossed us around in the water. When we were dried off, we went into the bedroom. I was planning to toss Melody on the bed and have my way with her, but the first thing I saw was Bree. Naked. Standing in front of her massage table. Big smile. But she wasn't looking at me. Melody rushed to her and kissed her deeply and passionately. Then they turned to look at me, looking more like twins every day. "Tony, you know my girlfriend, Bree, don't you?" Melody asked sweetly. "She's going to help me help you relax. Come over to the massage table, honey." That voice could cause sailors to shipwreck. I walked over to the massage table and lay on my stomach to receive a world-class massage from Bree and Melody. I'm afraid there was no opportunity for Bree to show Melody her special technique of giving me an erection by working on my pelvis. When I turned over, I was already hard as a rock. And while massage is usually a relaxing experience, they were doing things that I'm pretty sure weren't in the licensed therapist manual. I had to keep my eyes open just to watch these two naked beauties at work. Every once in a while, their hands would leave me and be all over each other. Their finale—or mine—was a four-handed hand-job. They both stroked down my cock with their oily hands in a rhythm that allowed a hand from one girl to follow the other. They never stroked back up my cock, so it was like thrusting endlessly inward. It didn't take long for a fountain to spout into the air. Both girls kissed their way up my body and wiped me down, meeting for a truly delicious kiss when they reached my lips. I wobbled off the table and was handed a bottle of water. Melody and Bree had a long drink as well and then Melody got on the table. I wondered if Bree had used our oiling technique with Melody while I was on the table. I didn't remember feeling drips, but when she squirted oil in my hands and then placed her own in them, the oil squirted out and all over Melody's back causing her to giggle. Bree and I had a blast massaging Melody, who squirmed constantly on the table. When she turned over, Melody was panting, near an orgasm if we applied the right stimulus. We were about to get more oil when Melody grabbed both our hands to stop us. "Teach her, Tony," Melody rasped. "Teach her like Lissa taught you. Please, lover?" I smiled. A year ago, Lissa had taught me how to make love to Melody by giving me a guided tour of her erogenous zones. It blew both of our minds. I scooped Melody up in my arms and carried her to the bed. I laid her carefully in the center and motioned Bree up to her other side. "Have you come yet, Little One?" I asked softly. "Um ... no." "You have to tell Bree how you like your breasts touched." I was reciting almost word for word the instructions the way Lissa had said them a year ago. "Um ... I like it when you do that kind of feathery touch where you just run your fingers over my breasts. It makes me feel all gooey." "Like this?" I demonstrated and Bree copied the moves. Melody practically squirmed on the bed. "Oh! Oh, I like that! I like it because I just know that at any moment you'll brush up against my nipple, but I don't know when. The suspense is killing me." Bree joined me in lightly massaging and stroking Mel's breasts, never quite touching her nipples. I could tell Bree was as excited as Melody was. We chased each other's hands up and down Melody's torso and all around her breasts, once just lightly brushing across her tender nipples. Melody moaned out, "please." I positioned my hand so that my fingertips and thumb were spread around the breast, but the palm wasn't touching. Bree copied the position. We drew our fingers up toward the nipple, finally sliding across the areola and just before we reached the tips of her nipples, squeezing just a little and letting go completely. Melody gasped. Her body went rigid and her butt lifted up off the bed. "Ohhhhh! Oh god! Oh. You ... You just made me come without even touching my pussy. It's the first time since ... Oh god!" I continued the guided tour the same way that Lissa had taught me, but of course, Bree and I had studied anatomy and human physiology together, so we knew the names and traded off saying them. We included a few new ones that I'd learned were sensitive spots for Melody. I had been paying attention. Melody had already climaxed twice more before Bree lowered her mouth and touched the tip of her tongue to Melody's clit. Melody came again and I nearly did, too. As Bree lifted her face, I pulled her toward me and kissed her, cleaning all of Melody's fluids from her face and mouth. I did a thorough job of kissing her while stroked her breasts and lightly played with her nipples. Bree threw her head back and howled. I looked down to find Melody playing with Bree's clit and pussy. We smiled at each other. We lay together for a few minutes as we all recovered and then Bree said she had to pack her table and leave. I offered to help, but Melody caught my hand and led me to the bathroom. "Shower," was all she said. It was not all she did. Before the water hit us, Melody climbed up my frame and wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I caught her under her butt and she wiggled enough to get me in place so she could slide down on my cock. As the water sluiced over us, I gently raised and lowered Melody on my erection until neither of us could stand it any longer and came. We rinsed the sweat and excess oil off our bodies, but I didn't put her down the entire time we were in the shower. ------- I woke up in the morning spooned behind Lissa. We moved softly together as I caressed her lovely breasts. We adjusted ourselves as we had done so many mornings. But after just a few strokes, Lissa pushed me out of her. "I've always wanted this, Tony," she said. "I could never tell you, but I want you now." She repositioned my slick cock against her anus and pushed back at me. I stayed steady until the head had popped through her sphincter and was gripped in its tight embrace. "I don't think I can take you very deep this way, darling, but I so love it when you play with me there that I had to feel you in me. Can you move in and out just a little? Will it be okay?" "Oh darling, Liss. I will do anything for you anytime you want. If I'd known ... I don't know. It just never seemed to me like a thing a guy should ask for," I said. I wasn't sure I understood my own logic, but it made sense to me anyway. "You didn't ask, my love," she sighed. "I did. Touch me, lover. Tell me how you love me." I told her. I touched her. I ran my fingers through her hair, across her breasts, up her legs, and into her pussy. We stayed this way for much longer than I figured I could last as Lissa built toward her climax. There was no way for me to hold back when it hit. ------- After we showered, we had coffee together in what appeared to be an empty house. Perhaps Wendy was still asleep as she'd worked late last night. I supposed that Melody and Kate could be in Kate's room, but we weren't going to investigate. This was my day with Lissa. "What are we doing today, my love?" I asked. "First, breakfast. Bring your sketchbook. I want you to draw me," she said. "You want to spend our day together with me working?" I asked. "No. I want to spend time posing for you and seeing myself through your eyes. It's one of the two things that brought us together," Lissa said. "Well, three things if you count Melody—and I do." Hmm. Melody, drawing, and racquetball. I had a feeling I knew what we were doing this afternoon. Kate and Wendy and I had a nice excursion to the zoo. Melody had kept me at home all day and brought 'helpers' in to assist with our day spa and some pretty incredible extra inspiration. I still hadn't processed the relationship that was developing between Bree and Melody. But Lissa had me pack equipment for sketching and racquetball. It looked like we wouldn't be back for most of the day. And with Lissa, I was pretty sure it would just be the two of us. Lissa fed me just toast and coffee before we left the house and drove straight to the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Once we got there, we parked at Doc's Marina Grill and went in for a fantastic breakfast. I ate a crab and Swiss cheese omelet that was out of this world and had a great cup of coffee. A misty rain filled the air and I was surprised when Lissa told me to grab my sketchbook and headed through the gate at the marina. The guard checked a list and nodded us through. We walked to the end of a pier where a huge yacht was tied. I don't know a thing about boats, so I couldn't tell you what kind or how big it was. It just looked big—bigger than anything else at the marina that I could see. "This is where I want you to sketch me," Lissa said as she started onto the boat. "It's raining, Lissa." Okay, I was whining about having my gorgeous model wife get naked in front of me. Stupid! "That should make it interesting," she said. She apparently had everything set up in advance as there was a canopy cover that jutted out in front of the wheelhouse. She parked me on a folding chair there and started to undress. I glanced around hurriedly, but we were a hundred and fifty feet from the shore at the end of this pier, facing the water, and in a secure marina. I suppose there were a few hundred places where someone with binoculars could have spied on us, but by the time I got to that stage of my reasoning, I was captured by Lissa's beauty as she strode confidently out into the rain and hopped up on the cross-arm of the mast. Is that what they call a jib? What do I know about boats? I'm from Nebraska. What I knew was that I'd love to be watching this scene on a sunny day as we cruised up in the islands in the summer. But I was getting some great images in my head as I watched her pose. The misty rain was getting her drenched and I was watching the patterns the water made as it flowed over and dripped off her chin, her breasts, and her legs. I started sketching as fast as I could. "I'm only going to last out here about twenty minutes, Tony," Lissa called to me. "It's colder than I thought." In fifteen minutes, I rushed to her, picked her up and carried her under the awning. She pulled a towel out of her bag and began vigorously toweling herself dry—an activity that I joined in enthusiastically. She pulled a big sweater out of her bag and put it over her head. I just had to reach around her and cup her beautiful breasts in my hands. The sweater fell over my hands and Lissa reached behind me to stroke my cock through my jeans. I felt her unzip them. "Quick, darling. Right here on the boat. Make love to me," Lissa whispered. She pushed me down on the stool I'd used, getting my cock out of my pants. The seat was cold against my bare ass. Lissa straddled me and guided me into her steamy center. Her ass was still cold as I held her and lifted her up and down on me. In a minute, we were both panting and Lissa captured my lips to kiss me with fervor as she came. It was wonderful being in her, but between the cold and rain and my nervousness about being in the open, I wasn't near coming. "Why don't we finish getting dressed now and continue this someplace else," I said. "Oh yes, and I know just where," she purred. ------- "Seriously? You want to play racquetball now?" I asked as we walked into the club. "No, darling, I want to dance with you," she said. We got changed after the ferry ride back to the mainland with the heat in the car on full blast the whole way. At least we were warmed up. I met Lissa on the way to the court and she led me straight to number three and pounded on the glass door. Whitney caught the ball she was volleying with and waved us in. "Whitney?" I said. "Oh hey, Tony," she said. "Hi, Lissa. With no classes today, I thought I'd come over and get a little practice in." "Why don't you join us," Lissa said. Wait. I thought she wanted to dance, which in my book meant some pretty sexy playing. "I've been hoping for that invitation for a long time," Whitney said looking me up and down. "We'll play contact cut-throat," Lissa said. "Come on, Tony. It will be fun." I got it now. I was a little slow on the uptake, but I remembered the way Lissa and Whitney were at the posing party when I found them on the stairs. Something was going on. Contact cut-throat was the training game we'd invented to get people to anticipate their partner's moves better. The defenders always had to stay in contact. Well, one thing I've learned is that when one of my wives or girlfriends has a plan, I'd be best off to just follow it and enjoy. We warmed up a bit and just naturally flowed into the game. Retuning to play with Lissa after my chaotic past two months was really a pleasure. We didn't always touch with a hand. Sometimes we just stood with a hip together or even back-to-back as we anticipated where Whitney's serve would be. The slightest move on one partner's part would clue the other how to respond. It is way sexy. I discovered that it was just as sexy with Whitney, who was as likely to have an arm wrapped around my waist as to reach over and plant my left hand on her ass. I noticed when I was serving that she and Lissa were in just as close contact. We played for over an hour and, of course, no one had kept score. In fact, I'm not sure anyone had scored. In racquetball. "Grab your stuff, Whitney," Lissa said. "We'll use the hot tub at the house and wind down with a glass of wine—after we've had plenty of water." In five minutes we were headed to the house. ------- Whitney went in to use the bathroom while the tub was filling and that gave me the minute I needed to talk to Lissa. "Sweetheart? What's your plan, here?" I asked. "I plan to get that girl naked with us," Lissa grinned. "We kind of did that at the posing party," I said. "Yes, but we have a little more leeway this time," Lissa answered. "No ogre artist is dictating what we can and can't touch." "Are you planning to ... uh ... have... ?" "Not today, darling. But that doesn't mean we can't play with her. Right?" There was a fire in Lissa's eyes that was almost as bright as when she spoke of Allison. I shut up and took off my clothes. ------- Lissa was cuddled in front of me in the big tub with my arms on either side of her. It was a little difficult to get my hands on any of my favorite parts because Whitney was leaning back between Lissa's legs, pressed up against us. There was a little chit chat and we'd had a couple of nice kisses. Nice enough to let me know that Whitney was not at all inexperienced in this kind of situation. Lissa reached for my right hand and guided it in her own to Whitney's shoulder and down across her tiny breasts. Whitney is tall and thin and if she wears a bra, it's just for show. Lissa left my right hand there as she nibbled on Whitney's ear. As soon as I made a gentle stroke across Whitney's nipple, I heard the girl groan. Lissa pulled my left hand around to Whitney's stomach and began pushing it down. It's a damn good thing that we were all packed so tightly together and that I have pretty long arms. I really didn't want to miss what I was just able to dip my fingers into. "Oh yes! God!" Whitney cried when I touched her clit. We splashed quite a bit of water writhing around in the tub as Lissa and I made an all-out assault on our tall thin friend. Somehow, Whitney managed to get her hands behind her and one was dipped into Lissa while the other was barely able to touch my cock. "Oh yes! Fuck! Fuck!" Whitney gasped as she came against us. Lissa gasped and I was pretty sure Whitney had managed to get her off as well. Whitney managed to turn in our arms and fall into a deep kiss with Lissa as her hand reached around to take a full and firm grasp on my cock. She didn't stroke or try to get me off, but just held me like she didn't want me to get away. Not that I was going anyplace. ------- "I hate to come and run," Whitney said when we were out of the tub and dressed, "but I promised to meet someone for dinner tonight." "I'll give you a lift," I volunteered. "No, it's okay," Whitney explained. "I've got a car now. I brought it over here this morning and left it." I had a feeling this wasn't all just spontaneous. I hugged Lissa as we watched Whitney drive away. "Come back to the bedroom and make love to me now, darling," Lissa said. "Melody and Kate are bringing home Chinese carryout for dinner after their last class. We still have plenty of time." What a great Valentine's Day. ------- Chapter 43 "That is one big fucking canvas," Jim Schroeder commented as we stood in front of the wall. Jim was one of the several volunteers from PCAD that had come out for the start of the mural project. I'd squeezed in three extra hours of meetings with Doc during the week and he had vetted all the art volunteers who were standing with me. Jim was a senior and had been a focal-point artist on one of Doc's murals three years ago. He was one of thirty volunteers wearing hardhats who were huddled under umbrellas as we walked out of the Athletic Pavilion to go look at the wall we were going to paint. Doc ran a pretty tight crew and when we announced the first work session for eight-thirty Saturday morning, people showed up by a quarter after. "To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unacceptable." That was Doc's mantra and I figured that as the lead on this project I'd better damned well be early. The volunteers weren't the only ones to show up. There were two television crews and some other reporters there. This had somehow turned into a kind of ground-breaking ceremony. Everybody had to have a part in it. President Haywood, Mayor McGinn, Dean Peterson, Cary Randolph, Clarice, Doc, and half a dozen other people I didn't recognize were joining our crew of thirty volunteers in white hardhats. I was wearing my red hat and Bree was in her yellow hat. It was bad enough to be starting a project this big; I didn't expect to have to do it in front of an audience. "President Haywood," I said as the man came up to shake my hand. A bunch of camera flashes went off. "Are you ready, Tony? This is a big day," he said. "I didn't realize there was going to be a ceremony and reporters. Do I have to do anything?" I asked. "Well, everyone wants to say something, but we'll try to keep it short so you can get started. Ah, here comes Claudia so we can get started." I saw PCAD President Claudia Watts headed across the sports field toward us. Bree had a hardhat held out to her as she came to join us. Apparently Bree was better informed about this than I was. Thank heavens! "Claudia, welcome to SCU," Haywood said. "Thank you, Preston," she said. She turned to me. "Tony, I've heard great things about you. I haven't been able to talk to you personally before, but I want you to know that PCAD is very proud of you and is throwing all our support behind this project." "Thank you, Dr. Watts," I said. "Let's get this started so Tony can get to work," Haywood said. ------- "Okay, volunteers, listen up," Bree called. We'd made it through the formal part of the opening within half an hour and it wasn't too bad. I knew, though, that news people were going to want interviews as soon as they could get them. I just wanted to get people to work. "You've all received the initial briefing. Let me remind you that you have to wear a hardhat whenever you are within the yellow construction zone tapes. It's an insurance issue. Please don't screw it up. Secondly, you can identify Tony by the red hat. All artistic and production questions go to him. If he's not on-site and hasn't designated an alternate red-hat, see your yellow-hat. That will usually be me, but either of us may designate an alternate coordinator in our absence. Yellow means crew and volunteer coordination. Red means production and art. Do NOT forget to sign in if you are volunteering and sign out when your shift is over. We received word this week that the Gates Foundation is matching every volunteer hour on the site with a fifteen dollar contribution! You've got that, folks. A thousand hours will add up to a $15,000 contribution. But we have to document it accurately. You guys rock. Tony," Bree waved at me to get things rolling. "Thanks for volunteering, guys. While you are on the job, don't forget to meet and get to know other volunteers. While we expect that PCAD students will probably sling the majority of the paint on the mural, SCU has some fine artists who have also volunteered, and there are going to be a lot of jobs on the site that will have volunteers from both schools and the community. That includes a lot of the heavy lifting, clean-up, and most importantly, fund-raising," I said. Okay, enough rah-rah. Let's get to work. "We're starting with six teams to grid the building. Four small teams are charged with measuring and marking. We start with ten-foot markings and then subdivide to one-foot markings. Jim Schroeder, Eric Barnes, Melody Anderson, and Amy Garnet will use three people each to do the marking. Doc Henredden and Kate Holsinger are in charge of chalking teams. Divide up so you know your teams." There was a shift in people as each of the team leaders identified themselves and got their volunteers. Then there was some more shuffling as teams figured out who was afraid of heights and needed to work at ground level. "As soon as the major marks are laid in, we'll start doing the one-foot marks. And then the fun begins. There will be thirty-two hundred grid units on the wall. Those of you who have done grid transfers for the theater know that's a huge amount to keep track of. I think the biggest drop we worked on at PCAD was about four hundred units. Every grid block gets numbered. As soon as we get the major divisions in, I'll number the upper left corner of the thirty-two major units. When all the minor units are laid in, we'll all get to number the one hundred units in the major," I said. Doc and I had gone around all kinds of ways to label the grids so we could do the transfer of the sketch. We finally decided that we needed to quickly identify the general area of the wall and then the specific spot in that area. It could almost make your eyes cross. "I know it sounds like busy-work, but this is one of the most critical parts of making the whole wall look right. Please take your time and measure carefully. Make sure you are always striking to the correct position. And be careful on the scaffolding. There's an eighteen inch gap between the scaffold and the wall. Don't step into space. Pay attention to where you are standing and to where other people are. Take questions to your team leader. Now let's get to work." Of course, in spite of the fact that I had my Sharpie in my hand ready to go, I couldn't. Doctors Haywood and Watts took me to meet Mayor McGinn and the press. Fortunately, Clarice was right beside me. We answered a bunch of inane questions and I smiled for the cameras and was cordial. Whenever I had the urge to storm off so I could just go paint, I'd catch a glimpse of Wendy and Lissa standing with the boys nearby. I don't think Damon and Drew understood everything that was going on, but they were so proud that I was the center of attention that their eyes never left me. I could only do my best. Clarice took over for me and started doing her thing. Thank god! At last, I managed to shake hands with the officials—more flashes—and escape toward the wall. On my way, I scooped up both boys and gave them a hug with a kiss for Lissa and Wendy. More flashes. Shit! I walked all the way around the jobsite and said something to each team that was working. The misty rain that had started early in the week picked up again. It was only February eighteenth, and while we had scattered sun-breaks a few times a week, we were still going to get a lot of rain. A huge canvas awning had been erected from the top of the pavilion out across our scaffolding, so unless the wind picked up and started blowing toward the building, the wall would stay dry. It was forty-six degrees, which was fine for marking things, but was about the minimum we could tolerate for painting. Everybody was pretty bundled up. When I finally got to the top left corner of the wall, all the horizontal major chalk marks had been laid in and Doc and Kate were setting up the vertical strikes. I pulled out my Sharpie and wrote in the top left corner of the wall, '11-001'. I moved down to the next level on the scaffold and ten feet below where I'd written the first notation I wrote, '21-001'. Doc and I had decided that to keep the notation simple we would have the first digit be the level of the major grid—one, two, three, and four—and the second digit be the horizontal position—one to eight. Then the small grid units would be numbered from one to a hundred. It took thirty people nearly four hours to mark and label the 3200 grid units on the wall. We were started. ------- The presidents provided pizza and sodas for the crew this first day. It was a nice gesture and they coordinated the delivery with the end of our first phase. Most people went home after lunch. I was lucky that Amy could volunteer this morning, as she usually has roller derby practice on Saturday morning. Today was a bout day, though, so there was no practice. I had a ticket for tonight's event. I'd missed her first bout and wasn't about to miss this one. The afternoon left just seven of us on the site. Bree was committed to stay the full day today, though she'd introduced me to Deb Carlisle who was shadowing Bree so she could take over volunteer coordination when Bree couldn't be on site. Then there were Doc, Kate, Jim Schroeder, Maggie Wright, and me. Maggie had been in Kate's and my figure drawing class and was another of Doc's star students. She was a junior and really happy to be on the team. This was going to be the tricky part. We needed to sketch the entire painting. It was going to take us the rest of today and at least all day tomorrow to lay in the line drawing that would ultimately become the mural. The drawing could stretch out all the way till next weekend. We had clipboards with reference pictures on them that were done with the digital camera and computer rendering software. It took a while to figure out what medium to use to lay-in the sketch. It was inevitable that the wall would get wet sometimes, even with the sheltering awning. If we used permanent Sharpies, it would be difficult to erase any mistakes. Charcoal was very smearable and could be either blown off by the wind or washed off by rain. Since the surface was pretty smooth, we decided on soft graphite and were using thick 9B pencils to sketch. We were going to start on different parts of the wall, following Doc's focal-point system. We'd also decided not to do a hard line drawing to copy from, but to trust each artist to lay in appropriate sketches working from a color print of each grid square. I spent the first hour going from artist to artist to observe how they approached the drawing and make suggestions when I thought it was necessary. Each artist had a pretty big ego regarding their skills, but they all recognized that they were working from my vision, so I would be able to tell them more of what I saw. It was three pretty damned intense hours. ------- Amy got more play time in her bout Saturday night than she had in January. It was an in-league match, so they were all playing some of their newer players. My god, roller derby is intense. I only understand about two of the rules, but there are a bunch of officials or referees skating around the inside of the track holding up their hands, pointing at players, signaling skaters to the penalty box, timing, scoring. There must be a dozen officials in the middle. Each team has close to twenty skaters, but only five from each team on the track at a time. Once the whistle blows, the pack starts to move, slowly. In a few seconds, the whistle blows again and the jammers rush the pack and try to get through. Let me tell you, it's a tough sport and these girls were the toughest. Amalia Want was a tough bitch on the track. Since this was an intra-league event, they were testing different players at the position of jammer, the player who could actually score points. From what I understood of last month's bout, Amy had played in three bouts, but just as a blocker. This time she got a chance to try her luck as a jammer once. I have no idea how she managed it, but she skated at full speed around the track to reach the pack—I guess they get points for every blocker they lap—and then she turned around backward just as she reached the blockers who were at the back of the pack. I'd seen this a few times and the jammer stopped and tried to muscle her way through the pack. Not Amy. She came up behind the pack full speed and instead of stopping, she planted a toe-stop and did a jump and spin to the outside of the track. It was a colossal failure. But it really looked cool. It was like watching one of those Olympic figure skaters do a big jump where they spin around in the air a few times. Only Amy hit just out of bounds and the other jammer came barreling through. Amy cut off the jam before the other player could score any points. The rest of the bout, she rotated in and out as a blocker. I yelled myself hoarse at the match and was probably more hyper than Amy when she finally came off the track after the bout was over. "You've got to teach me to skate, Ames," I said when we finally got together. "It looks so cool." "You can't skate with us, Ames," she answered. "This is a women's league." "I don't need to skate with your team; I just want to learn how to do it. You were flying out there!" "This dude bothering you, Amy?" a tough looking skater rolled up to us. "Get lost, man. She's not into guys." "It's okay, Bull," Amy responded. "He's an honorary lesbian. He's with me." "And us!" Melody said, stepping in front of me. She was joined by Lissa and Kate closing ranks between me and the belligerent skater. 'Bull.' That was a good name for her. "Looks like a creeper to me," Bull said. "He's just a dyke with a permanent strap-on," Amy laughed. "Lighten up, Bull." "Yeah. I forget you service that Norse god in order to get his girl. You need some prime pussy, girl. Come home with me tonight." "Hey, baby!" Sonia said rushing into Amy's arms and planting a kiss on her that raised the temperature of the arena about ten degrees. Thor came up behind me and whispered in my ear. "Stand back, man. That's one thing I've learned around the skaters. Don't approach anybody at the arena. That one will take your balls home and pour French dressing on them. Without you attached." I willingly faded a little and let the girls get a few steps ahead of me. "How you doing, Thor?" I asked. I hadn't really talked to him much lately—in fact, not at all since the posing session with Rio, Amy, and Sonia. I had no idea how much he knew. He and Sonia had been absolutely exclusive last spring, but things change, I guess. "I ache, buddy," he said. "I love Sonia to the bottom of my heart, but I've gotta tell you, Amy is under my skin. I dream about her, man. How can I be in love with a lesbian? I am so fucked." "Just treat her with respect," I said. "She is what she is and I guess we all have to live with that." "Yeah. Hey. When are we going to get together to do our scene for you?" he asked. "You said you were going to do portraits of each of the groupings. You haven't had the three of us yet." "Well, things are pretty intense right now. I'm hoping to get time in May to do more studio work, but until then I'm pretty focused on this mural thing they've got me doing," I said. "That's pretty impressive. Look, don't spread this around, okay? Sonia's got a plan for when you do our private sitting. Amy's really brought the kink out in her," Thor said. "It's only fair to warn you, though. She really wants a DP—you know? Double penetration? I told her you were the only guy I'd trust, so she's got it in mind to turn our posing session into something a little more. I just want to let you know that I'm okay with it. Just following those two has given me more exciting sex than I've ever had. Whatever she wants, I'm okay with it." "Shit, Thor. That's more than I needed to know." ------- We managed to get almost half the wall sketched on Sunday. I was really thankful that I wasn't doing this alone. Five of us working and we managed to get half the wall sketched in a weekend. And we weren't slow. But we didn't have all that much time to work. We didn't have decent light until about eight or eight-thirty. With the canvas awning over us and on both ends, the daylight seemed to be even more limited. We had to quit by four. The good thing was that we were getting four or five minutes more daylight every day, so by the next weekend, there would be half an hour more light. Doc called me aside and calmed me down when I was about to panic and declare the whole project a loss. "Remember, Tony, we were only expecting to work weekends and short hours until you have your quarter break," he said. "We've got weather, daylight, and volunteer hours to contend with—not to mention the temperature." He was right about that. Top temperature this week had been forty-five degrees. We were all working in layers to keep warm. "Without heavy-duty work lights on the wall here, we can only expect to get about seven hours of work in on a good day. If we keep getting a lot of rain in April, we'll have to consider getting lighting in under the tarp. I've got some ideas on how to light the wall without screwing everything up. Just hang in there. You're doing a good job so far." I needed those words of encouragement. I still went from being pleased and proud when I finished a square foot of wall sketching to being totally panicked when I looked at the thirty-two hundred square feet of the total. Fortunately there wouldn't be much sketching to be done on the bottom six or seven feet of the wall. Since we were treating the wall like it was a mirror tilted forward, the first few feet, up to the top of the doors would reflect the narrow strip of pavement and the track. I was going to delegate that portion to Sandra and Melody since they were so good with textures. That's what the lowest quarter of the wall needed more than anything else. ------- The week was a blur of study, write, and beat a little blue ball against a wall. I had some catch-up to do for my classes and that included a massive amount of reading and a paper that Professor Strait had given me an extra week on. We had a killer section exam in Human Physiology on Friday and I had to meet with Clarice between that and Literary Criticism. But all week long, it was beat the little blue ball. I'd been negligent in my training while I was trying to get the wall project launched. We needed a name for that, too. I didn't know what to call the thing. I figured something would come to me. But starting Monday afternoon, Lissa had me on the court and reminded me that I was now just four weeks from National Intercollegiate Championships. We'd competed in local tournaments, but they were all club tournaments. There just aren't enough teams locally for an intercollegiate tournament and the school wasn't coming across with funding for long trips, not that we had time to leave for five days to go to California anyway. I played every team we could field. Walt frequently got the brunt of my attention as the only other guy on the team who was playing singles. Brent and Franklin took their turns and when that wasn't enough, I played the two of them. When Tonya was able to practice, I played against her and Whitney, but Tonya's schedule was just beginning to loosen up as the SCU women's basketball team had just been eliminated from the playoffs. Something weird, though, was that the eliminated teams continued to play each other, even though they were no longer competing for a title. She was at least making our two team practices a week now. Of course, Whitney was ramping up to leave racquetball and hit the spring track meets. She was hoping for a berth on the Olympic team, but admitted that she was still a foot short of Olympic competition in the long jump and probably needed to shave two seconds off her hurdles time in order to keep from being humiliated on the track. Both Bree and Rachel were driving each other on the court. Both were small and had been cheerleaders. Rachel still was a cheerleader, but football and basketball were the only sports the cheerleaders really worked. When I looked at them on the court I kept thinking that we needed a peewee league for women who weighed less than a hundred pounds. At five-two and one-ten, Bree looked like an Amazon next to tiny Rachel. They could both hide behind Whitney or Tonya. Since Whitney joined Lissa and me last week on our play day, she was much more relaxed. It was like she'd got over some big hurdle. Lissa had the two of us do some doubles work. Lissa couldn't compete in the Intercollegiate, but Whitney and I could become a mixed doubles team. It was John who came up to Lissa and told her that unlike opens, there was no mixed doubles division at Intercollegiates. As far as I could tell, the entire team was planning to travel to Tempe for the championships. Racquetball is considered a club sport and isn't an NCAA sanctioned game, so tournaments are a little different. First off, any collegiate player can enter the Intercollegiate Championships. We all had to be tested and ranked for what division we would play in. I was already ranked as an elite player and would play in Division One. Franklin and Brent were ranked at our tournament before Christmas and would play in Division Two. It looked like Whitney and Tonya were going to be in Division Three, and Bree and Rachel would be in Division Six. We really didn't know where Walt would be placed. It looked like it could be Division four, but he was such an athletic player that the judges might move him into Division Three. We had to get a USAR official to give final blessing on our divisions. The Intercollegiates are also different in that even though it is a national championship, it is a qualifying event for National Singles. Sam had already given approval for anyone on the podium at NIC to go to National Singles, even though that's not actually an Intercollegiate event. Anyone who entered the Intercollegiate was eligible to go to National Singles. The college would pay for their trip to Fullerton, California if they placed in the top three. The big prize, of course, was that the winner of the Men's and Women's Division One Gold Singles would be named to the U.S. Adult National Team. That was a huge deal and would include some international competitions. Lissa was on the U.S. Adult National Team by virtue of having won Opens, but she declined the appointment because she just can't travel that much with the boys. She did a lot of travel to competitions before we got together in her first year as an Opens champion and was pushing me to get there. What I was seeing was more of our team showing up for the unofficial practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. Tonya couldn't make Wednesday and Friday because of Basketball. Others had sporadic commitments that kept them away, but everyone was averaging at least three or four practices a week. I was still practicing five days a week, spending four hours doing Parkour, and doing Pilates on Saturday morning until we started painting. John was trying to get my Pilates schedule shifted around, but it looked like now that the wall was underway, I'd have to wait until after spring break to continue Pilates. Fortunately, I still had time for my weekly massage from Bree. ------- "Um ... Bree?" She was rocking on my pelvis and was getting the expected result. We were in the sports therapy massage room at SCU, so I was properly draped and she was properly clothed. "Yeah?" She sounded far away. "You know, when you do that it always gets me ... aroused." "But I'm not doing anything wrong or illegal," she said. "I'm not touching you inappropriately." "Right. It always makes me wish you were," I confessed. "I should start doing the Friday massage at your place," she said. "I just ... don't want help with it." "What's happening with you and Melody?" I asked. "I'm her ... personal masseuse. I massage her. Personally. And she returns the favor." Bree was definitely panting and I was definitely tenting the sheet. "It was nice having you with us last week. I don't think I got a chance to tell you that," I said softly. If she kept this up just another couple of minutes I was going to explode. "Thank you ... for teaching me ... how to satisfy her," Bree said. "And for satisfying me." She groaned. "Oh hell!" I heard a squirt of oil and her hand snaked under the sheet and grabbed my rock. I turned my head enough to see her other hand snake into her pants and that was all she wrote. I came. So did Bree. We froze, panting, both of us biting our lips so we wouldn't make any noise. I lifted my hand to her cheek and pulled her face down to where I could kiss her. "We definitely can't have massages here any longer," she said. "I'll call Melody tonight." ------- Saturday the weather cooperated and my team was on the scaffolding drawing at eight-thirty. We were working hard. It was obvious to me that we each had different styles as we sketched in the drawing, square-by-square. Amy tended to make big, bold, simple strokes to delineate the color areas. Jim, Maggie, and I had the most similar styles. I guess we'd all had pretty much the same classes. That gave me pause. How much was my education at PCAD influencing my style? I noticed, though, that Kate and Doc had a style that was more similar to each other than to the rest of us. That surprised me because Kate was much more detailed and I expected that Doc would not be that way. I didn't remember that his wall sketch was that detailed when we did the mural last spring. I stepped back to look at what we had accomplished and almost fell off the scaffold. "Damn! I hate this," I said. "What is it, Tony?" Doc asked. He put down his sheaf of drawings and climbed down a level on the scaffold to where I was working. "I can't see what we're doing," I complained. I led Doc off the scaffold and out into the field. We looked back at the wall. "Even if I remember not to step back too far and fall off the scaffold, when I come out here to look at it, I can't see what we're doing because the damn scaffold is in the way." "This could be a problem, Tony," Doc said. "We've been focused on seeing just the square, but when you start painting, you will need to see at least what you are working on. If we follow the strategy we laid out, we'd have people painting relatively small sections all over the wall and we'd never be able to see what they all look like." "Did Michelangelo have this problem?" I asked. Doc laughed. "Probably, but he didn't have any alternatives to using scaffolding. We might. I'll go make some calls." Doc left and the rest of us kept plodding along sketching things in. By Sunday night, we had most of the sketching completed. Sometime next weekend, we would be ready to start painting. ------- It didn't go that smoothly. I ran through an examination of the blocks on Saturday afternoon. This was supposed to be routine. I would just verify that every grid block on the wall—all thirty-two hundred of them—had the right sketch in it. It should match seamlessly with the eight blocks surrounding it. Of course, they didn't. Almost dead center in the wall, the numbering in the thirty tier was screwed up. Who knows how. I must have miscounted the grids when I was numbering the upper left corner of the major blocks. One block only had nine units across. There wasn't much on the edges, so there was no ready indication that something wasn't matching the border. If I'd been able to stand back and look at the damned thing from the field, it would have been obvious. All six of us sat down under the scaffold and had a pity party for half an hour, bitching about not being able to see what we were working on. Sunday my crew came out and nobly used fifty hard red erasers to pretty much obliterate the content of five hundred grid units and then redraw them. I was beginning to dread the next three months. ------- The week before finals week at SCU was spring break at PCAD, so all the volunteers from PCAD were gone. That weekend, absolutely nothing was done on the wall because we were cramming for SCU finals. It was pretty much two weeks of dead time in which hidden behind the scaffold was a finished sketch and about three grid units had test splashes of paint in them. All I wanted to do was get out there. ------- Chapter 44 I didn't think I'd done my best work on either Delfin's or Strait's final, but I was confident that I had saved my grade-point average and my scholarship. The other thing my scholarship was contingent on, though, was competing, and the most we had all quarter was inter-club competitions in Seattle. Next week, though was National Intercollegiate Championships. I didn't really feel ready, but at least we were taking a team this year. And we'd see Allison. Melody was going crazy because, of course, she didn't have a break at the same time we did at SCU. She and Kate wouldn't be able to join us in Tempe. That meant we were in trouble regarding our Ice Queen Sportswear booth. Intercollegiates were to be the introductory venue for Ice Queen Knights. Wendy's quarter break was at the same time and she spent hours with Melody going over the stock and booth management. Wendy could handle orders and take money—she was a pro at that with all her restaurant experience. It would be too exhausting to only have one person, though. I was really surprised when Amanda volunteered to work for us that week. Not that it was a volunteer position. We were going to pay her and pay her expenses, but the fact that she would be there was great. Rio complained that she'd promised to go home over break and wished she'd known we needed help before she committed. Well, with both Amanda and Wendy to manage the booth and Bree, Lissa, Allison, and me to fill in, we figured we would manage. All of us had Melody on speed dial. The boys were with us for the weekend before we left for Tempe and that was a treat. I hadn't been able to spend much time with them the past few weeks and I devoted Saturday to boy-play. They wanted to drum on Sunday and I called in all the drummers I could think of to help us burn off our post-finals stress. The whole racquetball team came out to the house. It was a little bit of a team-building exercise, but they all enjoyed beating the drums and several had drums of their own to bring with them. A few boyfriends and girlfriends joined us. It might even have been more people than we had at New Year's. Of course, Kate led all the women in dancing. We were all getting a little nervous about facing the big tournament. Last year, we didn't have a team—it was just me. This year, with eight of us competing, we would be eligible for team trophies. That was cool, even if we didn't win anything. Coach Jacobson arranged to take us in a team bus to the airport on Monday morning. Sam was coming down with us and was in charge of all the official stuff like paying for the hotel and approving our registration fees. He'd been kind enough to tack on the reservations for Wendy and Amanda even though Lissa and I had to pay for their tickets, hotel rooms and expenses. There were pretty specific rules we all had to follow regarding how much food could be charged to our rooms, no booze, and no pay movies. But since the NIC was the only event we were traveling for this season, we had a pretty generous allowance. No one was complaining. We had a team dinner and all went to bed. Play started first thing Tuesday morning. I'm not going to go through everything in Intercollegiate play. There are six men's divisions based on level and test scores. Division 1 is the elite players. That's what I played in. Walt, our other men's singles competitor was playing in Division 4. Franklin and Brent were Division 2 Men's Doubles out of three divisions. They looked really strong. Rachel and Bree were both competing in Women's Division 6 Singles. They had the least experience and were the smallest players on our team. The big threat on the women's team were Tonya and Whitney playing Women's Division 2 Doubles. Whitney had decided to play singles as well and was registered in Women's Division 3 Singles. She was going to be a busy girl. So, if there is more than sixteen players in a division, they play Olympic format. Everyone is guaranteed at least two games. Everyone starts out in the Gold bracket. In my division there were thirty-seven players, so we started with a round of 64. I was surprised to find that I was ranked eighth by way of my points in last year's championships, National Singles, and Opens. I'd acquired a few points in local tournaments that were USAR sanctioned. Believe me there were guys there who played sanctioned competitions all year long and had lots more points. But being ranked in the top twenty-four meant that I drew a bye for the round of 64. It was played first thing Tuesday morning, followed by other divisions and events. There were twenty-three different events being played this week. Tuesday afternoon I faced my first opponent from Texas. We played hard and had a good match. I won by three and four in two games. I was feeling pretty good. Unless I dropped a level, I only had one match a day to worry about. Oh yeah. Dropping a level. I started to say something about Olympic format. If you lose in the round of 64 or the round of 32 in the Gold Bracket, you automatically drop to the Red Bracket. If you lose in the round of 16 in Gold, you drop to the Blue Bracket. If you lose in the either of the first two rounds of the Red Bracket, you drop to the White Bracket. The top eight places in each bracket get points and are considered to have placed in that bracket. The way I figured it, only five of the guys who started this tournament weren't going to get a ribbon. There were eight places in each of four brackets. The only prize that meant anything to me, though, was going up against Brian Summers for the national title. That was something I was disappointed in. Summers didn't come to the tournament. He's from out East and apparently considered it too far to come for a tournament. The first time I could possibly meet him would be at National Singles in May. There were a few guys I'd met in the tournament last year, but for the most part I couldn't really watch anyone else in my division play before I met them on the court. I did have time, though to help my team, split some responsibilities with Lissa so that when we had players playing at the same time, like Bree and Rachel, we could each coach one of them. And ref. In Intercollegiate sports, upper division players are all expected to take a turn each day refereeing a match in a lower division. Really, there are twelve matches going on at all times to keep every one of the courts in operation. You can't expect to get thirty-six officials—three for each court—to work non-stop from eight o'clock in the morning until ten o'clock at night. I don't know how I missed out on that part of the fun last year. I guess I was just too dumb to know what to do. Brent and Franklin won their first match. Bree won her first match, but Rachel dropped to the Red Bracket after her first match. I was hoping she at least won one match. Walt lost his first match, but was convinced he'd do better in the Red Bracket. He was too nervous in his first competition to focus. The real surprise was in Tonya and Whitney. They tore up their first opponents in Doubles. It took them three games, but they took the duo from West Point in a strong battle. Whitney came right back half an hour later to totally destroy her first Singles opponent by four and by thirteen. The girl came off the court and crushed Lissa to her with a kiss that turned a lot of heads. By dinnertime, we were all exhausted and running on adrenalin and one too many Cokes. Lissa managed to get us settled down and Sam took the team to dinner. I went to check on Wendy and Amanda. They were collapsed in chairs behind our table with a glazed look on their faces. I guess our team uniforms had been a hit. They'd sold a couple dozen outfits, including the new Knights outfits for guys. But more importantly, they'd been on the phone with Melody for an hour writing up two custom team orders. That was a big deal. We closed up the booth and grabbed a bite to eat. We were doubled up in the rooms. In fact, the guys were bunked in a single room with an extra bed in it. I felt really lucky to be able to share a room with Lissa. Wendy traded rooms with Rachel so she and Bree could room together. Rachel was okay with that since she knew Amanda and they got along great. I had a feeling that wasn't the last trade that would be made. Lissa and I had a king-sized bed that we were sharing with Allison, who had cleaned up her first opponent in Women's Division 1. Both Wendy and Bree had looked longingly at our bed. I saw them whispering to Amanda and Whitney, too. Oh boy. ------- There was something special about snuggling into bed between Lissa and Allie. We hadn't seen Allie since Christmas and it seemed like forever. We didn't make love. We didn't even try to tease each other much. We were too exhausted from the excitement of the day. They sandwiched me between them and both lay partially on top of me while we drifted off to sleep. I woke up with a hard-on in a familiar place and Lissa was moving back against me. I let my hips thrust forward a little and could feel her moist center at the tip of my prick. I wasn't expecting the covers to be thrown off and someone to smack my butt. "You get that out of there, young man!" Allison shouted, pulling at me until I rolled away from Lissa. "You have a competition and you aren't allowed little treats like that until after you win it. I'm on edge and by god you will be, too." "Yes, yes!" I screamed as she swatted me again. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just going to get up and go to the bathroom. Okay?" "I'm coming with you," Allison said as Lissa started laughing. "I don't trust you not to rub one off in there." Lissa and I were both laughing as we all staggered toward the bathroom and took turns as the shower was warming up. "Who made you the Nazi general?" I asked. "You know, it's not going to go down so I can pee if you keep staring at it like that." "But I haven't seen it in so long," Allie moaned. Lissa turned her around and kissed her long enough for me to relax my butt muscles so I could let go of my stream. I jumped in the shower while they each used the pot and then joined me. "Has it been difficult all by yourself?" Lissa asked as she soaped up Allison. "I have never used so many phone minutes in my life as talking to Beth," she answered. "She's so sweet, but we both know it's going to get more difficult when I graduate." "When is your commencement? Maybe we can all come," I said. "May 12. But don't bother. I don't think I'll even attend. I've got an audition that week in Portland and I'm coming up to Seattle as soon as I'm done. I hope you're ready to have me around for a while. I think I'm going to be in the dinner theater playhouse for the summer," Allie said. "It will be so awesome. But poor Beth will be all the way on the other coast." "Well, maybe we can get her out to Seattle for the summer, too. Are you still getting on okay?" "Long distance relationships suck, but not in the right places." We all laughed and went to join our teams for breakfast. ------- Brent and Franklin survived their second match first thing in the morning and were headed to the quarter finals. They were so stoked I think they were flying. They were also panicked about officiating their first match later in the day. They'd be working separately, but on the same round as they did the first round of Men's Division 6 Red Bracket. About the same time, I was going to be a line judge on the Women's Division 2 Gold Bracket. Before we had our refereeing assignments, we had to tell the tournament officials what matches we might have a conflict of interest in. I ruled myself out of anything my team was competing in, including Allison. Bree dropped to the Red Bracket with a spectacular loss to a girl I honestly thought should have been playing about two divisions higher. I was pretty sure she wouldn't be allowed at this level again. When they posted the draw for Red, we saw Bree was going to play against Rachel. Now that sucked big time. Fortunately, the two had worked long enough together as cheerleaders and friends that they were each determined to beat the other and still be friends. Walt took his first round in the Red Bracket and was headed into the semi-finals. Whitney and Tonya won their second match without breaking a sweat and were headed to semis as well. That meant that if they lost tomorrow, they would play the consolation game the next day. If they won, they'd be in the finals. Whitney played hard in her quarter final, but just couldn't quite pull it out. Instead of competing in semi-finals in the Gold Bracket, she'd be competing against the other three quarter final losers in the Blue Bracket semis. She still looked mighty good. And that brought it to me. There was another guy there from Clarkson. I just pretended he was Brian Summers and went to work on him. The whole contest was between me and the ball. I didn't even notice the guy. I allowed him four points in the first game and none in the second. It took twenty-two minutes. Send that message back to Brian. I was ready for him at National Singles. Allison was still dominating the women's side and we were all pretty jubilant as we picked up my workers and all went to dinner. We had a lot of fun with a couple of the other teams who were in the same restaurant. You know, there's college rivalry, but when it comes down to it, we were all there to have a great time. I did find out that the reason Brian didn't show up was because there was a death in his family. Damn! I couldn't fault him for that. We'd never really met, but after watching him play Karl last spring, I was anxious for the showdown. I was headed back to the room when Bree and Wendy grabbed my arms and hauled me into their room. "What's going on?" I asked. "Surrogates," Bree explained. "Kate and Melody can't be down here, so they asked us to take care of you tonight," Wendy said. "Um ... well ... yeah ... but..." "We know you can't have sex, Tony," Bree said. "We're all still competing. But you get to sleep with us tonight and we'll make sure your testosterone level is high when you head for the court tomorrow." "I kinda need to let Lissa know and get my toothbrush," I said, lamely. "Everything you need is already here and Lissa and Allison are probably already in bed buried in each other's tits," Bree declared. She showed me to the bathroom and my Dopp kit and tomorrow's clothes were all laid out for me. Oh well. I sent messages to my lovers to tell them I loved them and got "Have fun" texts from each of them. ------- It was pretty awkward. We'd all been intimate to some degree with each other. But sharing a bed with just Bree and Wendy was a little weird. I came out of the bathroom in my sweats and a t-shirt to find Bree in a t-shirt and Wendy in one of my painting smock white shirts. We looked at each other and all broke out laughing. "We're going to be some teases, I can tell," Bree said. "Can we just cuddle up and go to sleep?" I asked. Both girls just nodded their heads. We got into bed with me in the middle and the girls snuggled up against me. I got a very nice goodnight kiss from each of them. I lay on my back and wrapped an arm around each and they both threw a leg over the leg nearest them, knocking knees in the middle. There was another round of giggling as we settled down. "Maybe one of you could explain what's going on," I said. "You're my hero," Wendy said. "I love Kate and I'd do anything for you." "I'll do my best to live up to your expectations, Tiger," I said. "But it is kind of exhausting to be a hero twenty-four-seven." "I trust you." "What about you, Bree? I'm not your hero," I said. "Maybe not in the same way," Bree said. "You've become more like a brother to me, except I still want to have sex with you. How weird is that?" "But..." I started. "And Melody..." Bree said at the same time. "Yeah. And Melody," I prompted. "We really got off to a bad start. Can you believe it was just a year ago that I came prancing into your room naked and attacked Allison?" Bree asked. "I came so close to screwing up all of our lives so frequently that I can't believe Melody let me live. But she did. And I love her for it. I've never considered myself particularly into women. They're okay for a little entertainment or to double-team a guy, but not for a relationship. But your women—and especially Melody—really get to me. I prefer to have a guy, but I don't want to be without Melody." "Geez. I think my wives each have a girlfriend. Except Lissa. Is she getting cut out of things with you guys?" I asked. "No, Tony," Wendy gasped, pushing herself up so she could look at me. "Lissa is ... so understanding ... and kind ... and..." "And we all love her," Bree said softly. "Just like we all love you. And you might have noticed the girl sharing Lissa's bed this week ... Allison? Yeah. I remember her. But if I was you, I'd be watching out for Whitney. I think she's got plans for later." "Oh man. I'm so glad you two seem to be sane. The world has gone crazy." "Don't count on it, Tony," Wendy said. "Just because we're reserved and respectful doesn't mean ... well ... that..." "That we don't want to have sex with you," Bree finished. Wendy buried her head in my shoulder. I hugged both girls to me and they returned the pressure. "You are both very special to me. Now I need sleep if I'm going to play well tomorrow." "'Night, Tony," they chorused. ------- I woke up with two girls whose shirts had unaccountably come off during the night. As had mine. I didn't remember that. But there was a lot of bare flesh touching me, and it was pretty damned nice. So were the two hands gently holding my erection. Apparently, we'd dropped a couple of barriers during the night. I could feel myself pulse and both looked up at me. "You'd better get up, Tony," Wendy said. "You need a good breakfast and your match is at eleven." "We should probably let this go so we don't accidentally cause you to lose your edge," Bree sighed. She dragged her hand up my torso with Wendy's following closely. "May I help you with your shower this morning?" Wendy asked. "May we help you?" Bree repeated. How could I turn down that request? ------- Sometimes I think that day three of one of these big tournaments is the toughest day to get through. Allison played early and took her opponent in the Women's Division 1 quarter finals by four and seven. We were the only fans for her match, but her coach came over to talk to Lissa and me after the game and ask how we thought she was doing. I'd never met him before, though I'd seen him last year. It was funny how he just assumed we were taking over her coaching after the college season and would be the ones coaching her at National Singles. He was really cool about it and said that she'd progressed remarkably this season and credited our training before Nationals last spring and Opens last fall. Neither of those is a college competition, so he was fine with her working with us and hoped that we'd keep her going after she graduated. Division 1 Men's Gold Bracket was also in quarter finals. Eight of us sized each other up and went to our courts. Because of my position, this was the match where I'd meet the top seeded player in the tournament. With Brian out of the tournament, I would meet Al Tribano from the University of Florida. I don't think he was any happier about this meeting than I was. If Summers had come to the tournament, Al would have been in the lower half of the bracket and wouldn't meet the top competition until the finals. Either way, I was screwed. I had to take this match or I was out. There's no dropping to a new bracket once you reach the quarters. This was it. Don't get me wrong; I've lost matches this year. But Al was the toughest match I'd had since playing Karl at National Singles last year. We played at a different level in that match than any other match of the whole tournament. It was really a shame that one of us had to win. I was really lucky I was the one. The match went the full three games and at the end, I led by one point. We'd played for an hour and a half and the rest of the Gold competitors were standing outside our court watching the last game. When the last rally ended and the judges called out that I was the winner, Al and I collapsed against each other. We both knew it could have gone either way. I'd taken the first game by one point and he'd taken the second by one point. We'd been tied before the match point. Al checked the score and moved from the top competitor for first to fifth. This guy deserved the title, but I was going for it. My team was waiting for me when I came off the court as well. It was the longest match of the tournament so far, so the next round was ready to start as soon as we cleared. "Must be a couple of damn good teases," Whitney drawled at me as she glanced at Bree. Wendy was hustling back to Amanda at our booth and I knew I needed to go up there and give them a break. "I'm gonna see what I can do." Oh shit! I went up to cover the clothing booth and found Wendy and Amanda swamped with people. Our team wore our maroon and gold uniforms, but they were only one of the combinations Melody had come up with for our new season line. When I got there, I signed some autographs as well as talking about the sportswear line. Then I noticed that not everyone was there for clothing. Next to our booth, there was a large poster and a donation box for the Tent City mural was set up. I went around in front of the booth in time to see Amanda reach over and drop six gold dollars into the box. People counted them out as she dropped them. When I finally managed to see the front of the line, I saw a sign that said "$1.00 donated for each article of clothing sold!" I saw competitors from other teams reaching over to add to the donations. "This is a cool idea!" I said to Amanda and Wendy. "It was Melody's idea," Amanda said. "I swear; she might as well have come down here with us. She's been on the phone almost non-stop since we got here. She can't be going to classes." "I've got to talk to her about that," I said. "But this is awesome." "Just wait till you find out what Bree is doing!" Wendy said with a smile. "Bree should be on the court," I said. Damn! I need to get down there. "I'll be back in an hour or so." I took off as fast as I could. ------- Rachel was the first person on our team eliminated from competition, and that was only because she was playing Bree. The match wasn't at Division 1 level, but they both did us proud and were great sports as well. Little Rachel jumped up and rode on Bree's back all around the court when the match was over. There weren't too many people around and I needed to hustle to watch Brent and Franklin on one court while Lissa coached Whitney and Tonya on another. Neither double had mercy on their opponents. Whitney and Tonya were headed to finals tomorrow and Brent and Franklin to Semis. Way to go team! I had time to run up to the booth before Walt's game at four-thirty. I was in time to meet the sales rep from Ektelon at our booth. Bree shoved me over in front of our poster as the guy turned to speak to the small crowd gathered around. "Ektelon is happy to join the students at Seattle Cascades University and Ice Queen Sportswear in supporting this important project dedicated to helping the homeless," he said. "We're adding to the donation box with a dollar for every sale we've made here at the tournament. And don't forget to stop by our booth for the great new line of men's sportswear by Ice Queen Knights." The guy turned around and shook my hand and then reached for Lissa who had come up beside me. "And congratulations to this year's mixed doubles open champions, Tony Ames and women's open champion Lissa Grant," he shouted. Everybody applauded. I caught hold of Bree as I was headed down to watch Walt's match. "Did you do this?" "I'm sorry it wasn't operating on the first day," she said. "It took a while to get through the red tape to raise funds here. I know a couple people on the athletic staff here at Tempe and got them to support it. I think Head is going to make a donation, too. Isn't it exciting?" I just reached for her and gave her a kiss that took the breath away from both of us. We looked at each other for a long moment and then rushed down to Walt's semi-final match. Our team was just plain hot today. Walt slammed his opponent, using his weight like the lineman he is to get in position and control the court. The guy actually tried to make a rush at Walt and shove him out of the way. It was such an aggressive act that the officials disqualified the opponent and Walt advanced after only one game of the match had been played. ------- "This was brilliant, Melody!" I said when I called her. "And Bree has all the other merchants contributing, too. It's really cool." "That's my baby," she said. "I wish I was there." "From what I hear, you might as well be. Have you been attending class at all this week?" "Yeah, though I've been late to a few," Melody laughed. "Fortunately, Carolyn has been cutting me a lot of slack and I've actually been invited to show our line at the gala this spring. Isn't that cool?" "You are amazing. And the Ektelon line, Ice Queen Knights, is selling like crazy from what I hear," I said. "You know what? We need warm-ups and we should look at outfitting all of SCU's teams with our sportswear. I'll bet coach Jacobson will listen to a presentation." "Well, he will if I can get his daughter working on him. I'm so glad they're getting along better," Melody said. "Did you enjoy your sleep last night?" "That was pretty sneaky," I said. "I'm glad I won today. I wouldn't want anyone blaming those poor girls if I lost." "Those poor girls are ecstatic that they got you for a night. Don't worry, tonight is going to be just as interesting, and I'll bet a little more intense." Oh god! ------- I thought she meant Allison. I got a fiery kiss from our Kansas State friend after dinner. She dragged me aside on the way to our rooms and I just figured we were headed to our big bed. She was all over me and grinding against me like crazy. "Allison," I gasped. "Let's at least get to our room, okay?" I said. "Yeah," she panted. "Right. Go to your room. That should be enough to get me through my match tomorrow. Go. Go to your room. I get you tomorrow night." She turned away from me and headed for a different elevator. What the hell? ------- I walked into my—well, Lissa and Allison and my—room. Lissa was in bed waiting for me. I kissed her softly but didn't get in bed yet because I hadn't showered or brushed my teeth. Lissa, though, was hanging onto me to prevent me from heading for the bathroom. "What's up, Lissa?" I asked. "People are acting weird. Allison just attacked me in the hall and then headed a different direction. Last night with Wendy and Bree was ... interesting. If I hadn't played so hard today, I'd burst." "That's what it's all about, isn't it?" Lissa asked. "You wouldn't believe what I heard on the radio when I was driving to the restaurant today. The new drug of choice for pro football players is Viagra! They are taking it before the game to get their testosterone levels up and get them on edge." "Oh man, that is sick!" I said. "Don't they have wives or girlfriends?" "Exactly. All they get is a hard-on and no fun," Lissa laughed. "And it doesn't work for girls." I heard the bathroom door open and turned to look. A very naked Whitney stood there returning my gaze. "Your turn," she said. I was beginning to get the picture. "She's in the finals tomorrow. We need to get her ready," Lissa whispered to me. I nodded. As I passed Whitney to go into the bathroom, I paused to kiss her. She was shaking a little and I pulled back to look her in the eye. "You okay, Whit?" "Just ... already on edge. I might not be able to hold myself back," she whispered hoarsely. "I think maybe you need a little massage to help relax you," I said as I ran my fingers up and down her back. She shuddered. "Go join Lissa and I'll get ready for bed. We'll have you ready to become a champion tomorrow." I showered, shaved, and brushed my teeth before joining Lissa and Whitney. Whitney was stretched out on her stomach and Lissa was oiling her back. My hands joined hers and we leaned over to kiss each other. "Isn't her back amazing?" Lissa whispered. "Feel these muscles. Wait till you get to her butt and legs. She has so much power." Whitney moaned as we stroked down over her cheeks. "Here I was feeling sorry for you last night when Bree and Wendy had me sandwiched between them. I was afraid both Kate and Melody had girlfriends and were leaving you uncared for." "You know we would all be just as happy with just the four of us," Lissa sighed. "But there are these other beautiful women that are just so tasty we can't help ourselves. You don't mind us bringing along an extra sometimes, do you?" "As long as you remember that we're together for the long-haul, I'm fine," I said. I wrapped my hands around Whitney's right thigh and she spread her legs apart. I could see the glistening moisture at her opening. Lissa reached over to stroke my cock with her oily hand. "Mustn't forget you have semis tomorrow," she smiled. Oh man. Looking at Whitney's wet pussy while massaging the inside of her thighs and feeling Lissa's hand on my cock was almost too much. I wasn't sure if the moan I heard was mine or Whitney's. Maybe it was Lissa. Whitney rolled over onto her back and Lissa and I sandwiched her in the bed. "How do you sleep like this without... ?" Whitney panted. We each kissed her on a cheek and took turns at her lips. Lissa turned out the remaining light and we held Whitney between us. "We think of little blue balls being whacked on the court," I said. "God! That's a whole new definition of blue balls, isn't it?" Whitney giggled. She snuggled up with us and surprisingly, we all managed to go to sleep. ------- I was an official for the first match in the morning. It was the Men's Division 3 Red Bracket finals. It was a good match and got me fired up. Whitney's final round was next and she walked out of it with our first Blue Bracket champion. Bree played hard in her final match, but she couldn't quite pull it out. She was now Women's Division 6 Red Bracket runner up. An oddball quirk of scheduling as we were getting down to fewer competitors in each bracket meant that Whitney and Tonya were playing for the championship in Women's Division 2 Gold and Brent and Franklin were playing in the semis for Men's Division 2 Gold. Lissa and I had to split and I went with Brent and Franklin. They came off the court after a first game loss with just five minutes to catch their breath. "Guys," I said, "you've got to connect. You were both going for the same shots out there. Do I need to tie your waists together so you can feel where the other is going?" "Shit. You're right, Tony. I know we've been so keyed up over getting this far that we're forgetting to play as a team," Brent said. Franklin turned to him and they bumped fists. "Let's take the game to them this time," Franklin said. "'Atta-way, guys. Get in there and play some racquetball," I encouraged them. Man, did they ever. Their opponents came out over-confident after the first game and never got a serve. Franklin peppered the first seven points and Brent finished the game. The guys they played against came off the court stunned by a 15-0 loss. The final game was only marginally different and our team wrapped up the semi-final with a 15-6 win. Brent and Franklin were headed to finals on Sunday. Whitney and Tonya couldn't quite pull it out. Brent, Franklin, and I got to their court just as the last serve flew past Tonya and they lost by two points. Still, they had the silver medal in the Women's Doubles Division 2 Gold Bracket. Allison and I were in the same boat as they scheduled the Division 1 Gold men's and women's semi-finals at the same time. We walked off the courts after our matches at the same time, glanced down the hall and rushed each other in victory celebrations. Bree lost the Division 6 Red final, even though she played a great game. The big surprise, though, was that Rachel won her consolation match, so the two friends placed second and third in the bracket. Walt was overmatched in his final round and came out second in Men's Division 4 Red Bracket. In the meantime, Wendy and Amanda were doing a bang-up job at our booth and the clear plastic box for donations to our mural project was almost full. Every time one of them rang up a sale, they deposited another dollar coin in the box and a lot of the buyers were shoving bills into the box as well. Lissa and I took time to sign a few autographs, some right on the outfits that were being bought. I was surprised that we had fabric pens in our booth. It seemed that shorts that had Lissa's or my name scrawled across the butt were a really popular item. Guys were even bringing their Ektelon Ice Queen Knights shorts to our booth to get Lissa to sign them. That was going to look cool at Nationals! ------- We'd had dinner and most of the team was in a real party mood, as were a lot of the other players. Brent, Franklin, Allison, and I were going to pass on the parties. We had finals tomorrow. We said goodnight and headed to our rooms. I was glad that Allison was accompanying me this time, but I was looking around and couldn't find Lissa. When we got to the room, I thought maybe she'd be there. No such luck. "Where's Lissa?" I asked. "Mmm. Well. See there are some players who don't have matches tomorrow, so I think she went out partying with them." "Al-lie? What's going on?" "Okay. Lissa is staying with Whitney and Amanda tonight. She said she didn't think she could survive the night in our room with both of us on edge like we are," Allie said. "That means it's..." " ... just you and me, bud. Just like Chicago," Allie supplied. We kissed. I wasn't hung up about doing anything with Allie like I was in Chicago last spring. We both shed our clothes and headed for the shower together where we both got really soapy and slid all around each other. I realized that I really missed having Allie with us like she'd been in Seattle a couple of times and in Nebraska at Christmas. "You know, I'm looking forward to having you in Seattle," I said. "I miss seeing you." "Well, look all you want," she laughed as she unwrapped the towel from around her and sprawled on the bed. "That's all you get tonight. And maybe a few kisses," she added as I dropped next to her. "And maybe a little touchy ... oh Tony!" I felt her hand wrap around my cock as I dipped a finger into her hot center. She rolled away from me and backed into my spoon. She pulled my cock between her legs and clamped down on it. "Remember this, Tony? I want you here all night long. And tomorrow night, I want you inside me. Okay?" "You'd better believe it's okay," I said. I cupped one of her big breasts in my hand as I felt her juices dripping onto me. I kissed her shoulders and she shuddered. We finally managed to drift off to sleep. ------- I woke up with my hard cock still trapped between Allison's legs. I don't think I'd stayed hard all night, but I was sure going to be hard all day. We kissed, dressed, and got ready to leave the room when there was a knock on the door. I opened it and room service rolled a cart in, followed by Lissa. "Just wanted to make sure you were up and fed and ready to be champions today," Lissa said. Man she was chipper this morning. "No fair," I said, kissing her. "You are refreshed and well-laid and we're still on edge. Where's this team solidarity that I've heard so much about?" "Oh, I think you are solid enough," she laughed. "Eat and let's get some racquetball going." ------- The final day of the championships were set up so that all the lower divisions that had final rounds preceded the Women's and then the Men's finals. They wouldn't be played at the same time this time. Brent and Franklin went up at ten o'clock and scraped out our first Gold Bracket championship. The guys were flying. At the medal ceremony, they were told that they had been reclassified as Division 1 players for next season. I was really proud. Those guys worked hard for this. Allison's championship match was at two o'clock. This was the Allison we'd seen at Opens. Absolutely consistent on her killer serves. She gave up only two serves during the first game and her opponent scored once. She got the serve after her opponent had scored two in the second game and then served a dozen aces in a row without a return. Allison walked off the court and into our arms as the new Women's Division 1 Gold Champion. Because she'd finished her round so fast, we had fifteen minutes before my final round. I plugged into my music and laid down a soundtrack for my match. Nobody spoke to me or bothered me until Lissa tapped me on the shoulder and said, "It's time." I'd like to say that I took my opponent down the same way Allison did, but it was a lot more work. I played hard and by the end of the first game there was no place the guy could put the ball that I wasn't there to return it. The same held true for him. I couldn't get one past him. As short as Allison's match was, we made up for it in ours. He absolutely drove me to the wall a few times but at the end of three games, I'd finally managed to carry off my first Intercollegiate Championship. What I'd completely forgotten was that this championship qualified Allison and me as members of Team USA. Holy crap! ------- "I understand that we have a special announcement," the Competition Director said as he finished awarding the team trophies. Since I was the only Division 1 player on our team, we'd missed the team awards, but we were still ranked number five over all. Not bad for a first year team. We were all standing together to watch the final awards. Bree went up and stood next to the Director. What? "Thank you, Director," Bree said, taking the mike from him. "This fall, the students at Seattle Cascades University hosted a tent city for the homeless on our campus. It was part of our social outreach program and we were happy to have a hundred people living on campus with us. But then the unthinkable happened. A local terrorist attacked the encampment with firebombs. Three people died in the attack against the poorest people in our population. Tony and Wendy, will you join me?" I glanced over and Wendy grabbed my hand in a death-grip as we walked toward our friend. "Most of you've come by the Ice Queen Sportswear booth this week and have met Wendy. Wendy was a resident in Tent City when the explosions happened. She's here because our new Division 1 champion, Tony Ames, was on duty that night and sounded a warning that saved the lives of dozens of people, including Wendy." There was a lot of applause and Wendy turned to hide her face against my chest. I just held her and figured Bree must have something planned here. I just hoped she hurried up with it. "This isn't about recognizing Tony for his heroism, but you all remember the big blow-up last year over Tony's drawings of players, don't you?" There was a lot of laughter and a little applause. "Well, we've commissioned Tony to paint a huge mural on the side of our Athletic Pavilion and Fitness Center as a fundraiser to help the homeless. I want to announce that through your generous contributions here at the tournament, matched by Ice Queen Sportswear, Ektelon, and Head, we raised $6,972.15 to help." This time there was a huge amount of stomping and yelling and cheering. I was amazed that we'd raised so much in a week. Bree wasn't finished. "That's not all," she said, quieting everyone. "I'd like the team captains who have talked to me to join me up here." The captains of the top three places and five other captains from some of the biggest schools came up to join Bree. She turned to Smiley Davis, the guy I'd beaten for the Gold in the last match. "Smiley," Bree continued, "I understand you have something to announce." She handed him the microphone. "Bree, we've all got a lot of respect for the new team from SCU that came here to make their presence known. Many of us have watched Tony as he competed last year as the bronze medalist here, then at National Singles, at Opens as the mixed doubles champion, and now as our Intercollegiate National Champion. Tony, you are a great competitor and an inspiration to all of us. Our eight teams have pledged to raise a thousand dollars each to donate toward the project at SCU. We're going back home to mobilize our student bodies. Thank you for being such a great example to us." There was so much noise in the gym that I couldn't hear anything else. Wendy and I both had tears running down our faces and I could see that Lissa, Allison, and my teammates were all grinning and crying at the same time. "And that concludes the National Intercollegiate Championships for this year," the Director was calling into the microphone above the noise. "You are all competitors that make us proud of your schools and your sport. Travel safely getting home and we'll see you next year!" ------- Chapter 45 I don't mind flying but I hate getting tossed around. There was a lot of turbulence as we came through the cloud cover approaching Seattle and a few of the wind gusts had me feeling like the plane was flying sideways. The team bus met us at the airport and returned us to campus where Melody and Kate were waiting for Lissa, Wendy, Bree, Whitney and me. Saturday night, we'd joined a huge party sponsored by the AzU team and athletic department. There was a band and dancing and a big buffet of appetizers that were about all we could eat. I was amazed at how many people came up and greeted me by name at the party. A few I knew because I'd spoken with them during the competition, played against them, or remembered them from other competitions. Many were complete strangers. There were a couple of cute girls from University of Minnesota that seemed to want to start something more than a quick dance, but I had a lot of cute girls who were watching out for me and easily slid into place. Even Rachel once slipped under my arm when a girl from Clemson just wouldn't go away. Another dozen teams came up to Bree or me with slips of paper that had pledge amounts written on them for anywhere from $100 to $500. It looked like all-told we'd raised around $20,000 in cash and pledges. Ektelon was really playing nice with us and had offered each of the teams a percentage in matching donations to help with their fundraising. That would easily put us over $30,000. I was beginning to feel the pressure again and had visions of my wall in front of me all night long. Of course, the night was pretty nice once we ditched the party and went back to the hotel room. Lissa and Allie and I made sweet love. For as keyed up as we'd been, it was amazing that we weren't feeling desperate when we finally got together. We laughed, kissed, loved, slept, and woke up in the morning tangled together. We played in the shower and then, kind of sadly, joined our teams and headed to the airport. This time, though, it would only be a little more than a month until Allie joined us in Seattle. She was auditioning in Portland on the eleventh of May and was planning to be with us by Saturday the twelfth. ------- I stood in front of the mural wall just before five o'clock Sunday afternoon. It was still just as blank as it had been when I left a week ago. Except for the drawing, there were only a couple splashes of test paint. I looked at the weather app on my cell phone and saw that the temperature hadn't reached fifty all day. The good thing was that we had over twelve hours of daylight each day now. With Daylight Saving Time, the sun didn't set until twenty till eight, but since we were painting on the east side of the building, we lost light pretty quickly. We still had to be above fifty degrees in order to paint on the composite stucco they used on the wall. It had been over six weeks since the stucco was applied to the wall, so it was deemed fully cured. Tomorrow morning, I was scheduled to meet with a representative of the paint company to go over mixing and using their special concrete and stucco Acrylic paint. I walked over to the shed and identified myself to the security guard. He checked my ID against his list and let me unlock the paint shed to look at the supplies. I was pretty amazed that they'd built this little building with color neutral lighting and heat to keep the paints from getting too cold. Gallons of paint lined the walls with several different base classes for the various tints that I'd be using. The company had done a spectral analysis of my painting and there were color swatches hung around the edges of the rendering. Each swatch had a color formula on the back. There was one of those paint tinting stations like you'd see in a paint store that had all the colors on it and a shaker so we could mix up the amount we needed. Just covering the wall was going to take about thirty gallons of paint, but some of the colors would be mixed in quarts. We'd estimated a total of fifty gallons being opened and mixed. The paint company had promised to take care of disposing of the unused paint in an environmentally safe way. Ever since I'd arrived on campus, my heart had been beating faster than on the racquetball court. The magnitude of my responsibility was suddenly more than I could take. Up until this time, the wall had been a part-time endeavor while I was in school. But this quarter, it was my full-time responsibility. I had just received—well, not me personally—$30,000 in donations and pledges from across the country. Volunteers were going to be working with me and the Gates Foundation was matching every hour with fifteen dollars. PCAD and SCU both had fundraising activities scheduled and I'd heard there was even one of those kick-start sites set up to accept donations online. We were talking serious bucks. And every single one of them depended on me painting this goddamned wall. I couldn't help myself. I sat on the floor of the shed and let the tears flow. It was so overwhelming, I was afraid I couldn't do it. I don't know how long I cried but I got it out of my system. What a pussy. I needed to get myself together and go home. I needed to hold my lovers and maybe even my lovers' lovers. The weather forecast was fair and warmer tomorrow. I needed to paint a wall. ------- Bed was crowded. There were six girls in there and they were all pretty involved with each other. It was funny in a way. We were all there and naked, but I'd never had sex with three of the girls and didn't really think I was going to. Oh, we'd kissed and used fingers and hands on each other, but Bree and Whitney and Wendy just weren't on my list of lovers. It was funny, though. As I watched them in bed, Kate, Melody, and Lissa didn't seem to be moving or letting their partners move to anything more intimate than naked embraces, kissing, and touching. Man! Was I jaded? Naked embraces, kissing, and touching weren't that intimate? What was the name of that president who kept declaring that he had not had sex with that woman? I was like six or seven, I think. Was he the same one that kept saying "I am not a crook?" Somehow, I did make a big distinction between even having a hand job and orgasm with a girl and actually penetrating either her mouth or pussy. By that standard, I'd had sex with Sonia, even though I'd never slept with her, while I'd slept with all these girls, but never had sex with three of them. It made my head hurt. I tried to edge into bed beside them and was allotted about three inches of mattress. This really wasn't going to work. Kate rolled toward me and I managed to hang onto the sheets to keep from falling off. "A little crowded, isn't it?" she giggled. "Yeah. I feel kind of like a third wheel ... er ... seventh wheel," I said. "Poor Tony," Melody laughed. "Six naked girls and he's not getting any." "We can fix that," Lissa said. She and Whitney rolled out of bed on the other side and ran around the bed to start tickling me and kissing me. That was too much and I slid off the bed onto the floor. I was immediately on the bottom of a pile of girl flesh. God! There were twelve bare boobs all trying to get in my hands or mouth. I wasn't even sure which pussies my fingers were playing in and couldn't concentrate well enough to sort it out. Especially when a mouth covered my cock and took me all the way down to the root. That could only be Melody. Apparently my fingers weren't the only ones that were finding hot wet spots as the volume of moaning was steadily increasing around me. Part of it was mine. I heard one girl go off pretty quickly and thought it was Whitney. It was definitely Lissa's pussy that settled over my mouth and rode me to a fast climax. Someone was working on Melody as she was sucking me. I could feel her moans around my cock and that was getting me close quickly. As soon as Lissa was off my face, Kate and Wendy were licking me and kissing me, cleaning up all Lissa's juices. I pulled the two girls to me tightly as I began to pump into Melody's throat, stifling the scream she was building to. Everybody just rolled to the floor in exhaustion. I wasn't sure if everyone had come, but everyone seemed satisfied—for a minute. "If you ladies are going to keep bringing your girlfriends to bed with us, we're definitely going to need a bigger bed," I said. "Oh, we're not," Lissa said. "This is just a special occasion. We all wanted to be back together tonight." "We might need a traffic light, though," Melody laughed. "That would help." "Well, we've got an extra bed downstairs," Kate offered. "How about if a couple of us take Tony down there and you guys get the big bed tonight. We'll bring coffee in tomorrow, okay?" It was agreed and Kate and Wendy took me by the hand and led me out of the bedroom. ------- "It gets a little over the top, doesn't it?" Kate said as the three of us snuggled into bed. I was on one side of Kate and Wendy was on the other. "Yeah," I agreed. "It's not like I object to having a lot of naked women around, even when I'm not painting, but I like to know who I'm loving." "You can love me," Kate said, pulling me in for a scorching kiss. "I'll go to my room," Wendy said softly. "Don't go, Tiger," Kate pled. "Please stay with us." "Yes, Kate," Wendy said. "Hey, Tiger," I said quickly. I recognized the tone of submission in her voice. "Would you like to help me turn Kate to jelly?" Wendy grinned at me. "Oh?" Kate managed to get out just before the two of us descended on her. We rolled around, kissed, touched, and made love. As I entered Kate, I watched Wendy lovingly kiss her and caress her breasts. Kate wrapped the other girl in her arms as I plunged away bringing her closer and closer. Kate pulled away from Wendy's kiss with a gasp. "Oh Wendy! Oh Tony! Oh god! I love you!" I heard the telltale whine of her impending climax as Kate inhaled deeply. Wendy bent her lips to Kate's nipple as her fingers crept between the two of us to play with Kate's clit. That was all it took for both of us. I started spurting as Kate went rigid. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she went limp. Her sudden drop pulled my cock from her pussy while another spurt dribbled onto her mons. Wendy and I slid to Kate's sides, gently kissing and petting her until she began to recover. She looked at the two of us and smiled that radiant smile I loved so much. "I haven't done that in a long time," she whispered. "Is that your cum or mine dripping out of my pussy?" "Both," I said. "Good. Tiger, I didn't help you tonight. I don't think I can move right now," Kate said. "'Sokay," Wendy said. "I think I owe you something from a few nights ago," I said, holding out my arms. Wendy smiled and crawled across Kate into my arms. Kate edged over a little and Wendy settled on top of me, finding the spot on my leg she seemed to like to rub against. Kate gently held my hardening cock as I kissed Wendy. Kate joined our kiss and Wendy moved slightly so my cock became trapped between our bellies. Kate's hand slipped around to cup Wendy's cheeks and met mine as it plunged down toward her core from the back. I was slippery enough from Kate's and my juices that it felt really good to be rubbing against Wendy's tummy. Kate had managed to get her finger positioned so that as Wendy rode my thigh she kept bumping her clit into Kate. She raised up enough to look at both of us, her eyes watery, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she began to shake. She kissed Kate and I captured one of her nipples between my lips. I felt my cock begin to spew out its contents between the two of us and Wendy froze against Kate's finger as she came. Wendy looked longingly at Kate—lovingly. Then she turned her green and gold eyes on me and smiled. "My hero," she sighed. We wiggled around enough to get comfortable and Kate handed me a tissue so we could wipe up enough mess that we wouldn't all stick together while we slept. The two girls pillowed their heads on my chest and I think they were still kissing when I went off to sleep. ------- It was a madhouse Monday morning as everyone scrambled to get showered, dressed and off to school. Bree and Whitney left together in time for Bree to get to her seven-thirty class. Melody and Kate had class at nine and were getting ready. Lissa left early to go get the boys and take them to school since she hadn't seen them for a week. Wendy quietly brought two outfits on hangers to me and stood in front of me completely naked with one held in each hand. She didn't say anything, but just looked at me questioningly. "It's supposed to be warmer today," I said. "Do you think this would be good?" I took the blouse and jeans from her left hand and held it up. She nodded. "Thank you, Tony," she said quietly. "Anytime, Tiger," I answered. By ten o'clock, I was alone in the house. I looked at the weather and saw that it was nearly fifty degrees and sunny. It would be a good day. I made myself another cup of coffee in a travel mug, grabbed my red hardhat, and went to face my wall. ------- I guess if you were a linear thinker, you'd look at a wall eighty feet wide and naturally start at the top left corner. Doc taught us differently. A mural is a series of focal points that draws the eye from one to another. I knew where mine were and the logic in my head said start at the end and work toward the beginning. I knew what the painting was and I mixed a few paints then thought better of it. I'd start one step from the end. I didn't want that piece of the painting standing out by itself for the next two months. We'd come to it. It was all I could do to keep from stepping off the back of the scaffold to look at what I was doing. I hated painting on this scaffolding. Doc said he had an idea, but I wasn't sure what it was and hadn't seen him yet since I got back. I plugged in my music and let the rest of the world disappear as I painted. ------- "Hey! Artist boy!" The shout jarred me out of my zone and I unplugged. Who the fuck would interrupt me? I turned around, ready to lay into the intruder. "Hey, Tony!" he shouted. I looked down at Coach Frederickson. "Hey, coach," I called. "What's up?" "You missed class. You know you've still got me to contend with this quarter. I came by earlier, but you've been in your own world forever. We've still got time for a run and if you are going to paint every day like you were today, you need the exercise." Like I was today? What the... ? I looked around and realized that I was painting in shadow. I flipped on my phone and saw the time was after four. I'd been out here for six hours? No way. All of a sudden, I was hungry. "I had no idea what time it was," I said. "Sorry I missed class. When was it?" "It's officially whenever you show up. Come on and get cleaned up. We can run hard for half an hour and you'll feel better for it," he said. He was probably right. I still couldn't believe I'd been out here painting for six hours. The sun was still shining, even though it was on the other side of the building from me. I hoped I hadn't inadvertently adjusted colors as the light changed. That would suck. I came down with my paints, went to the shed and cleaned things up. I was wearing running shoes, so as soon as my brushes were put up and the paint was sealed I was ready to go. I walked out of the shed, tapped Coach on the shoulder, and took off. "Tag. You're it!" I shouted as I ran. Coach was right behind me. I headed toward the water and used the park sign as a vault before heading west with the sun in my face. I grabbed a tree limb, swung up on the branch and reversed directions, jumping back over Coach as he grabbed for the limb. When I was crossing the parkway, I picked up a dog that was determined to chase me faster than Coach was so I took two steps up the side of an apartment building, ran along the balcony railing and jumped the gap to the window of the next building. There was a stairway on that side and I slid down the railing back to the street. The dog gave up on me and turned to Coach, but he was out of reach before the poor dog could respond. The kids' playground was almost deserted, so I vaulted to the top of the monkey bars, ran across them and launched out to a chin-up bar on the other side. Two more turns and I saw my goal. Coach was trailing me by about thirty yards, so I reached in my pocket, tapped my key to unlock my car and jerked the door open on the passenger side. I left the door open as I settled into my seat and started the car. Coach slid in beside me. "Where can I drop you, Coach?" I laughed. "Nice run! When did you add that tree limb bit? That was seriously fun." "I just saw it and grabbed it. Thanks for getting me moving. I needed to get the kinks out," I said. "Congrats on your big win this week. It's all Sam's been talking about today. But we should really keep this up at least every other day. I know if the weather is decent you are going to be on that wall, but you've got to keep active and you still have to make your training a priority to get ready for National Singles," he said. I drove him back around to the door of the Athletic Pavilion. "Yeah. I'm taking a couple of days off while I get this beast started. It's a huge project," I said. "No kidding. How long were you out there today?" "I figure about six hours." "Let's see. I could see grid marks on the wall. It looked like you'd painted in about a dozen of them. Are they finished?" "No. Mostly just the base coats and highlight blending. Tomorrow I'll lay in the shadows and it will really pop." "So that sounds like about an hour per square foot," Coach mused. "Baby, you've got a lot of work to do." Thirty-two hundred hours? Fuck! That's like 130 days 24/7. I gotta speed up the process. ------- I got home just in time to sit down with the family for dinner. Wendy was working but we had the boys, too. After dinner I read with them for a while and got them ready for bed. As soon as they were down, I sat at my computer and started calculating. I was spending too much time doing fine blending and detail. I looked through the digital images and counted things up. There were seventeen focal points and they were each around twenty square feet. That's only a tenth of the total wall. If I figured the focal points took an hour per square foot, it would take 340 hours. If that was all I worked on and other people did all the rest of the painting, I still couldn't finish by Memorial Day. I was still at the computer when Wendy got home from work about a quarter till eleven. She leaned over me and kissed me on the head but didn't say anything before she left. Five minutes later the rest of the family was surrounding me. "What's got you upset, lover?" Melody asked. "I'm sorry we weren't paying more attention." "We all have work to do," I said. "I'm not upset over it." "But you are upset about something," Kate said. "Wendy noticed." "My estimates are all off regarding how long it's going to take to paint this. I only got about twelve square feet done today and it's not all in," I said. "That's sounds like an awful lot," Lissa said. "You were working alone all day, too, weren't you?" "Yeah. But at that speed the mural will be done by Memorial Day all right—only next year. I don't know how I'm going to do it." "It won't all go that slow," Melody said. "Sandra and I can do the whole bottom tier next weekend if the weather is decent. That's a quarter of the wall. And we've got volunteers to paint the textured grass areas and tent awnings. Those are all going to go real fast and they don't require you to do anything but spot check." "That's if we can paint," I said. "Look at the five day forecast. It's back in the thirties for the next four days with highs 'near fifty.' Even without rain, that's too cold to paint. And the damned scaffolding drives me crazy. I've either got shadows all over the wall in the morning or fading light in the afternoon or I'm falling off trying to step back to see the work. I've got to go in and talk to Doc tomorrow." "We're with you, Tony. I might not be much help, but I still trust you," Wendy said. "I know you'll do it." If anything, that made me want to cry. The whole job changed perspective. It was no longer about the money we were raising or the work of art. It was about Wendy's trust in me. It was her wall, not mine. I'll do it. Somehow, I'll do it. ------- Doc came out to the jobsite with me at ten on Tuesday morning. The temperature had actually started above fifty, but was falling steadily and was in the forties now. "It would have been easier to do this project in the summer," Doc said. "Long days, warm weather, little rain. Right now we've got the most unpredictable weather patterns of the year. Like this. It's supposed to get warmer as the day progresses, not colder." "Yeah. I'm not thrilled about it, but what can I do?" "Hmm. Control the weather, maybe?" Doc said facetiously. "This looks good. Your colors seem to be holding together just fine. I don't think you need to worry about having adjusted for different light conditions. Still, it would be better if we could even it out some." "It would be a lot better if I could step back and see what I've done," I said. "I really hate this scaffolding." "Then let's get rid of it," Doc said. "First, though, the broad areas need to be laid in. Those aren't areas that you will be putting a lot of detail into, but a little texture and shading. We need as many people out here this weekend as we can get to do all the field work. Once that's all in, we'll remove the scaffold." "How will I reach it to paint then?" "We'll use Genies." "Got a magic lamp?" I asked. "Hmm. That's another good idea. We're going to get rain soon and we need to tent this for the weekend with enough lamp power that everyone can see easily," Doc said. "Okay. While the weather is too cold to paint, let's get the rest of this done." Doc had a class at twelve-thirty and another—mine—at two o'clock. We went to his office and he gave me a list of names and phone numbers and told me what to ask each one for. "You know your project and its needs. You have authority to get things done. Explain to each person what you need and when. Be sure to contact the scaffold company for a change of configuration on Monday or Tuesday," Doc said. "I have class. You can use my office." ------- It was a brilliant idea and I wanted the tenting and lighting done immediately, so I called those numbers first. Man! As soon as I connected with SCU maintenance the first guy I talked to asked what he could do for me and then said, "Sure. We'll get right out there." When I asked them for a couple of Genies they said it would be no problem. They used them all the time for lighting and maintenance and there was one right inside the maintenance locker in the Athletic Pavilion, but anyone who used them would have to take a four-hour certification course. I called the PCAD theater department and they were a little more skeptical until I told them what the project was. "Oh! That!" the department head said. "Look. We've got a show going up this weekend. It's the last show of the season, so once it's down the equipment is free for the summer. Will it be too late to have it a week from Monday?" "No. That would be great. We've got a couple from SCU that we can get started with." "Jim Mason mentioned that he'd like to get involved. He's our head scene painter. I'll have him get in touch with you," he said. Wow! More painters? Hell yes. By the time I went to class at two, I had equipment problems on the run. I was still worried about speed, but this could lengthen our working days when the weather was warm. ------- I'm not sure how we managed it, but Kate held my hand through most of Doc's class. That's not bad considering that we were drawing. Doc told us that our assignment for the class was to work around an obstacle. How appropriate was that? He had artists drawing with their easel only partially in view, set crooked, out of view of the subject. People wore eye-patches, were tied with their arms barely able to reach their pads, or—in our case—holding each other's hand. To make it interesting, we held right hands, which mean that I had my right hand crossing my stomach to reach her right hand and we were both drawing with our left hands. Everyone in the class was surprised at how good their drawings were. ------- Saturday was chilly in the morning, but when we turned all the lights on under our makeshift tent, the temperature started to rise. I had twenty-five volunteers and they were working hard from the moment the temperature under the tent hit fifty at about ten o'clock until we were wiped out after five. The tent had the added advantage of blocking the wind so we were really pretty comfortable inside. Maybe too comfortable—at least for me. Kate wanted to work near me, which was sweet, but disastrous. I had my headset on and was in my zone when I noticed Kate laying in a shadow before the highlight. When I corrected her she frowned at me, but did it my way. A little later she was spending way too much time on a detail and I asked her to move on so we could finish the focal point before quitting time. The third time I turned to correct something she was doing, she laid her paintbrush down and left. Shit! I kept painting, but then kept having to go back and re-do things I had already done. By five when I told everyone to clean-up, I was tired and pissed. A few of us had been working on focal points but nearly everyone else was doing field work which meant that for the first time since we began the project, there were almost as many grid squares with paint in them as without. That didn't mean they were finished. But they had paint in them. I went home to a quiet house. The boys were back with Jack for the weekend. Kate, I was told, was out. Wendy was at work. Melody said she was spending the night with Bree to watch TV. "Okay, what happened?" Lissa asked. She was the only one of us who hadn't been on the job at all today. She was pretty pressed to get schedules and shipping arranged for Nationals. "What do you mean?" "Don't play innocent, Tony. Kate stormed in about three o'clock, cleaned up in her room and stormed out again. She never said a word, but the sound of the doors was eloquent. Melody barely said a word during dinner and went to watch TV with Bree. When's the last time you can think of that she watched TV?" Lissa asked. "What happened?" "I criticized Kate." "In front of everyone?" Lissa exclaimed. "No. We were working together and she just wasn't getting the feel right. And when I suggested trying it a different way she got all huffy and stormed off," I said. I was a little miffed myself and didn't really want to be talking about this. But there you have it. "A different way." "Yeah." "Your way." "Well..." Shit! "We were just so out of synch. We were supposed to be working on the same place, but it was like we were working on two different pieces. It just wasn't blending. What should I do?" "I don't know, love," Lissa said, cradling my head. "Let's take a bath and go to bed. We'll hope we can see something better in the morning." I realized I really didn't know why Melody was upset. ------- I cued up the music I was going to paint to today. The day started in the mid-forties, but it was warming up rapidly and under our makeshift tent it was already over fifty at nine o'clock because of the heat generated by the lights. I hadn't seen either Melody or Kate this morning, either at home or here at the jobsite. It was making me nervous and upset. I drank another cup of coffee before climbing the scaffold, knowing full-well that I'd end up having to stop painting to go piss. I was cued up with Seattle Grunge, starting with the classic Nirvana piece "Nevermind" and Pearl Jam's "Ten." I kept loading the list with Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Green River, Mudhoney, and Blood Circus. I mixed in some Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. I was going to shake the scaffold if I wasn't careful. But I was a little angry and there was only one place on the painting I could focus in this mood. Bree and Melody stopped me at the ladder as soon as I was sure everyone had their assignments. I looked at Melody questioningly and she smashed herself into me in a hug. "I'm sorry, Tony," she said. "I shouldn't have shut you out." "What's going on, Melody?" I asked. "Why were you mad at me?" "Because Kate was. When she left yesterday she was really angry and she brushed me off when I went to find her. I was so upset that I couldn't talk about it. I should have come to bed with you last night." "Liss and I were worried." "Bree picked me up and I spent the night there." "I don't know what to do, Little One. I didn't mean to get Kate angry. We just weren't in synch yesterday. I was probably an ass, but I haven't seen her to try to make it up," I said. "Don't worry," Bree said, hugging both Melody and me. I wrapped an arm around our friend. "It will work out. You guys have to get some painting done." "Slave driver," I said. We shared a kind of mournful chuckle, kissed each other and headed to our areas. "Ames!" Amy called to me. She hadn't been able to work yesterday because of roller-girl practice. I was a little surprised she was on the platform so early this morning. Sometimes those girls stay out all night. "What's up, Ames?" I asked. "I just want to make sure you have us where you really want us," she said. "I think I'd be better on the secondary focals than on the primary. Keep Jim, Maggie, Doc, and Kate on primaries and let me fill in this background detail." She was holding a sheaf of pages from the rendering book and I went through them. "It sounds like a plan," I said. "Doc said he wouldn't be here until noon today and I don't know about Kate. But if you want to head the secondaries team, why don't you start drafting the scene painters. It's perfect for them." "You got it, boss. Paint on!" ------- With everybody working, having their paint mix together, and able to coordinate with Bree and Deb on the site, I was finally able to go do some painting. I don't know why I reserved the starting point for myself today, but I figured I'd be in the first and second tier near the top as I painted the fireball. There was no way to do this painting without acknowledging the fact that for all its beauty and innocence, the Tent City had been firebombed. But I'd transformed the object so that instead of descending into the encampment, the ball of flame was ascending as a kind of reverse shooting star. It was the light source for all the rest of the painting. I'd just put the first streak of yellow paint on the wall, a sweeping arc that touched seven different grid blocks as Kurt Cobain started his muddy guitar riffs in my ear, when I felt her presence. It's funny. I was focused on the wall, but I could feel Kate beside me. I turned to her slightly and started to pull my headset away from my ears. She touched my hand and shook her head, holding the headset in place. In her other hand, she held up an identical headset. She spent a minute looking at my player and tuned her headset into the same frequency as mine then snapped it onto her head. We stood there on the platform looking at each other as the same music filled both our heads. We were nodding to the beat—listening to the same music. We were connecting. As Lincoln Park hit their opening strains of "What I've Done," Kate leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. We bent as one person to dip our brushes in paint and raise them. From that point on, we were lost to the world. It was like being able to paint with two hands at once. In fact, I thought that if we each had two brushes we could probably paint four-handed. As Nirvana spun up "Smells Like Teen Spirit," we launched a star into the sky of the wall. We were working so closely that we were able to wet blend the arcs, curves, and highlights. We worked intently and in complete synchronization. It was like playing racquetball with Lissa! Kate and I were dancing. ------- It felt like we could just keep going and paint the whole wall without stopping. In reality, we'd covered about twenty grid blocks and bled into a couple dozen more when we started slowing down. I turned to look at Kate and she had a kind of scrunched up look on her face. We were still plugged in together, but we were coming out of our zone. She gestured and pointed at her crotch. Huh? I pulled the headset away from my ears and Kate did the same. "You want to have sex here?" I asked in disbelief. She started laughing. "No, silly. I have to go pee." I laughed, too, and realized my system was screaming at me for relief. Oh yeah. That coffee. We pulled our headsets the rest of the way off and bent to seal up the cans of paint we'd been using. That's when we heard the applause. We looked out and saw most of our crew, about twenty-five or thirty people standing out on the grass looking up at us. Someone had used our pulleys to raise the front of the tent when the day got hot. When did that happen? It felt like it was close to seventy. Kate and I came down from the platform and Doc, Melody, Bree, Lissa, Whitney, and Wendy met us on the ground. I wondered when Lissa, Whitney, and Wendy had arrived. I didn't remember them on the list for volunteering today. "We didn't think you were ever going to stop," Doc said. "We've been just standing out here watching for the past hour. Everyone else has cleaned up. This was a great day." "Cleaned up? What time is it?" I asked. Kate was dancing back and forth. "It's after six," Melody said. "No wonder I have to pee!" Kate screamed as she ran for the restrooms. I was close on her heels. When we got back outside I started up to get our paint supplies but Bree waved me back. "We got it," she said. "Everything's cleaned up." "That was so cool to watch," Whitney said. "It was like watching you and Lissa play racquetball. You were just like a single person." "If we played racquetball like that for that long, you'd have to carry me out on a stretcher," Lissa said. "I knew you could do that after I watched you on the exercise in class this week," Doc said. "Connections aren't just on the canvas." "We are definitely selling tickets to the next performance," Bree said. "That was amazing. We could raise a bunch of money just by letting people watch you two paint." "Yeah, but we all need to hear the music," Sandra said. "I want to dance, too. We need the music piped all over out here so we're all hearing the same thing." ------- "Are we okay, Kitten?" I asked quietly as we were walking toward the car. We really hadn't said a dozen words to each other all day. "We are so okay," Kate said. "I'm sorry I got so mad yesterday." "It wasn't your fault. I was a real ass. I love your painting and had no right to criticize how you were doing it," I said. "How did you come up with the idea of getting a matching headset?" "Wendy," Kate said and beckoned our tiger into her other arm. "I went to the restaurant last night and just waited until she got off work, then we went to Denny's and sat there together for a couple of hours. Wendy told me I needed to hear the same music. I had to wait for Best Buy to open this morning before I could come to work." "Thank you, Tiger," I said. "I was pretty torn up last night, afraid that I'd really messed up our relationship." Wendy smiled at me and growled. She made a playful tiger-paw swipe at me. "Don't do it again," she said. "I cry when you fight." I pulled the two to me in a hug and we kissed. Before long, our other four companions were in the mix. "We need food," Bree said firmly. I had to agree. What a day! ------- Chapter 46 The next week really set the pace for some intense work. We had good painting days on Monday and Tuesday, but I mostly worked alone. Deb or Bree kept track of the volunteers who came out to help an hour here or there. Tuesday afternoon, of course, I had to take a break for Doc's class. Several mornings I tagged Coach Frederickson early in the day for a run. We all focused on painting the backgrounds and larger expanses of less detailed work this week while we still had scaffolding. It was coming down next Monday. And that was another thing. In order to switch to the Genie scissor-lifts, those who were going to use them all had to be certified. That involved a four-hour training course and test. Everyone who would be on one met for the course on Wednesday morning and we were done by one o'clock. I was thankful that they were all willing to take a class-cut to make the training. Bree took the course, too, even though she wasn't actually painting. Several of the painters from the scene shop had already been certified, so that gave us about fifteen people who could continue painting without the full scaffolding in place. There would be four scaffold units that were just one tier and were on wheels so work on the various textures on the bottom grid tier could continue. There was a concrete pad in front of the pavilion that was eight feet wide before the track. That would give us a good surface to roll the lifts and the scaffold around on. We still had the tent awning over us to protect from rain, but once the scaffold was out of the way we'd be working entirely with natural light. The shape of the work was changing along with warming weather, even though nights were still dipping into the thirties. ------- "Wow!" That was the consensus among the small group that came out Wednesday to take a look at the project after the scaffold had come down. Monday, the tarps had been dropped in front of the wall while the scaffolding was disassembled. The process took two days and Wednesday morning the tent company came out to reconfigure the awning so it didn't need the scaffolding support. This was our first chance to actually look at the wall of the building we were painting, and it was awesome. "Tony, I'm so proud of you," Lissa said as she hugged me. It was just my family, Doc, Bree, Maggie, and Jim. "A whole wall of painting and not a single nude!" she continued. Everybody laughed. "Yeah, well, it's not all done yet," I said. In fact, while we were all pleased with the progress, it still looked to me like an awful lot of paint yet to be applied. The eight blank areas on the wall that were focal points waiting to be painted just glared at me. I could see that for all our care in painting the field areas, they all still needed work as well. Some of the shading and texture was just too subtle and from the distance most viewers would be, the large areas looked flat and stark. I felt a hand on my shoulder as my heart-rate was rising. "Don't panic," Doc said quietly. "It's just what you knew would have to be fixed. It's why you needed to get the scaffolding down. The view from fifty and a hundred feet away is always different than the view from eighteen inches away." "I don't want anyone to see it," I said. Kate had made her way to my side and gave me a hug. I could tell she knew what I was thinking. Jim and Maggie had moved forward a bit and were holding a conversation while pointing at various areas. Melody, Lissa, and Wendy had walked further out in the field to just view and enjoy the sight. My biggest fear was that someone would come and criticize what was obviously not a finished project, or worse yet, that somebody from the press would come and make a joke of it. "Well, that's why we have the retractable awning," Doc said. "When you aren't actually working on it, we cover it up." "And when you are working on it, we'll charge admission," Bree said. I didn't realize that she'd been close enough to hear what we were saying, but she was right behind me. "What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm going to sell tickets to watch you paint. If anyone wants to see what's going on from closer than the field fences, they'll have to pay admission," she said. "Before you cover it up, come back and look at it from the fence." We walked the eighty yards or so to the far fence around the athletic field at the end of the track opposite the painting. When I turned to look, I was relieved. From this distance it didn't look nearly as bad as from seventy-five feet away. "If people want in closer, it will be to watch you painting and to listen to the entertainment," Bree continued. "I know you like to listen to music while you paint, so we'll start by just piping your music out here this weekend. But I've talked to a couple of local groups and managed to get Thor to talk to his music director. As long as it isn't too cold or raining, we're going to have a progression of musicians playing in front of the wall while you are working on the weekends. During the week, the area is off-limits." "Wow!" ------- Doc was going over my plan, progress, and budgets with me in our weekly meeting. Thursday and Friday I'd gone back out to the site, raised the canopy and sat in the rain looking at the wall. Kate and Bree went with me and held umbrellas as we viewed from different distances and made notes on what we would try to accomplish this weekend. I sketched several places where we needed more contrast in the detail. I discovered that there simply wasn't a one-to-one correlation between my eight-foot rendering and the eighty-foot wall. Nonetheless, Saturday and Sunday had gone better than I expected. The rain finally let up and by ten on Saturday it was warm enough to paint. The temperature stayed above fifty for the rest of the weekend. Jim, Maggie, and Amy occupied three of the lifts working on the areas that were already painted to enhance the highlights and shadows while Kate and I used the other one to touch up the focal points that we had thought were completed. Melody, Sandra, and the scene painters worked on the rolling scaffolds and on the ground to re-texture the large areas at the bottom. We were learning to be bolder in our use of paint. "We made a lot of progress over the weekend," I said, "but it was all in re-doing what was already done. The sections we got completed all look better now, so I feel a little better about people seeing it. It still ties my stomach in knots, though." "I understand," Doc said. "I'm sorry I couldn't be out there this weekend. I'll come out and look again on Wednesday. I know you are short-handed this week, so I'll try to set aside time to really get some painting done with you. It's a tough time for the PCAD students right now." "Yeah, I know," I said. "I don't remember being that stressed out about finals last year." Doc laughed at me. "You were riding a pretty high wave last year," he said. "Which reminds me; what are you exhibiting in the gala?" The gala? Shit it was next weekend! "I guess I don't really have anything to exhibit," I said. "Yours is the only class I've taken here this year and we didn't really do exhibition work in class. I learned a ton, though. Thank you. Clarice doesn't really want me to show anything that will be in my exhibition in June. So I guess I'll pass this year." Doc looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. "I guess that's your choice," he said. ------- It was a pretty good painting week and I felt like we were plugging away in spite of the rain that started late Tuesday night and lasted the rest of the week. We got nearly an inch by Saturday. In spite of the fact that Saturday was a good painting day, I took an hour off in the afternoon to join Lissa at a four-way women's track meet at the football stadium. We watched Whitney blast away runners from all four schools in the 100 meter and 200 meter hurdles. I couldn't believe the power she displayed when she launched off the pad for a school record long-jump. Wow! That girl had legs! I couldn't stick around for all the awards and the congratulatory kisses as I'd left a working crew and Doc with the red hat. I got back for another two hours of painting. The first week of May was crap. The temperature fell again so there were only a couple hours a day that were above fifty degrees. And rain. And rain. And rain. By Thursday the rain was so heavy and blowing so hard that there was no sense even going to the site. Friday, I was showered and scrubbed by Melody, Lissa, and Kate and sent to the mall for a haircut. Donna was really going to hate me. I hadn't had a haircut since Valentine's Day. But I was escorting half a dozen young ladies and two small boys to the PCAD Gala tonight. For PCAD, the school year was over. Damon was officially escorting Lissa and Whitney. Drew would be taking Meddy and Bree. That left me with Kate and Wendy. Well, there wasn't really a bad choice that could have been made. Drew did have a little trouble grasping that "Pretty" Amy was being escorted by Thor and Sonia. Of course, Sandra would be with Walt. It appeared that there would be a number of others of our friends that would also be making the trip to PCAD from SCU for the first time. I really didn't figure that we'd see Rio, Amanda, June, Brent, Franklin, Justin, Eric, Kevin, Tonya, or Rachel until the after party at our house. We had to tell everyone that we weren't planning on getting naked that night. Donna and Howard, of course, wanted to know all about where we were going and how many women I was escorting. I gave them the basic details, but there wasn't really much to add about my conquests. I hadn't done anything for a month but paint. I told them a little about Intercollegiates, though, and they thought I was making up the story as I went. Well, no imagination. When no one came to pick me up, I heard Howard mutter something about losing all of them. I think he was really disappointed. ------- I guess we created a stir when we walked in to the gala, but I was feeling a little detached. It was different going to a big opening when you know you've got a couple of great pieces on display than going in with nothing. We were all pretty focused on what Kate and Melody were displaying Kate was only showing one of her major pieces for the year that would be in our gallery opening next month. But she had several charcoals and we gave her permission to display the triptych of Melody, Lissa, and me. Melody had items from her fashion line, dying, and some of her weaving on display. When the six ladies and we three boys walked in, heads turned. I knew it was all because of the stunning women we were with, though, not because Drew and Damon and I were in tuxes. I had to admit, though, that the boys looked great and were determined not to throw up like they did last year. We went through the first gallery and got punch and appetizers as we looked at the Senior exhibits. Then we realized we had to hurry to the fashion show and barely got there in time to see Melody's two models come out wearing her sportswear. Melody ran out from back stage and took a quick bow, then met us back in the hall. It was time to go see Kate's display. There was a huge crowd at one end of the gallery and we followed along to see what was up. That's when I saw the banner. "Katarina Mirela and Tony Ames, Opening at Gallery 243, June 1st." Kate's charcoals surrounded her triptych and people were ooing and ahhing. I squeezed her hand and she leaned over to kiss me. Then I saw that people were carrying brochures for our opening. Apparently Clarice had managed to get the catalog displayed with Kate's paintings. That was cool. When we got nearer the front, though, we saw what else people were looking at. My eight-foot wide rendering for the memorial mural was there on display, complete with the color swatches around the edges. The big Plexiglas box for donations sat next to it with an announcement to watch the artist at work at SCU. "Bree?" I said, looking around for her. "Not my fault this time. Honest! I didn't do it. Er ... all of it." "Okay. Spill it. How did this get here." "That nice Doc Henredden came and said the rendering was a surprise for you at the gala since you were getting class credit for the practicum. You know that's why the Gates Foundation doesn't match your hours like they do with everyone else. All I did was make sure it was okay to have a donation box and announcement here with it." "This isn't just an announcement," I said, picking up the brochure. "Who made up this promotional piece?" "What do you think agents do?" a voice behind me asked. I turned to see Clarice standing there with Doc. "I couldn't believe you weren't planning to exhibit anything at the gala, Tony," Doc said. "So I contacted your agent and she approved displaying the mural rendering, provided we had information that would promote the project and your gallery opening with it." "And I've been waiting for this for a year," said another voice. I saw Bob Bowers, the art critic, pushing through to stand with Doc and Clarice. "Clarice has been keeping your work under wraps until your opening, but if it is close to what is in your catalog, the two of you are going to become very popular. And I understand that the mural will be dedicated the Monday before your exhibition. Perfect timing." "Kate, your pieces are perfect. Why did you never let me see this triptych?" Clarice asked. "You told us never to show you work we wouldn't sell, ma'am," Kate whispered. It was obvious to me that she was as overwhelmed by the big display as I was. "I think that was a work of love, Clarice," Bob said. "Look who is in it." "Of course. Of course," she said. "Enjoy your big night Kate, Tony." Clarice turned to Bob. "Did you see the sculptures over here by an artist named Jerome, Bob?" Clarice said, guiding him away. Doc looked at us and smiled. "Felicitations," he said as he shook each of our hands. He hurried off to join Clarice and Bob. "Am I forgiven?" Bree squeaked from behind me. I turned to our redheaded friend. "Like you said, Bree. It wasn't your fault ... this time." We all laughed and I squeezed each of the six ladies and both boys to me, one after another. ------- We stayed at the gala longer than we had last year. Jack showed up at about nine and stayed with us until it was time to go home. He took the two sleepy boys with him after they'd both been kissed by their dates and the other seven of us piled into the limo to head home in time to greet our guests. We pulled out all the stops for tonight and had Carma cater a small buffet that people cleaned out almost as soon as they arrived. We had a limited amount of champagne and a lot of sparkling Catawba. The party migrated downstairs as we played waltz music over the speakers and everyone did their best to imitate a formal cocktail party with dancing. "I'm skating tomorrow night. Are you coming?" Amy asked me. "Gosh, I'll have to look at my Daytimer," I said. "It's Cinco de Mayo, isn't it? I might have a party to go to." "You do have a party you idiot," she laughed. "It's mine. I'm going to jam tomorrow. It will be wild." "Are you going to jam or figure skate, bitch?" Sonia said as she gripped Amy around the waist and pulled her to her. "I'm gonna jam right into your pussy, slut," Amy tossed back. Sonia grabbed her crotch. "With what? You don't have the balls," Sonia shot back. Okay. I wasn't really needed here, but I couldn't stop watching. Amy reached out and grabbed Thor by the cock and hauled him into their three-way. "With my dildo here," Amy growled. Okay, that was enough. I extracted myself and went to find others. Wendy stopped me as I was going by. She didn't say anything, but took me by the hand and led me over by the sliding doors that were open to the patio sheltered from the rain that was still coming down. We stepped through and breathed in the wet air. It was delaying my project, but when the rain really falls and isn't just kind of hanging in the air, I really love it. It was almost like a Nebraska thunderstorm without the thunder and lightning. Wendy didn't give me much time to contemplate that, though. She pulled my face to hers and started kissing me. Wendy and I have kissed before. We've played around and even brought each other off. We've double-teamed Kate. But nothing had prepared me for the searing depths of this kiss with my tiger. And it wasn't quick. I was beginning to think that people might miss us before Wendy released my lips and my mouth. I was poking her in the stomach with my hard-on and was afraid my tux pants were going to need cleaning. "Tiger. Wow! You are a tiger," I said. "What was that about?" "I'll tell you later, okay?" she whispered. Then she slipped back into the house and left me to adjust my trousers. "Did you just get what I got?" Kate asked as she came up behind me and put her arms around my waist. One hand moved down to help with my readjustment. "I think I must have," I said. "What was that all about?" "I think it's going to be an interesting night," Kate said. "Wanna sleep with me?" "Of course. You two are my dates, aren't you?" "I think we might be in Wendy's room tonight," Kate whispered. She kissed me. No matter who I kiss, I always know Kate's kiss. It was as fresh as the first time we kissed. She started a little tentative and then opened to tease and play a little, just pausing slightly as she slowly pulled away from me. Kate just rings my bell. She turned and went back in the house. I was about to follow as soon as I caught my breath, but before I turned around, another pair of arms slid around me and I was soon in the embrace of a very tall girl. A very strong, tall girl. A second later, my lips were crushed against hers. Seconds later, another pair of lips teased us apart enough to join our kiss. "Do you mind if Whitney stays the night, lover?" Lissa asked. "I know it could get crowded in bed again." "Mmm. I think my dates tonight have plans that might keep me from our conjugal bed," I said. "The question is, do you mind?" "Not if you bring us coffee in the morning," Lissa said. "I love you." "I love you, Lissa," I said. Whitney and Lissa slipped back into the house. When I was walking in, Bree and Melody pushed me back outside. "You're not going in until we get what you've been giving all our girlfriends," Melody said. "I love you, Tony." We kissed and were joined by Bree as we pleasured each other with our tongues and lips. "Which side of the bed to I need to be on to get mistaken for Melody tonight?" Bree asked. "Red, when we're ready we'll let you know, okay?" Melody said. "I think Tony is going to be busy tonight, aren't you, sweetheart?" "Yeah, I think I've been spoken for," I agreed. "But Melody ... you know how much I love you?" "Yes, but I can't wait to hear you tell me again." The two went back inside and this time I was all the way through the door before I was accosted by a row of girls. "Is this the kiss Tony line?" Amanda asked as she pressed herself against me. I couldn't answer with my mouth full of her tongue and her obviously unfettered breasts pressed against me. I just had to touch a little and she didn't seem to mind. "Come on, there's a line," Rio said. "I've missed you this term, Tony. Advanced Crit is a bitch without you." "I've missed you, too, Rio," I said. We kissed softly. "Soon?" she asked. "When we're ready," I agreed. "Can I have one?" Rachel asked. I swear, she's even shorter than Rio and less than half as wide. I kissed her gently. "Mmm. Wanta play mixed doubles with me?" she asked. We laughed and June gave me a big hug. "You are making me more daring, Tony," June said. "I would never get in line to kiss a boy." "I would think the boys would be in line to kiss you, Joo-Eun," I answered. She smiled and looked at me, then pulled my face toward her to kiss her. "Then again, maybe I would stand in line," she giggled and left. I didn't recognize the next girl in line at first. She came at me and pulled me toward her. I hugged her to me and slid my face past her searching lips. "You know I don't swing that way, Kevin," I said. He laughed. "I had to try, you know," he said. "Well, you do make a beautiful girl," I said. We hugged each other again and finally I was able to get back into the party. It was well after midnight. ------- When the last guest left who was going to leave, we gathered up the remains that could be salvaged and took them to the refrigerator. We all seven kissed in every possible combination of twos and threes and then Melody, Bree, Whitney, and Lissa all went to the big bed. I assumed that Wendy, Kate, and I would head for Kate's queen-sized bed after we brushed our teeth, but Wendy grabbed our hands and led us to her room. She only has a double bed, but we'd all three fit in it, I figured. We three had never been together in Wendy's room for the night. Wendy whispered to Kate and Kate kissed me. "Wait a minute, okay?" she said. I nodded. The two girls undressed each other in front of me. They didn't pay any attention to me, but just carefully took their formal gowns and hung them up, then removed shoes, hose, and panties. Neither one had been wearing a bra—well Kate never does. When they were fully nude, the two girls turned to me. They are remarkably alike physically. Since Kate cut her hair short, it's grown out a bit. She still keeps the purple streak in it and spikes it up, but it's a bit longer than it was when she first cut it in December. On the other hand, Wendy's hair was all shaved after the fire and now it was a nice inch-and-a-half or two inches long all over her head. She hadn't started bleaching out her stripes yet, but I had a feeling she would soon. Kate's hair is a little darker than Wendy's, but both girls are about five-seven. I'd consider them tall if I weren't used to Lissa and Whitney being around all the time. Kate's hazel eyes get darker when she gets excited, while I've notice the gold flecks in Wendy's green eyes get brighter when she's turned on. Wendy is still a little thin, but I know she's eating well now and she certainly isn't the toothpick she was when she came to live with us. They both stood in front of me just letting me absorb how beautiful they both are for a long time. Then they stepped up to me. As they undressed me, Wendy carefully hung each article of my tux and formal shirt, my briefs, shoes and socks. You know, there aren't that many girls who understand the order that guys' clothing comes off. They started with my shoes because it's easier to get the pants off that way. Once the pants are off and hung on the suit-hanger, the jacket comes off. If you take the jacket off first, you have to take it back off the hanger to get the pants hung. It's just almost impossible to get the pants on or off the hanger if the jacket is on it. But as soon as my pants were clipped into it, Kate took off my jacket and put it on the hanger Wendy was holding. Then they took all the removable jewelry and accessories. The studs from the shirt. My tie. My cufflinks. My socks. I found out a few months ago that girls think it looks pretty ridiculous for a guy to stand around in his briefs and socks. You have to lose the socks early on. When Kate removed my pleated formal shirt, Wendy once again had a nice padded hanger ready to hang it on. That left only my briefs and I was pretty hard from all the attention I was getting from two naked ladies. When they pulled my briefs down, they kissed over the head of my cock. I know Melody and Lissa taught Kate that move. Either Kate had taught it to Wendy or it was a natural thing to do, but for the first time ever, I felt Wendy's lips and tongue on my cock. It wasn't for long, but it was all I could do to keep from coming right there where I stood. They left me standing there again while the two girls kissed. I heard Kate whisper "Are you sure?" Wendy nodded an enthusiastic yes. Kate said, "Okay, sweetheart. I love you." The two embraced and it was just so sweet to watch that I stood there without moving. When the kiss came to a pause, Kate and Wendy each took one of my hands and moved me to the center of the bed where I was propped up with pillows in a relaxed sitting position. Kate crawled up next to me while Wendy waited beside the bed. "I love you, Tony." "I love you, too, Kitten." "Our Tiger needs Melody's cure for cramps. Are you okay with it? Can you accept her without reservations? I need to know, Tony. And so does Wendy." Shit! Was Kate telling me that Wendy wanted to make love to me? That we should go beyond the really close friendship we had and become lovers? I looked at the girl and I had to tell myself that she is one special girl. I wasn't sure if I loved Wendy the way I loved Kate, Melody, and Lissa, but yes, I did love Wendy. I nodded my head. My reward was two gloriously beautiful smiles. Wendy crawled onto the bed next to me and she and Kate kissed across me and then raised their lips so I could join in. I let them lead, knowing this was special for both of them. For all the playing around we did and as close as Wendy and Kate had become, I didn't think they'd ever used anything but their fingers on each other. The closest Wendy and I had come were the couple of times that she'd come while rubbing against my thigh or that I'd come against her tummy. There was something significant about what we were doing tonight that let me know we were moving to a new level in our relationship. The two girls moved down to jointly lick my cock up and down with lots of playtime for their lips and tongues to get together. Before long, Kate enticed Wendy onto my lap, facing away from me. We all played and fondled each other with my cock wedged firmly between Wendy's butt cheeks. Even this was a new degree of intimacy. As Kate kissed her way down Wendy's body, paying special attention to all her sensitive points, Wendy turned her head to kiss me and look into my eyes. It was hard to be rational with the incredible feelings I was experiencing. Still, it occurred to me that there was something different about the way Wendy looked at me and the way she looked at Kate. She was in love with Kate and I was part of the package deal. As Kate reached Wendy's lower belly, I slowly pulled my knees up and apart, opening Wendy's center to our girlfriend. Kate progressed downward into Wendy's tiger striped pussy hair and Wendy arched against me as Kate found her target. My lips were engaged by Wendy as she held my hands to her breasts, rocking up and down against me as Kate brought her to one peak after another. I was near to exploding. The last time I'd been in this position was on my birthday when Kate gave herself to my lovers and me. I'd come from the long build-up and excitement that night, but tonight I restrained myself. This was really about Kate and Wendy, but it was like they couldn't go through it without me. Wendy moaned through her third orgasm and Kate began kissing her way back up Wendy until our lips all met again and tangled in a passionate kiss. There was some gentle caressing and moaning with Wendy still rocking against my cock, but she slid to the side and Kate took the position Wendy had been in. Kate was no longer bashful about what she wanted, though, and when she sat on my lap, she pulled me into her. Wendy was almost immediately at Kate's center, licking and sucking on Kate, bringing her—and by extension me—waves of pleasure. When I felt Wendy licking at my balls and shaft as I plunged into Kate, I went over the edge into a blissful orgasm as well. We held each other and cuddled and I gradually softened and slipped out of Kate, followed by a mixture of our juices. Wendy used a tissue to clean us, but didn't return to the focus of our love-making. That was it? I was there, but I was really just helping Wendy make love to Kate and Kate make love to Wendy. They seemed more than content and when we slid down in the bed to sleep, Kate was held between us. ------- When I awoke in the morning, Wendy was looking at me over the top of Kate's beautiful breasts. She smiled and I grinned back at her. "I have to make coffee for everyone," she whispered. "I promised." "I'll help," I offered. We left Kate asleep as the two of us slipped out of bed and padded naked upstairs. We got things arranged and I noticed it was still a little early to go wake everyone up on a Saturday morning, but Wendy turned on the oven and went to the refrigerator to retrieve a bowl of dough. She uncovered it and handed me the bowl while she retrieved a rolling pin and the bread board. "I know you can do this," she said quietly. "It's the same scone mix you used on Christmas morning." I laughed, careful not to make too much noise. "I can do that," I said, rolling out the dough in three rounds about a half-inch thick. Boy, the dough rolled out a lot easier and was less sticky when you took it out of the refrigerator than it was when I just mixed it up in the morning. This was a lot easier. I put that in my mental cookbook. Wendy had seven cups of different sizes and shapes on the counter and I remembered that there were two extras in the big bed last night. Wendy seemed to know what everyone wanted, though. While the scones baked in the oven, she led me to the big chair and sat on my lap while we waited for the timer. "Tiger, why now?" I asked. "Why did you want to make love last night? With Kate, I mean." "With you, too. We just haven't finished yet," she said kissing me. I was beginning to harden under her butt. "Okay. Why haven't we ever made love before?" "You never asked." Well, that was succinct. All this time I've been so careful not to say anything to Wendy that could be construed as a command, I certainly didn't want to take advantage of her and suggest that we have sex. She'd offered herself to me when she first came to visit last September and I discovered she'd been abused. "So why now?" I asked. She smiled at me with an almost childish look on her face. "It's my birthday." "Really?" I said. "I didn't know that. I wish you'd told me so we could plan something. I want to do something special for you. I don't even have a gift." "I took care of it. Don't worry." The timer in the kitchen rang and we went in to remove the scones and make the seven cups of coffee. I could recognize five of them, but Wendy made a latte with a heaping spoonful of sugar and a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon on top in addition to our usual drinks. I put the hot scones, butter and jams on one tray and Wendy carried the tray of coffees toward the bedroom. "I'll take Kate's to her when we serve the others," I said. Well, that was unnecessary. Kate was sitting up in bed with Melody, Bree, Lissa, and Whitney. I set the tray of scones in the middle of the bed and Wendy handed out the drinks. The latte with sugar was Bree's and the hot cocoa with cinnamon was Whitney's, I noted. Good to know for future reference. As we all sat in a circle on the bed, Kate and I had Wendy between us. "Happy birthday to you," Kate started. We all joined in singing to Wendy. Apparently, I was the only one in the dark. I couldn't understand why we'd all let Wendy get up early and bring in coffee and scones for everyone else on her birthday. She blushed and smiled. "How old are you, Wendy?" Melody asked. I guess it's not impolite for a girl to ask another girl how old she is. I couldn't have done it. "I'm twenty-one today," Wendy said. "And I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life." That got her a big kiss from Kate, who, in our current situation with coffee and scones, was the only one who could maneuver around to kiss her. But once coffee was finished, we were all on the move. My god! There were six naked girls headed for the shower with me. I wasn't sketching, but I was certainly appreciating all the skin that was being rubbed up against me as we progressed in and out of the shower, heedless of the water we were shedding on the tiled floor of the bathroom. There was a lot of washing of a lot of girl and boy parts a lot of times before the hot water started to give out. We'd been in there a long time. ------- After we'd had a more substantial breakfast—I discovered that Wendy had slipped a couple quiches in the oven when she took the scones out—and another cup of coffee, Bree and Whitney got ready to leave. "You PCAD people are out of school now, but we've got another six weeks in our spring quarter. We've got studying to do," Bree explained. "I have a meet this afternoon in Tacoma," Whitney said. "They've got a great long-jumper there and I can't wait to jump." "When are you going to know about the national team?" I asked. "The Olympic trials are June 21, a week after school is out. But in order to make the trials, I have to have an Olympic A Standard race," Whitney explained. "What's that?" Lissa asked. "This year it means the hundred in under thirteen seconds and the four hundred in under 55.50. That's in hurdles. I don't know if I can qualify in the four hundred. The early meets only had one- and two-hundred meter hurdles this season. Today's the first four hundred," Whitney said. "What about long-jump?" I asked. "That's tougher," Whitney said. "I was a big fish in a little pond in Louisiana. My six meter jump was good for a state high school record. But it takes 6.65 meters to qualify for finals and Olympic A Standard is 6.75. That's a foot-and-a-half farther than I've ever jumped. We'll see what happens today." "We're coming down to watch and cheer," Lissa, Melody, and Kate said in a chorus. "I didn't know we were doing that," I said. "Sounds like fun. It sure doesn't look like I'll be able to paint today." ------- About noon, I discovered my girlfriends were getting ready to leave for Tacoma. "Hey! How come nobody told me when we were leaving?" I complained. I got three blank stares. Wendy had gone to her room. Kate took me by the hand and led me downstairs. At the foot of the stairs she turned and kissed me, melting into my arms. "We're not going to the track meet," Kate started. "That is, we're going, but you aren't." "I don't get it, Kitten." "I know. Um ... Tony, this is a really special day for Wendy. She needs you." Kate buried her face in my chest and hugged me tightly. I could feel her shaking a little and lifted her chin so I could see the tears in her eyes. "Tony. Nobody else can do this. I would if I could, but I just can't. Please make Wendy's birthday a happy one. I love her like I love you and Melody and Lissa, Tony. But none of us can be what she needs. For me? Please Tony?" I didn't know what was going on. I guess I'm still pretty dense. The only thing I could think of that I could do that none of the girls could was provide a dick. Wendy didn't seem interested in that last night, but maybe she was. But for Kate... "Tell me what I need to do, Kitten," I whispered. "I'll do it." "Come with me." Kate led me to Wendy's door. She knocked twice, but didn't wait for a response before she opened the door. We walked into Wendy's room and it was different than it had been last night. The lights were off and the curtains drawn. A dozen candles were lit around the room, mostly in front of the mirrors on the vanity that I'd bought at the used furniture store. Wendy stood quietly beside her bed, completely naked. Kate went to Wendy and hugged her. "You're sure, Tiger?" she asked. Wendy nodded. There was a glistening fire in her eyes—perhaps the reflection of so many candles on the moisture gathered there. It was easy to imagine her pupils narrowing to slits—real tiger's eyes. I'd only dressed in sweats and a t-shirt since morning and it didn't take long for the two girls to approach and take my few clothes off. It was so ritualistic. I thought about the way they'd undressed each other last night and then undressed me. It was a ritual. And a sexy one. I was definitely showing interest. Kate stayed dressed. She went to the vanity and brought a flat square box to me. "This is Wendy's birthday present from you," she whispered. She turned and kissed Wendy. The two girls melted against each other. Kate gradually pulled herself away. "I wish I could stay," she said, "but I can't. I love you. I love you both so much my heart is overflowing." Kate turned to me and kissed me tenderly then almost violently. She reached up and whispered in my ear. "No reservations." Kate turned and walked to the door. "Happy birthday, Tiger," she said. Then she was gone. Wendy and I stood, just staring at each other for a moment. It was apparent that she wasn't going to move and I broke down first. "I guess I have a present for you," I said. Wendy smiled at me. I reached out to hand her the package, but she didn't take it. Her hands stayed relaxed at her sides. "You want me to open it for you?" She smiled again. I took a deep breath and opened the box. God! It's beautiful! It was a necklace, I guess. The proper name is probably a choker—one that fits right up against the girl's throat. This wasn't a chain or ribbon, though. It was hammered silver in a solid piece with an agate stone at the throat that looked remarkably like a cat's eye. I showed it to Wendy and I saw her shake as she inhaled then looked up at me, raising her chin. Eventually I got the message. I lifted the beautiful necklace out of the box and approached her. She was trembling as she waited for me to spread the ends just far enough to slip around her neck and snap behind, not quite closed. I leaned forward and kissed her as her eyes drifted closed and a blissful smile appeared on her face. I pulled back from her and watched as she sank slowly to her knees. She clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her chin opening her mouth slightly. She waited. My god! It wasn't a necklace. It was a collar! She was ... How could... ? She wanted ... what she'd always wanted. She wanted to serve. But I didn't want a servant. I didn't want a slave. I couldn't just order her around, or worse yet, just take her and use her. The stance she had taken though was one of absolute submission. Her mouth was open, just inches in front of my unquestionably erect dick. She was waiting for me to possess her ... take her. I couldn't. But I couldn't just leave her here. I couldn't believe how much courage it had to take to open herself to me like this. I couldn't walk away. It would be the worst thing I could do. I was frozen. I took a ragged breath and reached out to pet her short downy hair. I felt her shudder. "Tiger," I whispered. She looked up at me. Fear showed in her eyes and I realized it wasn't fear of what I would do, but of what I wouldn't do. "Tiger, make love to me, please." Relief showed in her eyes and her smile rivaled Kate's for its brilliance as she looked at me. "Yes, master." ------- Chapter 47 On Sunday, Kate, Melody, and Lissa left to go to Oregon. They were picking up Kate's brother, sister, and friend and said they would be back on Wednesday. I kind of wondered about the timing as it left Wendy and me alone for three days. We had a lot to work out in our relationship. I had a lot to work out. Wendy appeared blissful as she walked around the house with nothing on but her necklace and a smile whenever she was home. We were going to have to talk about that. But talk had to be worked in between painting, Wendy's classes, and a heaping helping of lovemaking. By nine o'clock on Sunday morning, the weather had warmed and cleared. I had a small crew of volunteers on four lifts and several step-ladders. I was piping my music through the mini-speakers and felt like we were really making progress, though I missed my painting partner. At about noon, Bree asked me to turn off my speakers. It took me a minute to figure out why she was interrupting. Out on the track, a small band was setting up—typical garage band kind of setup with guitars, drums, and a keyboard. As soon as they started playing, I could see people coming through the gates of the fenced field and each one was making a contribution at the gate. There were no seats and the ground was a little wet, but several dozen people who came through didn't seem to mind standing and facing the wall as we painted. Last weekend there had only been half a dozen show up and I sort of felt Bree's idea was a bust. This weekend it looked like it would be more profitable. The band was pretty good and soon I was grooving, lost in the music and swinging my brush. When the group stopped playing after about two hours, I took a break to use the bathroom and get a slice of the pizza Bree brought. As the band packed their gear, a lot of people came up to the edge of the track to congratulate the painters and say how exciting it was. Several made an additional donation as they were headed out the gates. Eric came over just as I was climbing up to start my piped music and continue painting. "That was great!" he said. "We took in $273.50 in donations this afternoon. There were only about fifty people and we just asked for a donation and not a set price. It was really good." "We're going to do better," Bree said. "Just wait till you get next week's take." "That's great, guys," I said. "I'm glad the fundraising is going well. We need some sort of gauge out here that shows how much we've raised." "Good idea," Eric said. "By the way, you guys looked great up there. It was almost like you were choreographed to the music." "Speaking of which, I need to sling some more paint. It's a good day." I climbed onto my lift, started the music and went back to painting. I'm not sure when the other volunteers left, but when I finally plopped down and rode the platform to the bottom, there was only Bree still left. "You didn't have to stay," I said. "I get a little obsessive when I'm painting. You never know when I'll quit." I grabbed another slice of cold pizza in the shed as I cleaned up my brushes. "You know that's been sitting out for like four hours, right?" she said. "Oh well. There's probably enough preservatives in this stuff to keep it safe for four days. I'm beat." "I know everybody went to Oregon. Would you like company tonight?" Bree asked. I almost said yes after I'd accepted the sweet kiss she gave me. Then I remembered the probably naked girl who would be waiting for me at home. "Maybe we'd better not this time," I said. "Yeah," she chuckled. "I figured you might already be occupied. I hope we get our chance sometime soon. But you know, it's not like it used to be, Tony." "What do you mean?" "Well, I used to just want to get in your pants and get us both off. I never thought of anything beyond that. Talk about obsessive. Thanks for not reporting me as a stalker," she laughed. "But now ... I still want to make love to you, Tony, but what I really want, I feel like I've already got. I just want to be a part of your ... your life ... your family ... your ménage." ------- The house smelled delicious. I guess I was hungrier than I thought. But the smell of onions being sautéed is one of the most appetizing things I can think of. I soon discovered that these onions were to be accompanied by a braised pork chop, black rice, and spinach. And that the meal would be served by a very naked Wendy. "I sure hope you fixed dinner for both of us and not just for me," I said. "I don't think I could sit and eat in front of you." "Yes, Tony. I'll join you. I was getting pretty hungry." It was a beautiful meal, but I was thankful we were eating at the breakfast bar instead of in the dining room. I think that would have been too much. As it was, having Wendy naked beside me was distracting, shall we say. It only took a few minutes to clean up the dishes and Wendy allowed me to help. For some reason, I felt like I was being given permission to do something that was her privilege alone. When we were finished, Wendy led me downstairs and undressed me in the bathroom. "May I help you with your shower, master?" she asked. "Tiger, you know I can't have you always serving me and calling me master. I ... I just can't do it." "I know, Tony. It gives me so much pleasure, though to know that I am yours and that you are willing to ... give me direction. I promise that I won't call you master unless we are alone and I won't run around naked in the house if anyone else is here—unless everyone is." "That will help," I said. We got in the shower together and she was loving and gentle as she washed me, shampooing my hair and soaping my body. She didn't spend an inordinate amount of time soaping my genitals, but the whole shower was just so sensual as she let me wash her, too, that I was definitely turned on. When we were dried, Wendy led me back to her bed. I guess I was thankful that she hadn't tried to lead me to the big bed or even to Kate's bed. It was clear that she wasn't trying to move in to anyone else's space. "What is it you really want, Tiger?" I asked softly as we kissed. "I really don't know how to be in this kind of relationship. I know I want you to be part of my ... our lives, but I don't know if I can be what you want." "I know I'm a big responsibility," she said. I tried to protest, but she put her fingers against my lips and I let her continue. "I'm a little strange. I've escaped from two bad situations three times, and still I long to have a master that I submit to. I've talked to my therapist about it. A lot. I understand that I'm a product of my upbringing with that horrible man." Wendy couldn't even call him her father. I felt a tear gather in the corner of my eye, but blinked it away. "I'm getting better and stronger every day. Sheila, my counselor, says that I'm stronger than I think, just because I managed to escape those situations. But I don't feel strong, Tony. I have an overwhelming urge to please and to serve." I held Wendy and she began kissing me all over my chest. I didn't want the conversation to end, though. We hadn't reached a conclusion. "But what do you want from me?" I asked. "You are gentle and kind and caring," Wendy continued. "I don't expect you to love me like you love Kate and Melody and Lissa. I can see how unique that is and I don't want to infringe on it. But I can see from your actions that you do love me a little and that you always try to find the best thing for me. That's all I want, Tony. When I offer you myself ... my service ... my submission, I guess what I'm asking in return is that you take care of me. I don't mean that you support me so I don't have to work, but that you protect me and help me be a better person. Tony, I trust you completely. You saved my life. You helped me heal. You really are my hero. Here in my room—when I'm wearing this collar that I love—please be my master." It was a lot to take in. I was still conflicted by it all. I understood that Wendy wanted something different than any of my other women wanted—something more. As I thought about it, she took my silence as agreement, moving against me and kissing me. I responded. I'm only twenty, but I've had—or have—a few lovers. In every instance, we give to each other and we take from each other. We just expect that the loving will be mutual. I'd never slept with a woman whose single-minded purpose was my pleasure and satisfaction. The more Wendy devoted herself to pleasing me, the more I wanted to please her. And the more I pleased her, the more pleased I was. We slept together in complete exhaustion and satisfaction. Wendy curled up against me and I held her as though I could protect her from the world. I understood at last what she had said. My tiger is a big responsibility. ------- Kate moved. They all got back from Oregon on Wednesday while I was painting. I'd had three great weather days where it stayed above fifty all the time, but the temp had dropped again last night and I hadn't been able to start painting until afternoon. I got back home about six and found that the Oregon trio had moved into Kate's room and Kate had moved. I didn't know much about this until bedtime when I found a bunch of my clothes had been moved around in the walk-in closet. Believe me; with a fashion maven like Lissa and a fabric artist/seamstress like Melody sharing, I didn't have much space in the closet to start with. But then, I'm a guy. What kind of closet space do I need? The trio had gone to bed after dinner and sitting around talking with us. They were a little giddy and I had a feeling that this might be the first time they had officially lived in the same room. I hoped they didn't keep Wendy awake when she got home after work. The other four of us retired to the hot tub. "What a place! Tony, you didn't tell us nearly enough about where Kate lives. We knew her family was a riot, but everyone down there was. They had drumming and a bonfire on Sunday!" Melody squealed. "Where did you sleep?" I asked. "Same as you," Lissa replied. "Gypsy was so nice. She just took the three of us straight out to the caravan and intimated that it was pretty soundproof." "Are you trying to embarrass Kate?" I asked. Kate was sitting in the tub between Lissa and me with her face buried in her hands. "We got warned for PDAs," Kate laughed, looking up at me. "Even in this hippy commune, you still aren't supposed to make out in the middle of the yard when the children are around." "I thought everyone was very affectionate when we were there," I said. "We got a little carried away and Grandpa Ken sent us for a 'time-out' to the caravan," Melody laughed. "So how was your week?" Kate asked. "Well, I pretty much told you about how much painting I got done. I didn't do much of anything else," I said. "I have a note from Wendy," Kate said. "Oh. You mean that." "Tony, are you okay?" Melody asked. "We weren't trying to abandon you to someone else, you know." "No. I'm okay. It's a little strange is all." I looked at Kate. "I kind of expected you to move in with her." Kate splashed over next to me and kissed me long and hard. She looked into my eyes and I nearly fell into her depths. "I love Wendy," Kate said. "Just like Melody loves Bree. And I think Lissa has fallen for Whitney." "And Allison," Lissa sighed. "And Allison," Kate agreed. "But, Tony, nothing in the world is like the love I have for you. And Melody and Lissa. It's a strange world and part of what I wanted to do on this little trip was really think about our situation. There's us, and there are our other lovers. Bree and Whitney and Wendy might all play with all of us from time to time, but mostly Bree will want to play with you and Melody. Wendy will want to play with you and me. Whitney ... you get it. Of course, Allison wants you and Melody and Lissa." "And Beth," I added. "I think now that she's broken loose she kinda wants everyone," Melody laughed. "It is different with Wendy, though," I said. "She lives here." "No. She lives downstairs," Kate said. "I live here." Ding ding ding! Jackpot! Was I hearing what I thought I was? "Kate?" "You guys asked me to move in with you back in September," she said. "I sure hope the invitation is still open." There was no way that we could all get out of the tub, dried off, and into bed fast enough. ------- The weather didn't warm up again until noon on Thursday, but at least it looked dry. Kate and Melody could work with me almost full time now since classes were out at PCAD. I had to spend Thursday morning with Doc, though, as I was enrolled for eight hours of class credit for the summer. Jim and Maggie were spending one more weekend painting with us before they both left town. Otherwise, the end of the term at PCAD kind of dropped my volunteer level to zero. I was getting pretty worried. Thursday afternoon I was surprised to see Amy and Sandra out to help. Sandra went to Yakima Sunday to visit her folks, but came back to help. Amy had spent a day with her parents in Leavenworth but had come back to live with Thor and Sonia until her last bout in June. Sandra, of course, was staying with Walt. Amy and Sandra both had part-time jobs, but said they'd be out to help as often as possible. Thursday night, Allison called. "I'm in Portland. I'll be up to Seattle on Saturday," she said. "That's fantastic. Do you audition tomorrow?" I asked. "Jonathan and his partner David had me start singing to them as soon as they got me here," she said. "I think the audition tomorrow is more of a formality." "Where are you staying?" "With Jonathan and David," Allison said. "Don't worry. I don't have any equipment they are interested in other than my voice. They are so cute!" "Sounds like you are having fun." "Here's the thing, Tony. They have this beautiful home on the bluffs. So elegant. And I guess they've got a ton of money since they have a controlling interest in three theaters and a light opera company. But I walked into this beautiful home with windows that are fifteen feet high and I looked at the fireplace. My picture is hanging there! They bought the picture you painted of me in Chicago!" "How could they do that, Allie?" I asked. "The exhibition isn't until next week. Clarice has all the pictures out to be framed." "I asked Jonathan and he said he received a catalog for the exhibition and called your agent immediately. He had to offer double the asking price and agree to loan it back for your show," Allie said. "It was really something to walk into this house and have my bare boobs and pussy on display over their fireplace!" "How freaking weird is that?" I asked. "Are they treating you well?" "Like a diva! They gave me a room with a huge bed and satin sheets. There are bouquets of flowers everywhere, a bottle of champagne in my room and a box of chocolates. I haven't even performed out here and they are treating me like a star!" "I sure hope this isn't too good to be true," I said. "When are you coming here?" "We're coming in Saturday. I'll see you then." ------- Friday it warmed up by nine and it was beginning to look like it would be a good weekend. It was mostly just Kate and me until mid-afternoon. Melody had a bunch of stuff to get ready for our sales area at National Singles. I was beginning to dread the week that would be spent in Fullerton, California this year. I was only practicing on Tuesday and Thursday nights with the team and our team was down to just Tonya, Walt, me, Franklin, and Brent. Bree didn't have time to come in to practice and still maintain her morning class schedule and afternoons on the jobsite. Whitney was training almost full time for her track events, which left Tonya without a partner. Walt was playing to keep in shape and at least he and Tonya were using the time productively. I felt like half my training time was wasted because I was helping coach Brent and Franklin instead of practicing. Somehow, though, I couldn't let racquetball bog me down when I had a wall to work on with the Memorial Day dedication looming ever closer. Saturday morning we were able to start early as the weather was warming. I was onsite at eight and painting by nine with a full crew. This was the push. There were still several quadrants that needed more depth and long-distance texture and four more focal points that needed to be laid in. Those glaring white spaces on the wall were looking ominous. Kate and I focused on one focal point and Maggie and Jim were on another. Amy was pretty fearless in moving her lift from area to area as she spotted the defective highlights and shadows, but the other one sat idle. Two would go back to PCAD after this weekend. My music stopped, which I supposed meant it was noon and we were supposed to take a break, but Kate and I just kept on working. It was only a couple of minutes later that I heard three strikes on a huge drum that rumbled and echoed against the wall. Kate looked at me and grinned. I glanced down to see the whole Oregon commune with their drums joining the beat one after another. People were flooding in the gates of the field and dropping money in the boxes. There were already over a hundred people on the field watching us. Holy shit! I did a quick inventory and saw that Justin and Amanda were with the drummers as well. In a matter of a couple of minutes, the drums were at full rhythm. I smiled at Kate and we went back to painting. The first time I heard them, I thought that the school ought to hire them for a dance. I knew they could go non-stop for four hours and that meant I was going to have a really productive afternoon of painting. Kate and I caught the rhythm and were painting again as if we were one hand. Every so often, we would just be caught up dancing on our platform and into each other as much as the painting. We almost got our safety harnesses tangled at one point. But we kept painting. We were working on a picture of an old woman in her tent. I'd only met her once, but I knew her. She'd died in the fire. That wasn't what we were painting, though. In the image we were working on, the old woman was reading a book by the light cast from an oil lamp. She looked peaceful and happy. It was what I hoped the afterlife had in store for her if there was one. Two or three times we had to lower our lift and step out in the field to get a good view of the wall. We used the restroom and then ran right back to our lift and put more paint on. We barely heard the bells ringing, signaling the start of dancing. We let the sounds of Oke's guitar and Amanda's flute just carry us further into the painting. And when Allison joined the fray with some vocalese extemporizing with the guitar and flute, we flooded the painting with tears as well as color. I could hear the drummers winding down, and I was, too. Kate and I dropped our brushes and kissed each other as the lift took us down. There were four huge multiple strikes of the big drums and then everything went silent. Out of the silence came the applause. I looked up and there were hundreds of people in the field. Okay? Two hundred is hundreds and I'm pretty sure there were more than that. It had been a hell of a party. Ken, Oke, and Gypsy found us and hugged Kate and me. I saw my brushes and paint disappear from behind me and knew someone else was cleaning up my mess. I sent them a silent thank you. Our Oregon trio was right with us and the girls were in costume to dance with Gypsy. The rest of the Oregonians were there as well. Amanda and Justin shoved a little to get up to us. All I could do was keep saying "thank you" to everyone I met. ------- "It looks good on her," Gypsy said. After everything was cleaned up and put away on the jobsite and the drums were loaded back in their campers, we invaded Carmine's Cuccina. I'd lost track of the number of people who were with us. It was most of the adults from the commune, my wives, their girlfriends, and a few others. My three had warned Carma and she'd given us two long banquet tables right down the middle of the restaurant. They were still serving a capacity crowd at the other tables and booths. Wendy still had fifteen minutes before she could join us as Carma had needed all her waiters for most of the evening. I was sitting between Gypsy and Kate this time. "What?" I asked. "The jewelry on your fourth queen," Gypsy said. I knew what she was talking about and was hoping to avoid it. Wendy was wearing her collar as she waited on tables. I had thought our agreement was that she wouldn't wear it unless we were alone together, but I suppose that would mean she couldn't show the very attractive piece of jewelry to anyone else and she did love it. And as a waitress, I suppose she was acting as a servant. I wasn't going to get mad about it. "It's her favorite thing. I don't really even know where she got it. She just asked me to give it to her," I said. That was still puzzling to me, but I didn't expect Gypsy's laughter. "You really don't know?" she said. "It came from the same place as your bracelet." "I guess I don't even know where that came from. Lissa and Melody bought it for me in Chicago and it had to be shipped to them from the manufacturer," I said, looking at the chain I always wore on my left wrist instead of a watch. "A manufacturer of jewelry is called a jeweler," Gypsy said with a little huff. I was a bit in the dark. "Tony," Kate whispered to me, "I should have told you. Those are both Mama's creations. Your bracelet is what was in the painting over her fireplace. I thought you recognized it." Oh my. Wait. That was before we knew Gypsy and hadn't made Kate a part of our ménage yet. "How did you know?" I asked. "None of us did," Gypsy said. "Your ladies chose it out of a catalog of my pieces. I didn't know until I saw it when you visited. Katarina didn't tell me." "And you made Wendy's col ... necklace, too?" I asked. "I asked her to," Kate said. "I knew at New Year's what Wendy wanted. I thought if I had it in my hands, I'd get used to the idea and be able to do what you did. I couldn't. Thank you for being you, darling." I heard a dish crash back in the kitchen. Wendy rushed to us, practically falling over the table to get between Kate and me. She hid her face against me and was shaking like a leaf. "What is it, Tiger?" I asked. The word she uttered sent a chill down my spine. "Rafe." I looked over and a young man stood inside the doorway of the restaurant with a willowy woman quietly behind him. He was asking the hostess something and she turned to look, pointing directly over to us. The guy looked up and caught my eye. He wasn't what I expected. In fact, he wasn't at all what I expected. Rafe was a skinny, nerd with thick glasses and acne scars. He headed our way. I stood up and placed myself between Wendy and the couple approaching. "Excuse me," he said. His voice was no stronger than the rest of his appearance. "I'd like to speak to Wendy, please." "She would rather not speak with you, Rafe," I said. He was startled that I knew his name. "We'd like you to leave now." "You don't understand," he stumbled. "I don't want to hurt her. I just want to give her something of hers." I was wary and all my women had gathered around me. Kate was holding Wendy next to me on one side. Melody and Bree were at the other side. Lissa, Whitney, and Allison were standing behind the couple. Wendy pulled away from Kate and stood beside me. I put an arm around her and could still feel her trembling. "I don't belong to you," she said, looking at him. "I belong to Tony." Rafe looked at me again and reached in his pocket. We all tensed. He pulled out a roll of money. He held it out to Wendy. "I took this from you. I thought I was just going to keep it for you, but then I got carried away and got scared and left. When I came back, you were gone and I didn't know where. I didn't try very hard to find you because ... I was afraid you'd press charges. But last night there was a news show on TV that showed the guy who's going on trial for that Tent City bombing. They showed a big memorial wall that's being painted and said that the guy's daughter had been living in the encampment. They showed a picture of you," Rafe said. "I just wanted to give you back your money." Wendy looked at the money in her hand and threw it on the table behind her. "Go away now, Rafe," she said. I was so proud of her. She was being so strong. Rafe looked at her, nodded and started to back away. "Wait," I commanded. He froze. "There's one more thing you owe her." He looked at me and nodded. "I'm sorry, Wendy. I was a bastard, hooked on drugs, and thought I knew all about everything because I'd watched so much porn. I mistreated you. I ... I guess I failed you. I'm sorry." This time he turned, stepped around Lissa and Whitney with a startled expression and headed toward the door. The willowy woman with him smiled at Wendy and winked, then followed him out the door. Wendy collapsed against me, panting. "I did it! I did it! I told him to go away," she sobbed. "I did it." "I'm so proud of you, Tiger," I said, hugging her. She turned to Kate. "I did it," she said again. Then she laid a kiss on Kate that turned on everyone in the restaurant. Wow! In a moment she was hugging me and whispered in my ear. "Thank you, master." ------- "It still bugs me," I said to my seven women gathered in the bedroom. We'd decided it was just too crowded to try to get all eight of us in the spa. We'd had an intense day painting and then even more intense at the restaurant. I was thankful to get home and couldn't fault anyone for wanting to stay together tonight. The Oregon contingent, except the trio in Kate's room, all had space in the several campers they'd driven up and parked in our driveway and yard. Grandpa Ken's last words to me before they retired were, "and not a shot was fired or a hand raised." Fine. Officially, Allison was now lodged in our upstairs guest room, but, of course, she was naked and here on the bed with the rest of us. "What's bothering you, lover," Melody asked as she rubbed my shoulders. "Well, he apologized to Tiger, but now he's got that little girl following him around like a puppy. What if he starts beating her, too?" I didn't expect Lissa and Whitney to break out in giggles. "What? What are you laughing about? I'm serious." "You didn't see," Whitney laughed. "It must have been part of their deal to keep it hidden." "What?" "She had him on a leash!" Lissa crowed. "It was attached to the fairy-loop on his shirt. She isn't his slave. He's hers!" It took a minute for that to soak in and then we all started laughing. "Well, I hope he gets some of his own back," I said. "No, Tony. Don't wish that," Wendy pled. "Wish him happiness in his station. Let's put it behind us, please? I truly hope he is as happy as I am." She kissed me soundly. "Um ... anyone want to catch me up on what's happening?" Allison asked. Wendy turned to her. "Tony gave me this for my birthday last weekend," Wendy pointed at the collar. It was the only thing she was wearing. "He didn't know he was giving this. I asked for it and Kate made it happen. We all know slavery isn't legal, and I'm not a slave. But I am Tony's. I gave myself to him. I love Kate and Kate loves me. I'll do anything for Kate that she asks because I love her. I'll do whatever Tony says because I belong to him. I trust him to treat me right. And even to love me a little. If you ever think I'm being abused, say so. I don't think I ever will be. And don't think everybody can just order me around. I'm a person just like anyone else." "And we love you just like you are, Tiger," Bree said. "You've shown me more courage since I've known you than anyone else I've ever met. You'd damned well better treat her right, Tony. You'll have all the rest of us to answer to." ------- The weather was incredible on Sunday. It was over fifty all day and it was reaching the mid-seventies by noon. The drummers had agreed to do a second day of drumming and people were pouring into the field. Some had brought chairs and some had even brought drums so they could join in. We were doing a lot of prep work on the seventeenth focal point—quadrant 36. I'd erased everything in it and had sketched a few lines to show what I wanted. Jim and Maggie were working together on the focal point in quadrant 22, almost as far away from Kate and me as they could get. What was going to get the attention, though, was about ten feet to our left on another lift—our model. "Nude?" Wendy had asked me when I proposed it last night. "No, Tiger," I said. "Bare shoulders, but nothing else. I want you sitting up in your sleeping bag with a blanket wrapped around you. But you'll have to pose a long time. It won't be like when we could take a break every twenty minutes. It could be three hours, but if you really can't stay there that long, we'll break when you need to." "No second cup of coffee tomorrow," she'd said. I made sure she had sunblock on her shoulders, arms, and back before we got her posed on the lift the way I wanted her. Kate and I went to our platform and elevated it to where we'd be working. Bree, Melody, Whitney, Lissa, Allison, and the trio surrounded Wendy at her platform and we were ready. Grandpa Ken hit four strong strokes and the drummers were in motion. What a sound! I could feel the wall vibrate as we reached out to touch it, to absorb the rhythms and the spirit. Kate and I turned to look at Wendy. Bree operated the controls to raise her platform to the level where we wanted it and sat next to Wendy so they could talk. Wendy was perfect. The sleeping bag covered her legs and up to her waist. She had a blanket clutched to her front and an end tossed over one shoulder. She clutched her stuffed tiger to her breast and looked up as if startled. And she wore her collar. I snapped several reference shots from our position, in case we had to work longer than Wendy could stand. Then Kate and I went to work on the ultimate focal point of the series. ------- Chapter 48 Nothing is ever as easy as it is. We had five straight days of rain and wind so strong that we couldn't lift the awning for fear of having it torn off the building. I met with Doc once and spent some time on the courts, but I was really worried about getting the wall done if the weather didn't break soon. And when I worry, I paint. I went to the studio which had not been used that much for painting since I'd been spending most of my time outside with a four-inch brush. I'd discovered it is hard to do a large-scale painting unless you scale up your tools as well. Our initial problems had been around using brushes that were too small, so the shading and gradations we'd been doing were too fine to be seen from fifty yards away. But in the studio, I stretched a new canvas, sized it, and began sketching in the image of Wendy that I'd used on the wall. I brightened the colors a little and was sure to highlight her hair, adding to the short strands she currently had. Her sleeping bag became silk sheets and I was lost in a world of drapery. Instead of a stuffed toy, she held a tiger kitten, its pink tongue stretched out to touch her cheek. I'd let the drapery drop a bit and showed the profile of her breast, painted from memory. After three days in the studio, Kate showed up to see what I was working on. Melody and Lissa were packing stock to take to National Singles. I scarcely noticed any of them as I had my headset on and was lost in Borodin. My player said "Prince Igor," but I was pretty sure I'd heard most of this music in a Broadway musical soundtrack that my dad has. It just made me think harem and paradise. "Odalisque," Kate said. I only saw her lips move and removed my headset. "Odalisque," she repeated. "Yeah," I said. "I guess so. The harem slave? Puts a whole new spin on it." "Are you going to exhibit it?" Melody asked. "No," I said. "This is a family piece." "Good," Lissa agreed. They went back to work and I continued puttering with the nearly finished painting without benefit of music. I stepped back and realized that Kate was still there at my shoulder. I turned to her and saw a tear leak from her left eye onto her cheek. "What is it, Kitten?" I asked softly. She worked her mouth open and closed a few time before she got her voice behind it. "I've tried not to be a burden, Tony," she started. "How could you even imagine such a thing?" I asked. "You are about as low-maintenance as they come. Don't ever think of yourself as a burden to me or any of us, Kitten." "But, I want to ask something from you and I've never done it and I don't know how," Kate spluttered. I laid down my brushes and took Kate over to the recliner I'd brought to the studio. She cuddled in my lap as I lifted the footrest. I saw Melody point and she and Lissa kissed, smiling at us. "Now, just relax and tell me what you want, lover. Anything I can give you I will. Anything." "I want ... It's so beautiful ... and I love her ... and ... will you give me that painting? I know that we'll have it in the house where we can all enjoy it, but ... please, Tony?" "Your wish is my command, damsel," I said. "I've a feeling that I will have commissions of at least two other women to add to our collection this summer, and I just know they are going to be claimed as well." "We do like our toys, don't we?" Kate sniffed. "I think this is a little more than a toy, darling. I know how close you are. You know, Wendy does talk to me, too," I said. "You mean you don't just tell her what to do?" Kate asked. "You know better than that. If you hear that in my voice, please warn me. I'm trying so hard to be what she needs without being a domineering bastard." "I'm so glad you could do it," Kate said. "I just couldn't. It's so contrary to everything I think and believe. But Mama says I need to understand that people are different and even those we love might not conform to our image of them. If it weren't for you, Tony, I'd have lost her." "Now we are all together," I said. "Diamonds," Kate said softly. "What?" "She's the Queen of Diamonds, isn't she?" Kate asked. "That's what Mama Gypsy said." "She made me study the cards, but I never really believed in them. But she used them to talk about different personalities as well as mystical things," Kate said. "She's different, but she has the same rank as all the other queens. It isn't like she's queen of the slaves or the servants, but she is a queen who serves." Kate looked into my eyes and I saw her slowly break into her beautiful wide smile. "Thank you for making her your queen," Kate said. "Thank you for making all of us your queens." ------- By Sunday, I was pretty much in a panic. I'd spent all of Saturday in the gym and on the courts, absolutely pounding the ball. I'd taken on Allison, preparing her for her first National Singles championship. I'd taken on both Brent and Franklin as a team and pounded them. Lissa came on the court and we'd played for an hour-and-a-half never a point apart. I wasn't abstaining from sex, but I was so emotionally and physically frustrated that I couldn't contain myself. When Sunday dawned clear and fifty-four, I was off to the jobsite. I was on a lift and painting at seven in the morning. There were still two full focal points to complete and detail work all over the wall that I needed to work on. And now there was only Kate and me with an occasional hand from Doc. I wasn't going to make it. The dedication was just a week away. Kate joined me at nine and complained that she didn't know I'd come early and she would have joined me. We didn't work together, but chose to split the two focal points between us. Neither of us came close to finishing, even though I worked until seven when the light started going wonky. I went home filled with dread. I knew what was going to happen and I desperately wanted it not to happen. There was no way around it. ------- "So, unlike last year when you got there too late to get practice court time, Tony, we're leaving tomorrow afternoon and will have all day Tuesday to get settled and get our practice in," Lissa said. Allison and I were listening to her at the dining table, but Lissa didn't notice that I wasn't really there. "We'll have our full booth set up on the practice day," Melody said. "I have more outfits than we could possibly need and we're set to take pre-orders on our warm-ups. Ektelon is really making a big deal out of Ice Queen Knights by Ektelon and plans to sell an outfit to every male player registered. They're really excited about the reception we're getting." "So there are only going to be three entries from the school, but it isn't technically a college competition. Brent and Franklin are going to meet elite level competitors and we can only hope that they can win a couple of matches before they're eliminated. You two are our stars as far as the product goes." "Lissa?" "And with Bree and me working the booth, we can positively sell out all our stock if you win," Melody almost screamed. Kate sat across from me and could see what was coming. She took hold of Melody's and Lissa's hands. "Liss," I repeated. She looked at me. "I can't go." That was all it took. Getting those words out was the forerunner to having me curled up in a ball on the floor bawling like a baby. "I can't go. I can't go," I repeated. My lovers and my friends surrounded me and lifted me up. We all stumbled to the sofa and plopped down with the seven girls surrounding me. "Shh. Shh. Tell us about it, lover," Melody soothed. I was still curled up in a ball on the sofa. "If it hadn't rained this week, I'd be done. But the dedication is a week from tomorrow and I can't finish tomorrow morning and then take the rest of the week to go to Nationals. I have to stay and finish. I can't go," I squalled. I was on the U.S. National Team, set to travel this summer to the Worlds in the Dominican Republic. But I wasn't going to make the top singles competition in the sport in America. I could see that the only ones who truly understood were Lissa and Whitney. Whitney was a month away from the National Track Meet and was trying to make the U.S. Olympic team. I just wanted to play Brian Summers. It was too bad. I'd play again next year, but I wasn't going to the National Singles competition tomorrow. ------- I slipped out of bed Monday morning before anyone else woke up. I didn't shower or shave. I just put my paint clothes on and went to the kitchen. Wendy handed me a cup of coffee. It was only five-thirty Monday morning. "How did you know?" I asked, giving her a hug. "I knew last night that you'd try to sneak out this morning. I've been up since four waiting," she said softly. "I wanted to make sure you went to work with coffee and breakfast, master." "Wendy, thank you for taking care of me. I'm the one that's supposed to take care of you," I said. "You are, Tony. You are painting a beautiful big picture for me. Thank you." ------- Kate was a little pissed that I didn't wake her to come with me again this morning, but we both took a break at noon to give a send-off to Melody, Lissa, Bree, Allison, Brent, and Franklin. It was all I could do to watch them leave without me. They understood, or said they did, but they were all as disappointed as I was. At least, since this wasn't an intercollegiate event, I couldn't lose my scholarship by not participating. Kate and I worked together on one focal point for the afternoon and it was pretty well completed by the time we collapsed Monday evening. There was just one more focal point to complete and then all the tidying up of the whole thing to finish this week. Hopefully, we'd be able to drop the awning by Saturday afternoon and keep the whole thing hidden until the dedication on Monday, but we still had a lot to do before then. Tuesday we finished laying in the final focal point. Wednesday we started doing touch-up and detail. That might have been the hardest part. We'd walk out into the field, about half-way down and survey the wall, marking sections on our sketchbooks that needed work. Then we had to locate the rendering for that section, compare it to the big rendering, and scramble up our lifts to paint frantically for an hour. After that, we'd head back out into the field to look at what we'd done, mark the next section and repeat the process. That went on for three days. Fortunately they were dry. There was a little light mist on Saturday, but we examined the wall one final time and dropped the awning at about three o'clock in the afternoon. Maintenance had already been out to erect a platform for the dedication and risers for the chorus that was going to sing on Monday. There was a big dispute because the orchestra and chorus wanted a portable bandshell erected that would have blocked the painting from a significant part of the audience. They were finally put on the side of the field, which didn't please anyone, but got them out of the way. It seemed like everyone wanted something this weekend and since it was a holiday weekend, no one wanted to work or to give up anything they thought they should have. The city wanted us to take down the funding meter next to our work shed that showed we'd raised over a quarter million dollars so far. They thought it would give the wrong impression, telling people that we had to raise funds to help the homeless instead of having the city allocate funds. I was hauled into meetings on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights to go over everything from where people would sit to who got to speak at what point. There was a surprise for me there as I looked down the schedule of speakers and after the college presidents, the mayor, and some old guy who supposedly heads the Gates foundation but who isn't named Gates, I saw that Wendy was scheduled to give the dedication speech on behalf of Tent City. She hadn't mentioned it at all. Holy shit! On top of the general scheduling and logistics, Northwest Folklife was still going on at Seattle Center and the chances that we'd attract any kind of crowd or that anyone would actually be able to get to our campus were remote. By the time Saturday came around and we dropped the awning, I was truly sick of it all and wished I had gone to Nationals. In spite of my absence there, that was going well. Allison was dominating the Women's Singles Division A and Elite Elimination, Franklin and Brent had made it to semi-finals in Men's Doubles Division A, and Lissa had changed her registration at the last minute from mixed doubles and was playing in the Women's Singles Open like a demon. Melody and Bree gave us nightly reports on sales and it seemed like that, at least, was not suffering from my absence. Whitney dumped National Singles, but was also in California competing for a berth at the National Track Meet. This was big for her and would go for the rest of the weekend. She'd had a qualifying run in the 100 meter hurdles and even though she didn't win the race, the time was fast enough to qualify her. She wasn't confident that she'd pull off a qualifier in the 400 meter hurdles, but we were all waiting anxiously to see if she'd added enough to her long-jump to qualify. ------- Saturday night, I came home for a cold dinner. Wendy was working and Kate took the trio to watch Amy skate—which I should have done, but got hung up with the school maintenance people until eight trying to move the paint shed and get the lifts back to their proper storage facilities. Clarice showed up to rescue the big rendering which was back at the shed after the gala. We had to empty all the paint out of the shed so the forklifts could get it moved. We had to carry all the paint to the new shed location and restock it. The guys from the paint company would be out on Tuesday to take it all away unless I saw places that needed touch-up. So I came home alone and scavenged in the refrigerator for some cold roast beef and horseradish. I didn't even bother to make a salad. I was at such a loss for what to do that I actually poured myself a glass of wine. I was pretty much painted out and didn't feel like working anymore. I didn't have any schoolwork. I hadn't started a book to read in months. I sat in my big chair with my wine and just stared into space. This is stupid. I reached over and grabbed one of the drums from next to the fireplace and started a light rhythm. As I got relaxed, I dragged the big drum in front of me and the congas. I discovered that I could make some pretty cool sounds on the big drum with my hands instead of the mallets and added the bongos between my knees. God knows how long I was at it. When you're drumming, you can just purge your mind of everything and become one with the rhythm. How Zen. I don't know when Kate and Wendy came in. It must be late. I just happened to look up and they were both dancing in the living room, apparently as caught up in the rhythms as I was. Wendy was wearing her collar. Kate had a thin veil wrapped around her head and over her face. The end dangled between her breasts. That was all the two girls wore. My meditation began to take on new forms. Three naked teenagers danced behind them, lost in the rhythms and their own world. I felt terribly overdressed. Kate and Wendy were so sensuous together that the distraction of the teens was soon lost. They weren't overtly sexual, though there were a few caresses and rubs. They were dancing together and lost in each other. Wendy reached in to kiss Kate, but of course the veil was over Kate's mouth. Wendy's solution was to catch the dangling end of the veil in her teeth and unwrap Kate. Even this proved a slow and sensual activity ending with the veil wrapped around Wendy's face. The two started giggling and embraced, pulling the veil away. I took that as my cue to give four strong beats and end. I set the drums aside and leaned back in my chair to watch the two delicious ladies approach and perch on my lap together. The teens called "Goodnight" as they left the room to go downstairs. Kate and Wendy began undressing me, even as they sat on my lap, sometimes wrapping the veil around two or all three of us to pull us into a kiss. "You smell," Kate said. "Ew. So do we. Let's go take a shower." They led me into the master bath and we showered for a long time, teaming up two-on-one to shampoo and condition hair, delighting in the touch and feel of each other as we prepared for bed. I spent the night making love with my Kitten and her Tiger. I loved each of them, loved them together, lay with them while they loved each other, and played as they loved me. It was the first time since our new relationship began that the three of us made love, and we stayed tangled together until noon on Sunday. ------- "Hey, Tiger," I said as I petted her hair. It was about two inches long now and stuck out in odd places after our night and day in bed. "Don't you think it's about time to get your stripes back?" Wendy sat up with her eyes wide open staring at me. "Really?" I nodded. "Kate, will you help me stripe my hair. Please?" "I can, but I'm not good at that kind of thing like Melody is. Don't you want to wait for her?" Kate asked. "I can't wait. Please, please?" "How about Donna?" I suggested. They looked at me blankly. "The woman who cuts my hair. I'll bet she's in a Quick-Cuts and could do it." "Really?" Kate asked. "She does women, too?" "Oh, definitely." "But ... um ... what about ... my ... uh ... other stripes?" Wendy asked, glancing down at her pubic hair. "I have it on good authority that she does that, too," I laughed. That was all it took and we were up and out of the house in minutes. ------- We met the rest of our crew at the airport at nine o'clock that night. It was a good thing we had the Mazda as no one wanted to wait at home. We left the airport with Melody, Kate, Wendy, Bree, Allison, and Lissa piled into the car. We'd heard that Whitney would not be coming back from her meet until early Monday. Our results from National Singles were pretty good. Brent and Franklin placed fourth in their division. Allison had made a slam dunk in the Women's Elite Singles and took the Women's A Division title. Lissa had fallen to pro Rhonda Rajsich in the Open, but of course Rhonda had been unable to conquer the invincible Paola Longoria in the Pro Division. The sum result was that Allison, Lissa, and I would all be on the U.S. Team at World's in the Dominican Republic this summer. What a high. Melody and Bree had sold out of all our spring stock. We now had nothing to ship and nothing to sell. The studio was going to stink again soon as she started restocking Ektelon and preparing fabric for our fall collection. "You've got your stripes back!" Melody exclaimed. "Upstairs and down," Wendy laughed. "We saved Tony's reputation today at Quick-Cuts," Kate said. "None of us met him before the gala, so that big barber, Howard, thought he'd lost all his girlfriends. You should have seen him when I told him there were seven of us now, but we had to get dressed up that day as well." "That's the first time I've really been afraid to have him use that razor around my throat," I laughed. "He kept trying to see into the back room where Donna was working on Wendy." We all arrived in the big bedroom and I started counting. We really need a bigger bed. Lissa solved the problem by dragging the mattress from the guest room into the master bedroom and flopping it on the floor beside the big bed. Then in a magnanimous gesture, she and Allison volunteered to take the floor as they dragged me down there with them. "We competed today," Lissa said. "And had already checked out of our room so we could go to the airport," Allie joined in. "We are so horny!" ------- Why the fuck was I so nervous? My part of the thing was over. I painted a huge fucking wall. We raised a quarter million dollars. It was all a success. All I had to do was shake hands with some folks and thank all the volunteers. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't button my shirt. Fortunately, Lissa stepped in and helped. Oh, God! Everyone was going to see it. Lissa chose my clothes. I didn't even know where they came from, but they were suitably artistic. This wasn't the time for a tux. I wore a black collarless shirt with a black-on-black embroidered design down the panel that covered the buttons. She put me in a black suit that fit like a glove. I seemed to remember having worn this once before, but I don't remember when. Of course, she finished it off with my funky black Converse hightops. When I looked in the mirror, I looked like an artist. "Tony," Kate said, running into the bedroom, "Wendy needs you." "Okay, I'll be right there." "Tony, she needs you." Oh shit! I turned around and Kate handed me Wendy's collar as I passed her. I ran downstairs and didn't even knock when I got to Wendy's door. She was standing in the middle of the room in a simple black dress with tears running down her cheeks. I rushed over and caught her in my arms and hugged her. "What is it, Tiger?" I asked. "Why are you crying?" "I'm scared. They want me to talk ... to everyone." "But you've been planning this all week, haven't you, Tiger?" She nodded her head against my chest. "I thought I could do it but I can't. I don't live there anymore. I have a home and friends. Why do the people there want me to talk?" she sobbed. "Because they know you and respect you," I said. "And you are their hopes and dreams, Tiger. How many of them will ever have a permanent home like you do? How many will have the courage and determination to go to college or to get a job?" "They want to," Wendy said. "I know. They do want to. That's why they asked you to speak on their behalf. You are their dream," I said. "Now look at me, Tiger." Wendy immediately straightened up and looked me in the eye. I raised the collar. "This would look great with that dress, don't you think?" I asked. She nodded. I reached out and put it around her neck. I could see the tension drain from her body. "Thank you, master," she breathed. "I'll do it for you." ------- Wendy and I had to sit on the dais with all the dignitaries. She never let go of my hand. Sometimes it was painful. My family—all of them—sat in the front row with many residents of Tent City and all the volunteers seated in the next three rows. When Lissa came back from her run to the airport she not only had Whitney, but Mom and Dad and Beth. The orchestra played some kind of overture that I didn't recognize as people gathered together. A priest gave an invocation. President Haywood welcomed everyone and talked for a few minutes. Thankfully, not too long. I'd looked at the program and the number of speakers on the list would keep us there all day long if they each talked ten minutes. He gave the podium to Doctor Watts, president of PCAD. Then, of course, the Mayor spoke. And spoke. And spoke. I have no idea what he talked about, but it sure took a long time for him to say whatever it was. They called him Mayor McSchwinn because he always rode a bicycle. Nice guy, but what a talker. The guy from the Gates foundation presented a nice check to Eric and the committee. Then President Haywood took the podium again and called me to stand with him. "Tony Ames is the artist who painted he work we are about to reveal behind us this morning," he said into the microphones that were blasting our words out to the public. There were two television stations with microphones on the podium, too. "Tony, tell us about the project and what has resulted." "Thank you, Doctor Haywood. Doctor Watts, Mayer Mc..." I almost said McSchwinn. "Mayor McGinn and all you friends who have come to this dedication." I looked at everyone there and read from my notes. I said how much money had been raised to "help the homeless," recognized the volunteers, thanked my advisor and my agent, said I was happy to be at a school that had a Social Activism committee and that I was glad to see all the people from Tent City 3 that I knew in the audience. Then I said thank you and turned to sit down. "Tony, there's one other thing," Doctor Haywood said, calling me back to the podium. "Can you tell us what the name of the work is that we are about to see?" That caught me by surprise. Shit! Why didn't you warn me I needed to name the damned thing? I thought hard, but nothing short and catchy came to mind. One phrase kept coming back, though. I looked out in the audience to see Beth sitting with Mom and Dad and Allison. She'd flown out from Boston just to see this unveiled. I knew for sure what it was called. "Um ... They say a work of art should have a short pithy title, but I don't have that for this. But it does have a title. It's simple and reflects my personal philosophy and that of the committee and university that commissioned it. The title is 'Leaving the world a better place than we found it.' I hope this reflects that sentiment." I was done. I could sit down and relax now. I held Wendy's hand as we were all led off the podium to a row of chairs in front of my family. I almost started to laugh when the orchestra started playing Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss. Most people know it as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. As the orchestra played, the awning was lifted to expose the wall. Criminy! I was crying again. As I glanced around, everyone was. They only did the opening bit. The whole piece is like hours long but "Sunrise" is only a couple minutes. It really hit people. Just getting those timpani rolling in the background was something else. And watching my own work revealed to such a strong piece of music was humbling. I turned around to see my mom and dad behind me and they were both crying, too. When it was over and the painting was revealed there was a lot of applause. President Haywood and President Watts led Wendy and me back to the podium and stood us between them while the audience applauded some more. There were at least a hundred rows of folding chairs stretching the length of the intramural field. It sounded like a football game. Doctor Watts approached the podium. The noise calmed down. "There is one more person on our program today, selected by the residents of Tent City 3 to be their spokesperson and to dedicate this mural. I'm going to ask Tony to return to the podium to introduce our last speaker," she said. I approached the microphones again and brought Wendy with me. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce a person that I've known for a little more than a year now. When I started sitting at the student service tent, I didn't know that my friend was living there. She was a homeless refugee from domestic abuse. She saw Tent City as a place where she could live safely while she got her life together and got squared away in college. She was burned in the bombing of the encampment and ran into my arms while she was still in flames. Since then, she has become a part of my family and my household. We love her. I want to introduce you to the most courageous woman I have ever met—Miss Wendy Martin." Wendy hugged me and I nodded to her as the applause quieted. "I didn't understand why the residents of Tent City 3 wanted me to speak for them this afternoon," Wendy began. "I don't live there anymore. They didn't ask me to speak because I was smarter than they were or better in any way. They didn't ask me to speak because the madman that I fled was the one to bomb our home. Maybe they asked me to speak because I'm in college. You know how students are." There was a little laughter and Wendy looked at me. I nodded, trying with all my might to tell her she was doing well. "Really, they asked me to speak because I am hope." There was a glass of water on the podium and Wendy took a drink. "We aren't like you. We aren't doctors or lawyers or software engineers. We aren't dock workers or contractors or bus drivers. We don't run the local deli, collect your garbage, or write parking tickets. Some of us did once. Some of us were productive citizens. We owned homes, ran businesses, took children to Little League, drove cars, had mortgages, were married, respected, and loved. But something happened. It was something we just couldn't get over. "I won't lie to you. For some of us, what happened was alcohol or drugs. For some it was layoffs, abuse, illness, or depression. For some of us, it was simply not being able to see any other way to live. For some of us, it was the last hope that we could rise again. Talk to Frank about wanting to get back in practice as a dentist. Talk to Lisbet about wanting to have her children with her again. Talk to Crazy Joe about how one day he's going to walk right back down to the docks and get his job back—as soon as he finds out if the Mariners are going to pick up his option. "We're not like you, but we have dreams. We have hopes. We have a community where we can live independently with just a little help." Wendy turned and looked at the wall. "That's me over there with the stuffed tiger," she said pointing at her picture. "That's Emily who never said much, but always had a book she'd found. God rest her soul. Over there, that's Paulie who was sober most of the time and always had a joke that he'd heard. I think he hung out in the bus tunnel just to listen for people telling jokes so he could pass them on. He didn't hurt anyone. He didn't deserve to die for being homeless. You can't see him because he's behind the tent over there, but that's Sal. He was close to eighty years old. He's probably hiding behind that tent peeing because his diabetes was so bad he could never make it to the Honey Bucket. He said he thought he had a son in Seattle, but he hadn't found him yet. He never made it out of his tent that night. "We're not like you, but you are us. You are all the hopes and dreams that we carried into our tents at night. You are all the people we wanted to be. I got hurt in the fire, but I ran straight into the arms of friends—real friends. Friends who would accept me for what I am and hope for what I might become. Tony and Bree were there and put out the flames in my hair. Kate was there holding my hand before ambulance arrived. Melody and Lissa opened their home to me and gave me an example to live by. Deb and Saul took me in at Christmas and showed me what it was like to be part of a real family. They got to me before it was too late. Tony and Kate and the crew painted this beautiful wall for me—for all of us—to remind us that no matter who we are or how helpless we feel, we have the power to leave this world—or at least our little corner of it—a better place than we found it." There was not time for people to applaud. As soon as Wendy turned away from the podium to look at me, the combined orchestra and chorus began the Dies Irae movement of Mozart's Requiem. Wendy collapsed in my arms as we sat between the college presidents and both of them were crying as they hugged us. The four of us wept all the way through the nine minutes of the piece. ------- We were mobbed by people after the dedication. I couldn't believe that Mom and Dad were there and Lexi and Beth. All the people who volunteered. Doc Henredden and even Doctor Delfin and Professor Strait. Then there were the news cameras who wanted to interview Wendy and me. Kate got drawn into some of the interviews when one of the cameramen recognized her as the one who was painting with me. Bree, bless her heart, couldn't charge admission for the dedication, but she made sure volunteers were at every gate where people were exiting to collect donations. It was more than an hour after the ninety minute program ended before we were able to start moving toward our own cars. I looked up and was just in time to catch two wild little boys as they hurdled into my arms. And then Doctor Watts surprised us by telling me that there was a reception at PCAD for all of us. The reception turned out to be dinner and there were at least a hundred people there who all wanted to talk individually to each of us who had been involved. The Board of Regents at SCU and the Trustees of PCAD were all at the reception dinner for everyone who was involved in the painting and our families. ------- I had four days with my family. Because of our full house, everyone was staying in a hotel, but they were all at the house every day. Kate and I had to spend almost all day both Wednesday and Thursday at Gallery 243 for the installation of our artwork. Jonathan Reichman was up for the week escorting Allison to each of his theaters and introducing her to the directors she would be working with. He also brought Diva with him for our exhibit. Clarice collected the portraits of Sharon Reeves and the Singhs and then agreed to exhibit my painting of Wendy as The Odalisque with a sold sign on it. The centerpiece of my paintings was the rendering of the wall. Clarice, the gallery, and I had all agreed that whatever it brought in would be donated to the homeless fund at SCU. The Seattle Art Museum had place a $15,000 reserve bid on it. There wasn't much time for socializing. It was nice to have the family there for meals when I could get home, but getting the jobsite clear and our artwork installed was a full-time job for Kate and me. Thursday, Kate's family arrived from Oregon and parked their camper on the RV pad next to the house. That night, we took everyone to the Gallery for our friends and family preview. ------- "I've been led to believe that you have created some works that are so far beyond what is on display here that we won't see them for twenty years," Bob Bowers said as we toured around gallery. "Oh, I've got some things that will be coming out before that," I said. "That piece titled Pet? It's part of a work that's as big as the mural rendering and will be the center of the next exhibit." I was pretty damned proud of the painting I'd done of Amy, Sonia, and Rio and managed to get it in the catalogue for this show. "And you, Katarina," Bob continued as he turned to Kate, "have an amazing hand. I wouldn't be surprised if that painting of the jeweler's hands brought in more than any of Tony's paintings. It's stunning. Who is the model?" "My mother," Kate said. "She's right over there. She'd be happy to tell you all about what she's doing in the painting." It wasn't the same piece as the one that was over Gypsy's mantel, but Kate had done another piece featuring her mother in her workshop that was more than stunning. You could see the love and care that she was taking in pounding out a silver choker. I had to wonder how Kate had even managed to pose that picture. ------- "Two youngsters have burst on the Seattle art scene and are making as much impact as Kurt Cobain and Nirvana had on Seattle music. If you miss this exhibition, you miss the future of Seattle art," Mom read from the newspaper on Friday morning. Bob Bowers' review of our opening was filled with accolades. It included the history of our work back to the Rhapsody Suite and my mural at PCAD last year. Overall it made it sound like if people missed the opening tonight, they'd be SOL. If I understood Clarice, though, the opening was by invitation only and everyone else would be held outside the gallery and admitted just one or two at a time as other people left. It would be a zoo. Kate's probably hoping so. "I think I'm going back to bed now," I said. "Wake me tomorrow morning when it's all over, 'kay?" I left the room. I really did want to sleep through the whole thing. I remember how excited I was last July when I talked to Clarice about it the first time. It was almost a year later now and so much had happened that I really didn't care anymore. I wanted to hide my head under the covers and just sleep through it. "Lover? Nap time is over, sweetie." I opened my eyes slowly. I was sandwiched between Melody and Lissa. What a nice way to wake up. "Where's Kate?" I asked. "She's down with Wendy. I think she feels the same way you do. A lot of attention has been focused on you instead of her, though. As good as Kate's work is, I don't really know if it was a good idea to have you sharing a debut exhibition," Lissa said. "I hope she doesn't feel like she's second fiddle to you." "Oh geez, no!" I moaned. "I'd never have even finished the wall if it wasn't for Kate. I need to go to her." "Here," Melody said. "Take your clothes with you. You can dress together and commiserate." I went to Wendy's room and knocked. Wendy came to the door and looked to see who it was before she opened the door fully. I saw relief in the smile she gave me. Inside the room, Kate was sitting in just her panties, staring at the mirror without moving. Wendy pushed me toward her and smiled at me as I passed. "Hey, Kitten," I said. "Want to run away to South America with me?" "Yes please," she sighed, leaning back against me. "Can we take our lovers with us and hide out down there for a few years?" "Sounds like a dream come true." I leaned over and kissed the top of her head, massaging her shoulders. She touched my hands and pulled them down her front until I'd cupped her breasts. She sighed. "I still remember the first time," she said, leaning back against me. "I will never forget, but you can always remind me." We stayed like that for a minute, looking at each other's eyes in the mirror. "What are you wearing tonight, love?" "I thought I'd toss on a t-shirt and my bib overalls," Kate said. "Going to call the maximum amount of attention to yourself, huh?" "Oh. I didn't think about that. Maybe the trio would all dress the same. I suppose I should wear the dress that Melody made for me. Help me put it on?" I picked the purple cocktail dress up from the bed and held it. "This looks familiar." "She used the dress I wore to the party last spring as a pattern but dyed the fabric to match my hair," Kate said. "She's so sweet." I zipped up the back of the silky dress then kissed her bare shoulder. "I can't wait for you to take it off of me." I turned to kiss her—so soft and sweet and gentle. It took me a minute to get my clothes on and both of us to put our shoes on. ------- I guess you'd have to say that after the dedication of the wall, the gallery opening was almost a let-down for me. Poor Tony. I got glad-handed a lot and Clarice was taking inquiries for both Kate and me to do various commissions. My oils and acrylics were drawing higher bids than Kate's charcoals and pastels, but her oils were creating a real stir. We've got such different styles that there didn't seem to be a lot of cross-over between the people who wanted her paintings and the people who wanted mine. They had priced things differently than what I thought was going to happen. Clarice and I had talked about the value of our paintings and placed them in the two-to-five thousand range, depending on the medium, size, and subject. My two commissioned portraits had been done for between twenty-five hundred and three thousand, so I figured that would be a good expectation. But the Gallery had set the prices that we determined as something called "reserve bids." If a patron wanted to buy a piece, she had to make an offer that was at least as high as the reserve bid. If another patron offered more, then there was an auction. The auction was held in the gallery director's office and I saw a steady stream of people going in. Occasionally a gallery runner would come out and place a "sold" tag next to a painting. ------- "I'm Neil Stedman," a guy introduced himself, shaking both Kate's and my hands. I thought he spent a little too long holding on to Kate, but she didn't seem to mind. He was about six-two with movie star good looks and I hated him already before he finished introducing himself. "I'm a promoter from New York. I'd like to represent you two and get you some bigger events than this." "We have an agent," I said. "That's great for the Seattle market if this is where you want to stay," Neil said. "It's obvious that you don't have a good grasp of how the larger art world works, so we should have a talk. If you continue to paint like this, we could get you into one of the big houses in New York with exclusive representation. I'll be in town over the weekend, so why don't we get together tomorrow." "Thank you," Kate said, taking his card. I took the card and shoved it in my pocket without looking at it. "What's your number, Katarina?" he asked. Before I could stop her she'd rattled it off. He flipped open an iPhone and entered it. "Tony?" he asked. I quickly gave him Clarice's number. I was looking around frantically and caught Lissa's eye. She swooped in to the rescue. "You need to hydrate, lovers," she said as she positioned herself between Kate and Neil. "There are about a hundred more people who want to say hi to you." ------- "Was he for real?" Kate asked as we snuggled into bed. We'd opted to all join together on the mattresses in the big bedroom. Kate, Lissa, Melody, and I were on the big bed, and to my surprise, our entourage, including Beth and Allison, were all snuggled up together on the mattress on the floor. It was almost like our adventure in Nebraska at Christmas. "Guys like that are predators," Lissa said. "Jack and I encountered them all the time when I was modeling. They call themselves various things—promoters, agents, representatives, publicists, and anything else they think will get them either your business or into your panties. Let Clarice handle him." "I wish I hadn't given him my phone number," Kate said. Our phones rang at the same time. Kate looked at hers, but before she could answer it, Melody hit reject. I answered mine and Clarice started in the middle of a sentence, as usual. "Target was exceeded. And don't talk to the fake rep from New York. I've already had him run and he has a reputation. So here are the numbers," she said. I switched her to speaker phone. "All but three pieces are sold. That's three pieces between the two of you. Since the only offers were under the reserve bid, they will still be for sale at the agreed prices at the gallery. Congratulations, you two." "Wow! Thanks, Clarice," Kate said. "That's great news," I said. "I know you have me on speaker phone. Do you want the net broadcast to the room?" she asked. "Um ... We'll probably tell everyone, but why don't you text us the number and we'll let people know, okay?" I said. "Sure, Tony. It's on its way. I just want to say congratulations again, you two. You are on your way to great things. Now get back to your ... whoever is with you ... and enjoy yourselves." Clarice hung up and both Kate's and my phones buzzed with text messages. We looked at the messages and then up at each other. I know our mouths were wide open. "Tony? Does yours say the same as mine?" Kate squeaked. We traded phones. Kate's phone rang again and I rejected the call from the New York number. This was going to be a real pain. But the numbers in our text messages were the same. "Well?" Melody asked. "I think we're finally able to contribute to the household income with something other than our scholarship housing allowances," I said. We handed our phones to Melody and Lissa and they looked at the numbers. You know, Melody can dance and squeal even when she's in bed. "Are you going to share any of that with the party on the floor?" Bree asked. Kate's phone rang again and I saw Melody reject the call then do something else on Kate's phone with a determined grin on her face. She handed the phone back to Kate and just said, "There. Blocked him." "Well, there's one bit of information that concerns you, Bree," I said. "You might even want to contact Eric and the rest of the committee." "What?" "An anonymous donor bought the rendering for the mural and donated it to Seattle Art Museum," I said. "Wonderful!" Bree shouted. "Yeah," I answered. "He paid $50,000." There was silence in the room for all of three seconds before everyone piled onto the big bed, jumping, screaming, kissing, and ... Whoa! Doing a lot of other things. Kate and I were at the bottom of a lot of loving. I don't know how we managed it, but I think all ten of us spent the night in the not-so-big-anymore bed. I fell asleep holding Kate with Melody on top of me and Lissa squeezing Kate closer to me. I was so exhausted and emotionally drained that I thought I'd sleep forever. And if that was so? What better way to spend eternity than having my lovers cuddled next to me in our home? ------- Author's Note: I want to thank Old Rotorhead for his conscientious editing of Triptych. He helped me find lots of errors before they became issues. Any that remain are strictly a result of my pig-headedness. And thank you for being an enthusiastic reader of Triptych and for all the email I've received—both encouraging and disparaging! Really. I love hearing what readers think. You can only tell so much from scores. So, I've got a deal for you. I've written a Prelude (yeah, that means teaser) to the next volume in the Model Student series: Prodigal. If you really want a sneak peek and are willing to be pissed off at me for the next two months until I start posting the new story, send me an email and request the Prelude. I'll send you a PDF. Don't forget to include your email address. I can't send a copy to Anonymous. I warn you now, though: it's a cliffhanger and you'll hate me for making you wait until April. But, there's a side benefit. I'll also send you an email when I start posting Prodigal here on SOL and have released Triptych part 2 under the title Odalisque in eBook form on Kindle and Nook. You'll be the first to know. Again, thank you for reading this tome. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. –Devon Layne ------- The End ------- Posted: 2012-04-20 Last Modified: 2013-01-29 / 11:51:16 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------