07/05/02

"You though of everything about this place, didn't you?", she asked as she scrubbed my back (oh, ecstasy!).

"Probably not - but then, if I did forget something, I haven't noticed it yet, either."

A bit later, when she started to wash her hair, I asked if I could do it - she had a luxurious mane that went well past her shoulders, slightly curly, and almost brick red in color. She readily agreed, and I spent the next few minutes savoring how soft and thick it was, even with the shampoo rinsed out of it.

When we were both satisfied at how well we'd cleaned each other, she shut the water off, and we got out to dry off, using the thick, heavy cotton (Turkish?) towels I favored. As she was drying me off, she asked "What kind of lubricant was that? I was afraid that it was going to, uh, be with me for a while, but it washed right off in the shower."

"Oh, it's water-soluble. I've tried the petroleum-based stuff, but like you say, it tends to stay around longer than I like, so I went with the other."

When we were both dry, and after she'd borrowed Kelly's hair dryer, we were both ready to leave the bathroom. When we did, she saw that I'd cleaned things up a bit, and quickly offered to change the sheets - "I wouldn't want to use them after someone else left them like that, and I'm not going to do it to them!". I started to get them, but she didn't hesitate to ask me where they were, and then tell me to go on into the den - she'd be there is a jiffy. I liked her attitude, and sense of responsibility, and did as she said.

When I entered the den alone, all of them looked behind me, for Robyn. I told them that she'd stayed behind for a little bit, to clean up - without specifying who or what was being cleaned up. They accepted it, and Kelly and Susan made room for me on the couch, between them.

Once I was seated, Jan asked if I was hungry or thirsty. I admitted to a little of both, and when she started for the kitchen, added that Robyn might be, too. Jan simply gave me the Goober look, and said "Of course!" before continuing on her way. Having been thoroughly put in my place, I simply sat back and listened to the rest of them as they chatted - and found out that Sandra had found out about girls with Kelly while Susan, Candice, and Jan had been talking and trying to ignore them.

A couple minutes later, I heard the tinkling of glass as Jan brought in a tray of sodas, a beer (apparently for me), and a couple of sandwiches. A few seconds later, Robyn came in, as well. Jan told her that the other sandwich was hers - I'd already latched on to one, and taken a big bite out of it - and that there were plenty of drinks left, to just help herself. Kelly opened the beer, and when I'd swallowed the bite of sandwich I'd taken, handed it to me, and I thanked her.

All of us sat around in the den like that while Robyn and I refueled and refreshed ourselves. The others mostly chatted among themselves, but didn't hesitate to include us at strategic moments - such as when we DIDN'T have food in our mouths. In general, it was as though Robyn and I had never left: they acknowledged that we were hungry and thirsty, and made accommodations for those facts; but otherwise seemed to take no notice of WHY we were hungry and thirsty. I wasn't worried about it, either way - I knew that Kelly and Jan were simply too courteous and polite to make anything of it, and suspected that Sandra would follow their example. As the seconds went by, I could visibly SEE Robyn relax as no one made any fuss about her presence or absence.

It was only when Robyn and I had finished eating that any of them bothered us - and even then, it was low-key: Kelly turned to ask Robyn something, and then looked at her again, more closely. In a quiet voice, and as Jan listened, Kelly asked her "You got it, didn't you?"

Robyn nodded, and that was all Kelly needed. She smiled at Robyn, as did Jan, and asked the question she'd meant to ask. A minute or so later, Sandra turned to Robyn, too, and paused. The two of them shared a Look, then a smile, and Sandra went back to what she'd been doing. So subtle was it that Susan and Candice never seemed to notice that any of it had happened.

As I listened to them, I noticed that Susan was casually pulling herself out of the conversation, and easing in my direction. I helped by moving over a bit under the guise of resettling myself on the couch, so that she wouldn't have to move as far, and could speak to me quietly without the others overhearing her. When she realized what I'd done, she smiled at me, and finally scooted over next to me. She looked around quickly, and saw that none of the others were going to take notice, and relaxed a bit as she leaned toward me.

"Dan, can I talk to you?"

"Of course. Would you like someplace a little quieter?"

"Uh, yeah, if we could."

"Sure, Come on."

I took her by the hand, and told the others "There's something I want Susan to help me with. We'll be back in a bit." The others simply nodded, and went back to what they were talking about.

To my eye, she was visibly relieved that I'd taken the onus for our absence; I led her back to the second bedroom, and sat down with her on the edge of the bed. She glanced toward the door, and I went over and closed it, then sitting back down so that we were not quite facing each other directly.

Taking her hand in mine, I gently asked her "What is it you want to talk about? Is something wrong?"

She smiled briefly, and said "No, there's nothing wrong, exactly."

"Then what's on your mind, then, exactly?", mildly teasing her.

She smiled at my efforts, and said "There's something that I think I have to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Uh, it's about tonight, and what you've been doing with Sandra and Robyn."

"Is it something you want to say, or something you want to know?", I asked.

She hesitated, and answered "It's something I have to say. But it's kind of awkward, and I don't want to hurt your feelings by saying it wrong." With that, her eyes started to tear up.

"Susan, it's okay, really. I'm a big boy, now" - a brief smile crossed her face - "and I don't hurt so easy. And you just told me it's awkward, so I know that it's something you might have to explain to me so I can understand it. I can see that it's something important to you, and I care about you, so I promise you that I'll listen to what you have to say very carefully, and not jump to any sudden decisions or anything, okay?"

She looked at me, and saw the concern I had for her, and nodded.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell me?", I asked.

She hesitated a moment, and said "While you were, uh, gone with Sandra and Robyn, the rest of us were in the den, talking about stuff. I mean, just all kinds of stuff; but when Candice or I asked, Kelly and Jan were also willing to talk to us about them, and you. And while they were talking, I realized that, as much as I thought I loved you, I don't think that I would be happy sharing you the way they do. And when I thought of that, I realized that I'm just not ready to, uh, do all of that. I mean, you're nice and kind and all of that; and I'm sure that everything they said about you being patient and gentle is true - but I'm just not *ready* for that, yet!" - and with that, she pretty much fell apart. Crying in deep, racking sobs, she all but collapsed in on herself, as if she was imploding.

I took her hand, holding it, and after a few seconds, she let me draw her onto my lap and into my arms, where i held her and softly stroked her back, and whispered reassurance to her, until she'd gotten herself under control again.

After a couple minutes, she indicated that she wanted to sit down again - I readily let her go, and when she left my arms, got up to get her some tissues - she was still crying and sniffling a bit. Handing them to her, I sat down again, no closer than I had been before: I wanted to make sure she knew and felt that I wasn't trying to make any moves on her.

I took her hand again, and started speaking to her, softly.

"Susan, that's okay. I understand, I really do. If you're not ready, then you're not ready - and that's the right choice for you, because YOU made it. I respect your choice, just like the others would, if they knew; and I'll honor it - I _have_ to, because I care about you, and want to do my best for you. I don't think there's anything wrong with you, or bad about you, because of that. If anything, I _admire_ you for having the courage to say that you're not ready. I'm not hurt by it, because I know I'm not so handsome that all the girls fall for me," - she smiled at that - "And I'm not upset by it because I would never, ever want you to do anything you weren't comfortable with, and happy about. Have I _ever_ touched you in a way that you weren't sure about?"

"No, of course not!"

"And I never will, unless YOU tell me it's okay, and let me because you WANT me to. NOBODY in this house is going to try to push you into something you don't want - EVER. If anything, I think every last one of us would be willing to fight to stop something like that! Shucks, I DID fight once, for that very reason, remember?"

She nodded, and I went on.

"Susan, ALL of us care for you, and want the very best for you. There isn't a one of us that would do ANYTHING to hurt you. I think that if you think back and remember what Jan and Kelly had to say, you'll realize that they were saying that the choices they made, and the things they did, were right for THEM. And if you think about it a little bit, you'll realize that they were NOT saying that the choices they made were the only ones, or that those choices were right for everyone."

She was quiet for a couple minutes as she thought about it, and finally nodded her head before saying "Yeah, that's right."

"So there's no reason for you to cry and be unhappy, unless it just makes you feel better." She smiled again, and I continued "We're your _friends_ here, all of us, including me, I hope - and we love you and care for you, and want the best for you. And that includes not doing or saying anything to make you think you HAD to do something you didn't want to do. Okay?"

She nodded, and when I opened my arms, willingly moved in to let me hug her in reassurance. And when she started to move back, I just as willingly let her go.

As she sat there, drying her tears, I asked her "Would you like to talk to Jan, or Kelly? Do you think they would be able to do anything to help?"

She thought for a moment, and said "Um, if Jan wanted to come in, I think I could talk to her."

"You've got it. I know she'd want to help you. I'll be back in just a second, okay?"

She nodded, and I headed into the den. Once I was there, I waited for a pause in the conversation, and asked "Jan, could I have a few minutes of your time?"

She nodded, and got up. When she got close to me, she could see the concern in my eyes, and quietly asked what was going on. I just shook my head, and led the way back into the bedroom where Susan was still sitting.

When we were inside, and I'd closed the door again, I told Jan - loudly enough for Susan to hear me - "Somehow, Susan got the idea or impression that she should, or was supposed to, make love with me."

Jan's eyes immediately went to Susan, who looked up and saw the pain and concern Jan felt for her.

I went on, telling her "I sat down with her, and explained that that simply wasn't the way things happen here, and that if she wasn't ready, then ALL of us would respect her choice, and not do ANYTHING to try to change her mind or push her into doing something she didn't want to do. She feels better about it, now, but when I asked her, she said she thought she could talk to you."

Jan turned back to look at me, and gave me a small nod of understanding before looking back to Susan.

I turned to Susan, and told her "Unless you really WANT to have me around, I'll go ahead and leave you alone. Anything you say to Jan is between you and her - and I'm sure you know by now that she isn't going to repeat it to anyone else, even me, without your permission."

With that, I paused a moment to give Susan the chance to tell me to stay, if she wanted to. She didn't, and I made my way back to the den, closing the bedroom door behind me.

When I got there, the others noted my return with their eyes, but didn't make anything of it. As their conversation went on, I contributed to it when I thought I had something to add, but otherwise simply kept myself ready to go back to Susan, when she was ready.

About the time I finished my beer, I noticed Jan out of the corner of my eye; and when I looked at her, she indicated that she wanted me to come back with her.

When we got to the bedroom, Jan sat next to Susan, and I sat a little farther away, facing them.

Jan spoke first, saying "We had a nice talk, and got things straightened out. She understands us, now, and she's okay with it. I don't know how, but there was some misunderstanding, and Susan started worrying that she was supposed to make love with you."

Here, Susan spoke up, saying "No, there wasn't a misunderstanding. I thought I loved him more than I did, and when I heard you two talking about him, and how you share him and all that, it just kind of made me crazy. And when that happened, I realized that I didn't love him as much as I thought; and then I wasn't as sure as I thought that I was ready to make love. But I had a hard time admitting it to myself, and tried to blame you when it wasn't your fault. None of you did _anything_ wrong; it was just me, making myself crazy. It's okay now, and I'm really sorry for getting you upset like that."

Jan took Susan's hand, but before she could say anything, I spoke up.

"Susan, it's okay. You didn't really upset us - we were just worried for you, because we care about you. Don't worry about it. Mistooks happen." - she smiled at the joke - "Nobody's dead, and nobody's bleeding, so it couldn't have been that big of a mistake, right?"

She smiled, and nodded.

"The bad thing was that you were upset. The good thing is that you had a nice cry. All things considered, I'd say that it evened out pretty good."

Here, Jan joined in, telling her "Susan, we're your _friends_. All of us, but especially Dan. If there's something bothering you, or something on your mind, _talk_ to us - we're always here to listen, and help, okay?"

Susan sniffled a bit, and nodded.

I slowly reached out, and put my hand under her chin, lifting it so I could look into her eyes. When she finally made eye contact with me, I told her "What Jan just said is exactly right, Susan. You can come to any one of us, at any time, and we'll be there for you, no matter what. Promise me you will?"

She saw the honesty and sincerity in my eyes, and I could see the reassurance and confidence as they took over her, and she smiled at me before saying "I promise."

I smiled back at her, and asked "Feel better now?"

"Yeah - but I'm pretty tired, too."

"If you want to, go ahead and lay down here, and go to sleep if you want. Nobody will bother you - except maybe to snuggle up with you.", Jan told her.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep! I'm just a wreck right now!"

I grinned and said "I'll bet I could help you get to sleep!"

"How?"

"I'd give you a nice massage - put you out like a light!"

"Ooooh, you are SO lucky! Do you know how much I have to beg him to give ME a massage? And he just ups and OFFERS to GIVE you one. He makes _me_ beg and grovel - for HOURS.", Jan exclaimed, exaggerating a bit (okay, a lot. I LIKE giving them massages).

"I... I'm not sure it would work.", Susan said.

"Wanna bet?", I asked, teasing her.

"Bet what?"

"I'll bet that if I give you a massage, you'll fall asleep. If I win, you give me a kiss tomorrow morning."

"And if you lose, what?", Susan asked, getting into the spirit.

"What do you want?"

"Uh.... How about breakfast in bed, whatever I want?"

"Deal. I win, I get a kiss. You win, any breakfast you want, in bed. Right?"

"That's the deal."

"You've got a bet. Better start getting your lips warmed up!", I teased.

Susan realized just how confident I was, and it seemed to shake her for a moment. It didn't help her any when she looked at Jan, who just grinned and told her "You are going to lose _so_ bad!"

When I started flexing my hands, to loosen them up, Jan said "I'll get some lotion - be right back." - and left.

I stood up, and told Susan "Go ahead an lay down on the bed, on your stomach. Leave your legs apart a little bit, and just let your arms lay at your sides. You can leave your eyes open, or close them, whichever you want."

She did, and looked at me, a bit apprehensively.

"Have you ever had a massage before?", I asked.

"Uh, no, not really. I mean, I've had people rub my shoulders, but not a real _massage_."

"Okay, then let me tell you what's going to happen. What I'm going to do is going to be like having someone rub your shoulders - only all over. I'll be touching your arms and legs and body and so on - but I will _not_ be touching you intimately. If you don't mind, I'll touch your breasts, too - but not sexually. If you would rather I didn't, I can do that too; it's not a problem."

"No, it's okay; I trust you, really.", she told me, as Jan came back in with the lotion, and closing the door.

"Thank you - for your trust. What I'm doing will feel good. It _might_ even feel, uh, sexy to you; but that's NOT what I'm trying to make you feel. All I'm trying to do is help you relax by rubbing some of the stress and tension out of your muscles, okay?"

Susan nodded, and looked at Jan, who told her "It's okay. He gives me and Kelly massages, too, and he _never_ makes them about sex. They feel so good that WE usually make them about sex, afterwards, but that's not why or how HE does them. If you're nervous or anything, I can stay here and keep you company if you want."

Susan told her "No, that's okay; I know he's not going to do anything with me. And having anybody else around for this would only make me _more_ nervous. But thanks for offering, though - I really appreciate it."

Jan smiled again, and said "Okay, that's cool." before handing me the lotion, and leaving us.

"Okay, then. Are you ready to start?", I asked her.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Her tone of voice, and body language, told me she wasn't, really; but I figured that was what I was there to take care of.

"Mabel!"

"Yes, sir?"

"Lights to ten percent, please."

The lights dimmed, so that Susan and I could still see each other, but the room wasn't _too_ bright.

"Sound effects, please. Ocean, volume zero point five."

A second later, the room was filled with the faint sounds of gentle seas falling on a beach.

"Volume down, point one, please."

The sound faded slightly, so that it was still audible, but more in the background.

"That's fine. Thank you."

"Thank you, sir."

I told Susan "The lights are down so you can fall asleep if you want, but I can still see well enough to give you the massage. The ocean noise is something that I included when I designed the system; sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep at night, and the sound of the ocean, or rain, or some other kind of background noise like that - it's called 'white noise', by the way - helps me relax."

She nodded her understanding, and then said "I really do trust you, you know."

"I know. And that's why I thanked you for your trust."

A moment later, she asked "I'm going to fall asleep, aren't I? Whether I really want to or not?"

"Probably. I mean, if you *really* didn't want to, you wouldn't, but otherwise, there's a pretty good chance."

"I think this is one bet I'm not going to mind losing.", she told me with a smile.

Moving over to stand near her head, I opened the lotion, and put a little on my hands so it warmed up a bit. As I was doing so, she looked up a me and asked "Jan said you give her and Kelly massages, too. Why?"

"Because sometimes they get tense, too, like about school and such. I love them, so I want to help them feel less tense, and I give them a massage. Besides, I like to touch them!", I added, with a grin.

"What do you mean, touch them? Jan said you didn't make your massages about sex."

"I don't. I said exactly what I meant: I like to touch them. The two of them don't feel _anything_ alike, to me. As I give them a massage, it gives me the chance to _feel_ them - how their skin is different on different parts of their bodies, and how their different muscles feel. To me, a massage isn't a _sex_ual event, it's a *sen*sual event. And it's as nice for me being able to massage them and give them that kind of pleasure, as it is for them to BE massaged."

"What's the difference between sexual, and, uh, sensual?"

"What's your favorite food?"

"Huh? Uh, cheeseburgers, I guess. Why?"

"Do you remember the best cheeseburger you ever had?"

"Sure!"

"Did it do anything to make you feel sexually excited?"

"No, of course not."

"THAT'S the difference. What you remember about that cheeseburger is the sensuality of it: the taste of it, how firm and juicy it was, how the bun tasted, maybe how the bun kind of crunched where it was toasted, all of that. You probably have clothes that you like to wear because you like the way they feel on your skin. That's sensuality, too. Understand?"

"Yeah, I do! So sensuality is anything that brings pleasure to our senses."

"Now you've got it. And you can understand why I like to give girls massages - it gives me a chance to touch them, and satisfy a little part of my own sensuality. I trade something that makes THEM feel good for something that makes ME feel good."

She nodded her understanding, and I moved over to the bed. Leaning over, I let her see me as I reached down to put my hands on her shoulders. She didn't flinch or start, so I started massaging the muscles on her shoulders first. I could feel how tense she was, but then, I *do* give good massages, and soon had the knots out. Replenishing the lotion supply as necessary, I included her neck, and then worked my way down one of her arms, focusing on her triceps and outer forearm muscles, to her hand. There I massage not only her hand, but each of her fingers, as well. When I moved back to her shoulders, I was careful to allow my fingers to run along her arm, not soft enough to tickle, but still soft enough to not mess up the progress I'd already made in getting her relaxed. The reason I touched her as I moved - indeed, for as long as I was massaging her, I always had one hand on her - was so that there wouldn't be any break in the physical contact to interrupt the whole process.

I gave her shoulders another short massage, and then went on to the other arm, with the same attention to detail, and then back to her shoulders - where I could tell that she was finally letting go of the tension she was feeling.

From her shoulders, I started working my way down - her upper, then lower, back, paying special attention to the muscles at the small of her back, near the spine. From her waist, I got both hands working her sides, armpit to waist; then gradually shifting my attentions to her hips - and then buttocks, careful not to move my hands and thumbs too far between them.

From her buttocks, I gradually shifted my attention to one side, easing my way to her thigh. Moving more quickly, but still massaging her, I worked my way down her leg to her feet. From there, I began my real efforts, starting with her heels and Achilles tendon, and working my way back up her leg, FAR more slowly. Her calf soon turned to putty, and with it conquered, the back of her thigh soon followed.

Back across her butt, as I'd done with her shoulders, and back down the other leg, so that I again started the 'real' massage at her foot. By the time I got to her buttocks again, there wasn't a tense muscle to be found on her.

Drawing my hand up her back, I moved to her shoulders. She started to raise up to turn over; she'd barely started to move when stopped her, saying "Relax, Susan. I'll do it; if YOU move, it makes your muscles tighten up - if *I* move you, you stay nice and relaxed. Okay?"

She murmured her assent, and I kneeled down, putting one hand under her shoulder and the other on her hip. Lifting her torso, I was able to twist her enough that pushing up on her hip got her starting to roll over. Holding her, I was able to ease her the rest of the way, so that with no effort on her part, I was able to get her onto her back without any sudden movements. I arranged her arms so she was comfortable, and moved on.

With the front of her available, I moved the hand that had been on her shoulder to her hip, then removed the other one. Standing, I allowed my hand to slide down the top of her leg as I moved to her feet.

Starting with the bottoms of her feet, I paid special attention to the muscle that runs along the instep, and then the ones just behind the ball of the foot. Her toes were next, then the tops of her feet. Moving my hands up her leg, I re-massaged her calf, mostly working the sides of it that were difficult to do properly when she was on her back.

When they were done, it was on to her thighs - first the tops, where the large muscles are, then the sides. The first time she felt my hand slide up the inside of her thigh, she opened her eyes slightly (she was nearly asleep), but closed them again when I stopped after only moving halfway up her leg. I gradually moved the range of my motions from knee-to-midthigh to midthigh-to-groin - again, being careful not to give any indication that I was trying to touch her too intimately. In fact, the closest I got to actually touching her mons was when the hand on the inside of her thigh slightly brushed the hair well to the side of her cleft - which was readily visible.

From the top of her thigh, I worked my way across her lower belly - above her pubic hair - and then back to the other leg. Using the same quick-moving massage technique as I had with the back of her legs, I worked her from foot to thigh again, and then back to her lower belly.

Up her torso, and extending out to include her sides, I soon found myself at her chest, where I worked on all the muscles I could reach - even those that I could get to at the edges of her breasts, without doing anything to touch any more of her mammaries than was necessary to reach the underlying muscles. Past her breasts, it was on the muscles on her upper body. From there, the rest of her arms - biceps and inner forearm muscles. Trace a route up her arm, and on to the other. When that one was done, I quietly asked her "Starting to feel better?", and getting a soft, sleepy "MM-hmm" in reply. I told her "There's still a little more, and then I'm done."

I finished up by working through the muscles at her throat, and then softly rubbing the ones in her face; I eased out of the massage by easing my way from rubbing the muscles in her face, to softly stroking only her skin. As I did, I watched her more closely, and could see that she'd finally fallen asleep, completely.

I stood up and moved over to the chest where I kept the linens for the bed, and pulled out a light sheet. I unfolded it well away from her, so as to not cause any sudden drafts across her body, and then carefully laid it across her to help keep her warm, and any drafts off.

Then I went into the bathroom and got a small towel to wipe the traces of lotion off my hands. With that done, I eased out the door, closing it quietly behind me. I left the lights and background noise going for the simple reason that directing Mabel to turn them off might have disturbed Susan; besides, the noise was helping to keep her relaxed.

When I got back to the den, Candice looked up at me, and asked "Where's Susan?"

I told her "She was feeling a little sleepy" - Jan grinned at me, and winked - "so she went to bed. She probably wouldn't mind company for sleeping, but might not appreciate being disturbed."

All of them nodded in understanding, and Jan asked me "Would you like another beer?"

I looked at the clock, and saw that it was well past one o'clock in the morning - and suddenly felt every year of my age.

"I think I can pass on the beer, but a soda would be good.", I answered.

She nodded, and quickly went into the kitchen. A minute later, she handed me a cold Coke.

As I sipped it, I listened to the rest of them as they talked. It was mostly Candice asking questions about my relationship with Kelly and Jan, with them answering. Robyn and Sandra would sometimes join in with questions of their own; or amplify on something that Jan or Kelly had said when it was something they had some knowledge of. A couple of times, one of them would direct a question at me, mostly as a request to explain something that they were having difficulty with. I answered the best I could, sometimes explaining something a couple of different ways so as to make a point, or to ensure that what I was saying was clear enough.

Finally, though, the late hour got to me. I stood up, and told them "It's too late for an old man like me" - Kelly and Jan both snorted in derision - "so I'm going to bed. I'm leaving the door open, so if anyone wants to join me, they're welcome - but if the bed breaks, that's too many." Kelly and Jan both laughed - they knew how solid was the frame under the bed - it was essentially a waterbed frame and rested on the floor: it *might* break if Godzilla stepped on it.

All of them wished me good night, and as I headed down the hall, I heard Jan say "Hey! I want a goodnight kiss, first!", followed by Kelly making a similar demand.

"Too late!", I called back to them, and heard Kelly say "Like hell!"

As I turned to go into the bedroom, I could see both of them walking toward me; tired as I was, I went straight to the bed and laid down on it without waiting for them. A few seconds later, both of them were in bed with me, one on each side, sitting cross-legged and facing me.

Jan looked down at me and said "That was really nice what you did for Susan. She was really worried; when you talked to her, it really helped her a lot."

Kelly looked at her, and asked "What happened?", concerned.

"Susan was just a little worried about some things, and wanted to talk to me. I answered some questions, and explained a couple things, and it was okay."

Kelly looked at Jan, and the two of them shared a Look before Jan looked at me again, and said "Well, she told me that whatever you two talked about, it really did make her feel a LOT better. And that massage was the perfect touch."

"You gave her a massage?! No wonder she 'felt sleepy'! Sheesh.", Kelly said, grinning.

"We're going to stay up and talk a while, okay?", Jan asked.

"Of course! Just try to keep it below riot level, okay?", I answered.

Both of them gave me the Goober look - they knew *I* knew they were better-mannered than that.

That settled, first Kelly, then Jan, kissed me before getting up and heading back to the den. I told Mabel to turn the lights off and cancel any alarms, and was soon asleep.

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

Not surprisingly, I was the first to wake up the next morning - only to discover that I couldn't move. At least, not much, and not easily.

Moving my head to look around, I found out that I was approaching the occupancy limit of the bed, with Kelly, Jan, Robyn, and Sandra all opting to take me at my word. Candice, I imagined, was in the other bedroom, keeping Susan company. Whether from lack of room here, or not, I didn't dare guess.

Kelly was plastered to my back, her arm around me and holding my (now erect - morning or situation, I wouldn't have bet either way) penis - which was pressing against Robyn's smooth butt as she snuggled into my lap/stomach. Jan was facing Robyn, and had her arm thrown over both of us; Sandra was spooning with Kelly, her hand neatly cupping Kelly's breast.

Not wanting to disturb them, since I didn't know when they'd finally gone to bed, it took me nearly five minutes of very careful pushing and wiggling to make enough room to be able to actually get loose of them. Even then, I had to stand up, and carefully make my way to the edge before I could actually get _off_. Once on the floor, I quickly headed to the bathroom to recycle that last soda I'd had. With that done, the change in priorities led me to the kitchen, where I quickly got some coffee started - as far as I'm concerned, coffee is the Nectar of *Life*.

While it burbled and hissed, I sat down on one of the stools, and thought over the events of the previous day and evening. I couldn't help but wonder what the changes would do to Sandra and Robyn; that they'd be good changes I didn't doubt, but exactly how it would affect them, I couldn't decide.

When the coffee finished, I quickly poured myself a cup, and after letting it cool a bit, took a sip - and immediately felt much better. The next few minutes, I continued my contemplations on how my life would change with not just two, but now FOUR, attractive, sexually alive young women in it. I didn't think the changes would be bad, but I wasn't sure if they would be GOOD, either - but that there would be changes was never in question.

While pouring myself a second cup, I was mildly surprised to see Susan walk into the kitchen. When she saw me, she gave me a radiant smile as she sat on a stool facing me, and said "That was the best night's sleep I've had in a LONG time. Now I know why Jan told me I was going to lose so bad, too - I never really had a chance, did I?", with a grin.

"Nope. I'm *sneaky*, you see.", I told her as I grinned back.

"Well, it's a sneaky I could learn to like - in about two seconds, I think! Uh, I could tell when you were getting close to my, uh, between my legs; but when you didn't get any closer, I just let you keep going - what you were doing was feeling *so* good. Now I *really* understand what you meant about 'sensual' - that massage was something sensual, if ever there was one; but it wasn't really _sexual_ - even though I could feel myself getting kind of, um, excited. Now I know why Jan said that THEY make it sexual, after you give them a massage!"

I smiled at her, and said "Thank you - I enjoyed it, too."

She looked at me for a moment, her head tilted, and said "Yeah, I believe you did. And you know what?"

"What's that?"

"I'm glad. I *like* being touched by you that way, and if you like doing it, then that just makes the whole thing even better, doesn't it?"

"Yup. Want some coffee?"

"You better believe it - that's what woke me up."

I poured her a cup, which she promptly ruined by putting cream and sugar in it.

Watching her, I said "Some people. Can't drink coffee without messing it up with _stuff_. Ought to be a law. Damn sissy.". teasing her.

"Yeah, well, I *am* a girl, if you hadn't noticed."

I laughed, and said "Yeah, I've noticed. Kinda hard not to!"

She blushed slightly, but didn't say anything as she took a sip of her concoction.

After we'd both had a couple of swallows, she suddenly started a bit, saying "Oh, my!"

"What?"

"I almost forgot!"

"Almost forgot what?"

"Our bet!"

I laughed a bit, and told her "Susan, it's okay. Really. If you want to kiss me because you want to kiss me, that's fine; but you don't have to because of any bet."

"But I *do* want to. Not just because of the bet, but because of how nice you've been - not just about me, but having all of us here, and all that."

"In that case, I'll be happy to kiss you."

With that, she got up from where she was sitting, and moved over to stand in front of me. Taking my hands and putting them around her, she stepped closer to hug me as she gave me a kiss. A long one. Long enough, in fact, that we were surprised by the sound of a cupboard being opened.

Susan suddenly stepped back from me, and turned, to see that Kelly was standing there, looking at us, a small smile on her lips. Susan blushed, and started to say something when Kelly shushed her, saying "It's okay. You want to kiss him, kiss him. You want to jump his bones, here in the kitchen, go for it. Just let me get some coffee first, okay?" - and then gently guiding Susan back in front of me.

Susan stared as Kelly poured herself a cup of coffee. When Kelly turned, she saw Susan staring at her, and asked "What? Is there a bug in my hair? A booger in my nose? What?"

Susan looked at me, and I just smiled and shrugged. She turned back to Kelly and asked "Y.. You don't mind? Really?"

"No, why should I?"

"But..."

"Look," Kelly interrupted, telling her "I'm fine. I love him. I trust him. I love you. I trust you. If you want to, and he wants to, then I'm cool with it. Listen to me: he's got enough love inside him that he could give you more than you could handle, and STILL have more than enough for me, and Jan, and Robyn, and Sandra, and anyone else that turned up. With him, it's not about sex, it's about _loving_. Afraid we'll be jealous, or mad? Don't be. I get enough love from him to keep me delirious. So does Jan. So will Sandra, and Robyn. You want some of his love? Take all you want - none of the rest of us will ever notice any missing. Want to haul him off to another room and hump his brains out? Good luck - I'll take bets that you wear out before he does. But there isn't a person in this house that would give it a second's thought - because WE love him, too. Enough that if it made him happy to want to make love with you - because it would make YOU happy - then we'd be happy, too, because HE was happy."

Susan just looked at her, as Kelly took a sip of her coffee, and went on "He has made me so happy, in so many ways, that I *couldn't* be upset about something that made him feel good. If I did, it would be like I was _dishonoring_ him - because HE isn't jealous about stuff like that. Jan feels the same way - we've talked about it, and we both understand that it gets back to wanting to make ourselves better people, so that we're more like him. I'd bet that Sandra and Robyn do, too, for the same reason. I figure it this way: the only reason that he would make love with someone is because he KNEW that they wanted to do it to be happy - to feel good, like when you kiss, only more. And we know him well enough to know that that's the ONLY reason he would make love with someone - and that making love to them for that reason would make HIM happy. Understand?"

Susan nodded, and then turned to look at me.

Kelly looked at me too, a smile on her face, before leaving Susan and I alone.

Even as she was leaving, Susan looked into my eyes, and told me "Dan, I realize that I *do* love you. So much that, If you wanted me to, I'd even make love with you."

"Except that it's not whether *I* want us to make love, Susan, it's if YOU want us to."

"I know. I guess that's part of the reason that I love you. And it proves to me, by myself, that I'm right to trust you - because I know that you wouldn't make love to me for _any_ other reason. I mean, I'm standing here, naked, in front of you. You can see my breasts and between my legs, and everything; just like I can see you while YOU sit there, just as naked. I'm not embarrassed now, like I was, at first, last night - either to have you see me, or to look at you. I know you said you think I'm pretty" - she quickly put a finger on my lips to silence me - "and that makes me FEEL pretty. And I know that you like to touch me, just like I like having you touch me - and like touching you. I'm still not ready to make love, but I understand what Kelly said, and if I *was* ready, I WOULD take you into one of the other rooms, and see if she was right about which one of us wore out first! But until then, I'll be happy with this." - and moved into my arms again, giving me a much more substantial kiss that the first one.

More intimate, too.

And longer.

Lots longer.

When we finally broke apart, she was panting slightly, and her nipples were erect. We stood there, looking into each other's eyes for a bit, until a movement got my attention.

Looking over her shoulder, I could see Jan and Sandra standing there, watching us. When Susan notice I wasn't looking at her, she turned around - and saw them, too. I could see her ears pinkened a little in embarrassment at having an audience, but otherwise, she didn't seem to have any reaction.

Robyn, though, did.

"See, I told you they'd have to come up for air, *some* time.", she said.

"Yeah, but I think both of them showed surprising breathing control, don't you?", Jan responded.

"Yes, indeed. I'd give them a 9.5 - what do you think?"

"Hmmm. 9.6, I'd say - after all, it is still early in the morning, and Susan IS still kind of new at this."

"Good point. Well, there you have it, folks: the judges have awarded our contestants a 9.5 and 9.6 - putting them on the track to Olympic gold!", Robyn concluded, with a grin.

There was a short wait, the three of them looking at each other.

"Breathing control, huh?", Susan said, continuing "Unlike YOU two mouth-breathers, WE'VE learned to breathe through our NOSES. So _there_!"

Jan and Robyn both made exaggerated surprised/serious faces, and in a few seconds, all three of them burst out in laughter.

Moving forward, Robyn gave Susan a hug, telling her "I'd say 'good morning', but I see you're already having one."

Jan was next, hugging Susan as well, then giving her a kiss on the lips - and getting one in return. When she turned around, I could see that Susan had finally completely accepted how things worked here, and was comfortable with it.

Robyn headed for the fridge, and got out a bottle of orange juice; Jan went straight for the coffee pot. As she went by, she saw the coffee that Susan had made. Taking her by the arm, Jan pulled her over a bit, and told her "Listen, there is ONE thing you're going to have to get straight about being here."

"What's that?", Susan asked.

"If you're going to drink coffee, you're going to have to learn to drink it black, just like the rest of us. Otherwise, you'll just hear him pitch a fit whenever he sees you putting stuff in it. He was in the Navy, and figures if you want cream and sugar, you shouldn't spoil it by putting coffee in it. I think it's just one of those guy things."

"Yeah, he already gave me a hard time about it."

"See? If you're *really* going to insist on drinking it that way, you're going to have to learn to tell him to leave you alone. Stuff like 'shut up' won't do it, either."

"What do I tell him?"

"It's best say something like 'get stuffed', or 'get lost'. Stay away from stuff that actually involves your own body: if you tell him 'bite me', for example, he might try. It's fun, mind you, since he only nibbles, but you get the idea. Whatever you do, though, don't tell him 'beat it'!"

It took a couple of seconds before she got it, but when she did, Susan turned an absolutely amazing shade of pink before bursting out into hysterics - along with Jan and Robyn. It was bad enough that Kelly came in to see what was going on. Robyn repeated the whole thing, between gasps, before Kelly, too, cracked up.

I simply sat there, drinking my coffee, radiating Ignore waves; every time one of them would look at me, they'd start laughing again. The shredded dignity on the floor around me must have been someone else's.

I don't know if it was the noise, or the smell of the coffee, but a little bit later, Candice and Sandra wandered into the kitchen, too, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and wanting to know what was so funny. So, of course, they were told, And promptly had their own laughing fits as I poured myself another cup - the last, as it turned out.

When they'd all gotten themselves settled down again, Jan went to get her cup of coffee - only to find there wasn't any. Giving me a dirty look, she demanded "How come YOU got the last cup? And why didn't you make any more?"

I sniffed, and in my best aggrieved tone, told her "I got the last cup because I was the only one not laughing my guts loose. I didn't make any more because it's my house, and if I don't want to make coffee, I won't. You want coffee, YOU make it - and I'll damn well drink some of IT, too!"

She got an indignant look on her face while the others went into another bout of laugher, before Kelly told her "See? That's what he _really_ means when he tells us 'mess with the bull, you get the horn'. Not what you THOUGHT it meant, is it, Jan?". That got all of them going again, including Jan.

When she'd gotten her breath back again, Jan tried to give me a dirty look - but simply couldn't pull it off. She leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek before reaching for the coffeemaker and getting another pot of coffee started.

As it was brewing, Robyn told all of them about how she and Jan had found us, and the ensuing commentary - with giggling at the appropriate points - and the response, which was met with laughs. That out of the way, Kelly announced it was her turn for a kiss, and promptly moved in to collect it - as well as significant accumulated interest I didn't know was due. From there, Jan, Robyn, and Sandra followed suit before moving on to their own self-appointed tasks. Realizing that nobody was watching, or cared, Candice finally got up the nerve to collect one too - though hers was appreciably tamer.

By that time, the coffee had finished, and when all of them had their beverage of choice (Susan made a small show of dumping hers for a fresh cup, black), Kelly asked "So, what's for breakfast?"

I responded by telling her "Beats me - whatever you all fix, I guess - but make plenty for me, too."

Candice wasn't sure that I was joking; Susan, Robyn, and Sandra seemed _pretty sure_; Kelly and Jan knew it.

Seeing the look on Candice's face, Kelly told her "He gets like this, sometimes. Positively Neanderthal. The only thing to do, really, is humor him. We'll fix something to eat, and toss some of it to him. When he's got a full belly, he's a lot more agreeable.", teasing me.

Jan added to it, telling her "Yeah. I'm not sure why we keep him around, but I suppose he has his good points."

All of them were watching me, to see what kind of reaction I'd have.

I sat there a couple seconds before saying "I guess that's true. But you have your good points, too - two of them, each, that I can see.", completely deadpan.

The first ones to get it were Jan and Kelly, who were used to my humor: both went into hysterics. Next was Robyn. Then Susan, then Sandra. Last to get it was Candice - but when she did, she made up for the lost time by almost collapsing on the floor, she laughed so hard.

Finally, Susan spoke up, telling me "Fine. We'll figure something out, and feed you. Until then, the kitchen is the woman's domain, so get lost, your Highness." - making all of them giggle.

I stood up, and topped off my coffee as all of them watched Jan make a show of giving me the Evil Eye. I told her "Excellent - you know your place, then.", and headed into the den, accompanied by another round of giggles.

A few minutes later, Candice came in, bringing me a toasted bagel slathered in cream cheese. Handing it to me, she smiled and said "Kelly said I should bring this to her Lord and Master, and see if it meets with his approval."

I took a small bite, chewed a moment, then swallowed it before telling her "Dame Kelly has done well, and pleased her Master. As reward for her efforts, I wish her to know that I shall keep her. You are a comely serving wench, so you may stay, as well. I shall decide about the others later. Now, be gone with you.", the last with a back-of-the-hand shooing motion.

She grinned at me, and headed back into the kitchen; a minute later, I heard a round of giggling and laugher when she repeated what I'd said.

As I worked my way through the bagel, I turned the TV on, and started watching the Saturday morning cartoons, starting with Bugs Bunny. A couple of cartoons later, the whole crew of them came in, Kelly carrying a tray of assorted toasted bagel slices with cream cheese separate; Jan bearing a carafe of what I knew to be coffee. Sandra had a pitcher of orange juice; Robyn, a tray of glasses. Susan followed with a double handful of napkins, with Candice brining up the rear with coffee cups.

When all of them were in the room, they all kneeled in front of me - in unison - before Kelly said "Breakfast is ready, Master. May we join you?"

"Sure, why not. You're all a helluva lot better looking than Bugs Bunny, that's for sure!" - getting smiles from all of them.

Jan handed the coffee to Sandra as she dragged one of the larger tables to a more convenient location. With it in place, all of them quickly put their loads down, and found seats - Kelly next to me on one side, Susan on the other. Candice sat on the floor, resting against one of my legs, Jan matched her on the other side. Sandra and Robyn took up station next to the table.

As we ate, I notice that they all took turns responding to my requests: when I asked for another bagel, Sandra selected one for me and put cream cheese on it - Robyn got up and brought it to me; when I asked for the coffee, Candice got up to get it, pouring it for me. When I asked for some orange juice, Jan poured and Susan handed it to me. Kelly made it her job to clean up any stray bits of cream cheese that escaped onto my skin.

When I'd finished eating, I leaned back and put my arms on the back of the couch, my hands resting on Kelly and Susan's shoulders, saying "You know, I could get used to this kind of treatment!" - and having Kelly say "Too bad you won't get the chance!", to their laughter.

After we'd all finished, and during one of the commercials, they all got up and started carrying things into the kitchen, taking their time and making more trips with less to carry. When I started to get up to help, Kelly eased me back down, saying "Just stay here. I think somebody wants to talk to you while the rest of us are in the kitchen, cleaning up."

I looked at her inquisitively, but she just ignored it, and went on with what she'd started to do. All of them disappeared into the kitchen, except for Candice, who came over to sit on the couch with me.

Turning herself a little, so that she was facing me, she pulled her leg up to rest it on the cushion as she put her arm on the back of the couch.

I mirrored her, and then waited for her to say what was on her mind.

After looking at me for a few seconds, she finally spoke.

"I heard a lot lost night, about you, about Jan and Kelly, and even Sandra and Robyn. It got me thinking about stuff. A lot of stuff - like what kind of person I want to be, and the wonderful changes that I've seen in Kelly, and even Jan. I watched how you talk to all of us, and how you behave around us, and all the things that you've done with us, and for us. When I went to bed last night, Susan woke up - even though I was being real quiet - and wanted to talk with me for a while. She told me a little bit about what she had been feeling and thinking before she talked to you, and how she felt better afterwards."

I nodded for her to continue.

"When I got here yesterday, I was still kind of nervous to be around you. It's not that I thought you would do anything to me, or say anything to me, or anything like that. It was just that you and Jan and Kelly are so *relaxed* around each other, and you're all so willing to open up to people that it was kind of scary. I mean, MY family isn't like that, at all. We love each other and all that; it's just that we don't talk and joke around and everything like you three do. After being here this morning, I kinda wish we did, but I know it won't be like that - we'll still have fun with each other, just not like YOU do."

I nodded again, and she went on "When you and Jan and Kelly were joking this morning about making breakfast, it really surprised me at first, and I thought you were all serious. But after a bit, I realized that you *were* just joking, and made me think. I realized you were teasing them by acting like that - and that you wouldn't act like that unless you KNEW that they wouldn't take you seriously. And that they only way you could know that is if you really, truly knew THEM, and they knew YOU, and would know that you were teasing them. I really finally understood just how much you all love and trust each other that you could joke around that way. Then I thought about the way that Jan and Robyn teased you and Susan - I could SEE the change in her; she's NEVER been that happy and relaxed, that I've seen. And I thought about the way that all of us were kidding with you and teasing you, and how you were giving back as good as you got. I realized that I had never seen _any_ of us doing that before at _any_ of our houses - never mind with all of us naked; and a guy there, too! Then when I brought you the bagel, you joked around with me, and even teased me a little bit about being - what was it? - a 'comely serving wench', like I wasn't any different than the others."

I smiled, and told her "You aren't, near as I can tell."

"See, that's what I mean. You've made love with all of us except Susan and me. Before we brought out breakfast, Susan told us all about how she felt when she kissed you that last time; she told me that she felt so close to you that it was almost as though she _had_ made love with you, even though it was only a kiss. So it was kind of strange for me, knowing that all of them felt that close to you, when I brought you that bagel. But you still joked with me like you did with them; and it made me feel really good inside, and made me understand something about you."

"What's that?"

"That you really _don't_ care whether you've made love with us, or not - that you really do still love us and care about us, anyway. I *know* that you'll treat me the same way, whether I want to make love with you, or not, and that you'll still care about me and love me."

"Of course I would, Candice.", I responded, mildly surprised.

"Well, I wanted to ask you if you could, uh, make love with me - but without actually, um, being inside me, you know? I know that you love me and care about me, and I feel the same way about you as the others - well, mostly, anyway. I mean, I feel the same things about you, but probably just not as much. From what all the others have said, I know I can trust you not to do that part of it, but I still want to find out what the rest of it is like - if you'll help me learn. I want to learn what it's like to be *that* close to someone, and share myself with them, and them, me."

I looked at her intently, and asked "Are you sure, Candice?"

She looked back at me, with confidence, and in a steady voice answered "Yes, I'm sure. I don't think I've been more sure of anything in my life!"

"In that case, then, yes, I'll do it.", I responded.

"Uh, could we do it today? I don't mean right now, 'cause I still want to be with the rest of them before they have to go home today, but later? Maybe this afternoon?"

"Whenever you want, Candice. There's no hurry - but you probably know that, already."

She smiled, and said "Yeah, I do. But it's still nice to hear it from you."

We sat there for a few moments, looking at each other before she kind of shook herself, and said "Well, I'd better get in there and help clean things up." before gracing me with another smile. and standing up.

A few moments after she got into the kitchen, I thought I heard a flurry of whispering, but couldn't be sure. Following that, there were the occasional noises of things being put away and the dishwasher being loaded.

A few minutes later, the group of them trooped back into the den. Susan didn't hesitate to sit down next to me, as did Candice. The others distributed themselves around the room. I turned the TV off at Kelly's request, and we spent the rest of the morning in quiet conversation. I say 'we', but it was mostly them, with only occasional input or observations from me when I was directly spoken to. As the time passed, Susan and Candice each snuggled closer, pulling an arm around themselves, and even holding my hand on a breast. None of the others seemed to take the slightest notice, seeming to accept it as the right of anyone next to me to have my touch.

By lunch time, they'd pretty much talked themselves out, and were happy to simply sit and enjoy each other's company and friendship. As two o'clock approached, it was Susan who finally pointed out that she still needed to get home - accompanied by a number of small groans of complaint. None the less, she got up, saying that her dad would be coming to get her, and had to get dressed. She went into the bedroom, and when she came out, was dressed in the clothes she'd brought, and had her small bag loaded with the clothing she'd worn when she got there.

That seemed to prod Sandra and Robyn, as well, who asked if Susan's dad could drop them off, too. Susan agreed, and the two of them went off to dress, as well. While they were gone, I asked Susan to give her father a message - "Just tell him that what he was worried about turned out not to be a problem."; she assured me that she'd pass it along. When Sandra and Robyn got back, all of them started talking again, making plans for some event or other, until Mabel announced that there was someone at the door. The TV revealed it to be Susan's dad, and the three of them headed for the door. We heard the brief conversation as Susan asked her dad to give Robyn and Sandra rides, and he said he would, before we heard the door close.

That left just the four of us there, before Jan reminded Kelly that they had a report to write for one of their classes, and suggested that they go to the library to research it. Kelly agreed, and told Candice she was welcome to join them, or stay with me, whichever she wanted. Candice blushed ever so slightly, and said she'd stay, if they didn't mind. Both assured her it was fine, and went back to get dressed.

A few minutes later, we heard them chatting as they came out and headed for the garage. Moments later, we heard the faint sounds of a car starting, then driving off.

Finally completely alone, Candice and I sat there on the couch, snuggling a few minutes before she finally sat up. I looked at her, and smiled, saying "I take it there's something on your mind that you want to do?"

She grinned, nervously, and said "Yeah, there is. Very much."

"And what is that?", I teased.

"I want to make love with you." she answered, confidently.

I patted my lap, indicating I wanted her to sit on it. She moved to do so, and after only the slightest hesitation, put her knees on each side of my hips before planting her butt on my lap.

I reached out to put my arms around her hips, but she was far enough away that I couldn't _quite_ hold my hands together. Realizing the problem, she scooted herself forward a bit, until I could hold her, my fingers interlaced at her back.

She put her hands on my chest, and looked into my eyes as I told her "We can do this, or not - it's up to you. If you want us to, we can do it now, tomorrow, next month, or next year - there's no hurry. You can stop it, at any time, by just telling me 'no'. If you do, I'll stop doing whatever I'm doing, right then - with no hesitation, no muss, no fuss. You told me that you don't want me inside you, and that's fine: how far we go, how much or how little we do together, is YOUR choice, not mine. What we do, if anything, and how we do it is for YOU to decide. For that, I'll be needing your help. If I start to do something you're not comfortable with, let me know. If I start to do something that you don't like, let me know. I am not *knowingly* going to do anything that might hurt you - but if I do, TELL ME, so I can stop. Okay?"

She nodded solemnly, and said "I know you won't do anything to hurt me, or try to push me to do something I don't want - that's part of what makes me want to do this. And I really do want to do it."

I smiled in answer, and went on "By the same token, if I do something you DO like, it will help if you can let me know that, too. I'll probably figure it out, anyway, sooner or later; but if you let me know sooner, it's better for both of us, right? If there's something you want me to do, don't be afraid to tell me. I seriously doubt that you could come up with anything I haven't at least _heard_ about before" - she grinned at that - "and if that's what you want, then I'll do my best. You don't have to worry about anything that happens between us, or with you - you know that Kelly lives with me, and that we make love, so there's not going to be anything happen with your body that I don't know about - unless, of course, you're from Mars, or something."

The last bit got me another grin, and she said "No, I'm not from Mars. And I know that I don't have to be ashamed or embarrassed about getting wet, or making noise or anything like that. One thing that all of them agreed on - well, one of several things! - is that you're always a gentleman about stuff like that. But it wouldn't matter, anyway, because I want to KNOW you, and learn about this stuff, and if things get messy or noisy, then that's just too bad, cause that's part of it, too - at least, for me."

We sat there, looking into each other's eyes as we established a bond with each other, and got on the same 'wavelength'.

After a bit, she leaned forward, and kissed me on the lips - barely touching me. She watched me a few moments; when I simply looked at her, and didn't move, did it again, more firmly and longer, before sitting up again.

I still didn't say or do anything, content to let her move at her own pace. She looked into my eyes again, and saw that I was looking at her with affection and patience. Satisfied, she took her hands off my chest and reached down to take hold of my arms. She easily moved them from around her hips, then took hold of my hands and put them on her waist.

She kissed me again, and whispered "Hold me?".

"I'd be delighted", I answered, and she lay against my chest, her head on my shoulder and her arms around my neck. I slowly slid my hands from her hips onto her back, taking her in my arms and briefly hugged her, to let her know I enjoyed having her there, but nothing more.

We sat like that for a couple of minutes when I softly kissed her shoulder. Perhaps a minute later, she pulled a little distance away, so she could look into my face when she said "You'd let me stay her like this for as long as I wanted, wouldn't you?""

"Yup."

"And that kiss was just to let me know you cared, wasn't it?"

"Yup."

"You are really something, you know it?"

"How's that?"

"I know that I'm pretty, and that guys want me - I mean, I've seen how they look at me. But here I am, stark naked on your lap, and all you're doing is holding me. And the most aggressive thing you've done has been to give me one - ONE! - small kiss; and that was on my _shoulder_. I don't know of anyone else that would actually treat me the way you do, when we're together this way."

"Yeah, and...?"

"And I guess I'm talking to a wall, or something. You don't see anything wrong about this?", she asked.

"Wrong? No. Different? Sure. You talk like the situation we're in right now even *could* happen if I was like someone else - but if you'll think about it, you'll realize that if I was anything like other people, you *wouldn't* be sitting naked on my lap."

She blinked a few times, and said "Of course. This situation is so different because YOU'RE so different. If you were like other guys, I wouldn't be like this; but I AM sitting here naked, so you're NOT like them. And thinking about you as if you were like them - which I'm still doing - is only going to mean I make mistakes, like I am."

A few seconds went by, and she suddenly said "Oh." and a second later "Oh!", and then "OH!"

She suddenly stared at me intently; I just sat there, and smiled at her as she examined my face. "It *was* simple.", she said.

"What was?"

"What you said that made me understand - about you and Kelly and Jan and Robyn and Sandra, and even Susan. You're you - and I can't treat you like anyone else, for that reason. And I'm me, and you treat me special because I *am* special - because _I'm_ not like anybody else. You treat me the same as them, because you don't see any difference in us, whether we've made love with you, or not - all that matters to you is that we all love you, to some degree; and you love us back for it. And I realize that you gave so much of yourself to us, without us knowing how much that was - and that you did it because you _cared_ about us, not because you thought any of us would have sex with you, or anything."

She paused a moment, and said "Now I understand why it hit Sandra so hard! I realize how much you've given me before I even knew it, and I took without even *thinking* about it, properly. What kind of person you must be inside, to have been able to do that with all of us! And without knowing if any of it would ever come back to you!"

She quickly wrapped her arms around my neck, and began crying into my shoulder; all I could do was to hold her again, and stroke her back softly as she got it out of her system.

Finally, she did, and released me to sit up again. Sniffling, and her face wet from her tears, she still looked lovely to me. I handed her the napkin that I'd held on to after breakfast; she dried her eyes and face, then blew her nose. She seemed uncertain what to do with the napkin, so I took it from her, and holding it with only a couple fingertips, exaggeratedly moved it to the side, and tossed it to the end of the couch with a grimace. For a moment, she started to get hurt by what I'd done - until she realized I was teasing her; then she laughed, and hugged me again, saying "Thanks, Dan."

When she released me, and sat up, she looked at me for a moment, and said "I've changed my mind. About us making love."

I looked at her a moment, and said "Oh, you don't want to any more? Okay!" - and threw my arms open, indicating I expected her to get up.

She gave me the Goober look (as if saying "You are *such* a Goober!"), and said "No, you dummy, I didn't mean I didn't want to any more. What I meant was that I *do* want to - _more_. As in, NOW I'm ready to really make love with you, and have you inside me. Now put your arms back around me, before I DO get up and leave!", finally free to tease me herself.

I made a horrified look on my face, and quickly wrapped her in my arms, making her laugh a little. Then I pulled her close, and told her "Candice, what I said before still goes - as much or as little as you want, when you want. I'm flattered that you changed your mind, but it isn't necessary for ME."

She let me hold her like that for a little bit before pushing herself up again, my arms still around her. She told me "I know it isn't necessary for you - but is it for ME, now. As much as I wanted to get to know you better before, it's just that much more, now that I really _understand_. I want you inside, not for you, but for ME - because once I feel what it's like to have you that close to me, in my heart, then I know that I can be that close to YOU, in the same way."

I nodded to her, in acceptance of what she'd said. She smiled in return, and again took hold of my arms, pulling them away from her so that she could take hold of my hands. Only this time, she didn't put them on her waist, but on her breasts - where I found her nipples already hard, and ready for my attentions.

As I brushed my thumbs over them, she closed her eyes, and smiled in enjoyment of the feelings I had generated. I did it several more times, and soon had her fairly purring in happiness and contentment. But she eventually opened her eyes again, and looking into mine, told me "I like the way you touch me like that. But I know there's more to making love, and I want to learn it. All of it. From you."

"Here, or someplace else?"

"Uh, the bedroom, I think - and soon!", she answered.

I slid forward on the couch, and she quickly wrapped her legs around my waist, so she didn't fall off my lap. Surprising her, I stood up, with her wrapped around me. She got an amused look on her face, and said "Oh, big strong man, huh?"

"Ugh. Grog not sissy. Grog *strong*, like bull. Smart like bull, too!", I said, in my best caveman voice.

She laughed, and said "Well, Grog, it looks like you've got a new female in your cave."

I looked at her, in apparent surprise, and grunted "Grog already got woman. Cave clean. Food on rock. What Grog do with new woman?"

She grinned, and said "How about this?" - and planted a kiss on me that damn near dropped me to my knees. Yeah, I suppose I could figure out _something_ to do with the new woman in the cave.

When the kiss broke, she grinned at me, and asked "Does that give you any ideas?"

To her amusement, I went into my Lurch imitation, doing a deep-throated 'Ohhhhhhhhh', and shaking my head as I headed back toward the bedroom - and enjoying the tickling sensation her pubic fleece made around my bellybutton as I moved.

When I got there, I was pleased to note that someone - I suspected Sandra, since she was the last to leave it - had taken the time to make the bed. When I was standing next to it, I unloaded Candice through the simple method of finding out if she was ticklish. She was, and dropped like a rock when I got to her armpits, giggling almost hysterically.

She pulled herself together quickly enough, though, and got on her knees, facing me, looking me squarely in the eyes. Deliberately, she dropped them to start looking me over, as though looking at me for the first time - which, I suppose, she was.

When she was done, she leaned forward, and to my surprise, kissed me softly on the head of my penis before tilting her head back to look me in the eyes again. As we held each other's gaze, she slowly moved back, and then lay down, rearranging herself so that I could see her - all of her, since she deliberately spread her legs - the same way she'd been able to see me.

Then it was my turn to look HER over, just as deliberately. What I saw was platinum blonde hair, pulled behind shell-like pink ears, and framing an oval face that held a pair of gray eyes that seemed to draw me into them. Below them was a cute, pert nose that led me to a pair of deep pink lips, full and moist. Farther down, I saw a smooth and slender neck set upon a pair of thin, soft shoulders. Below them, a pair of breasts, perhaps the size of half-tangerines, capped with half-dollar sized dark pink areolas surrounding erect nipples the diameter of my little finger, and perhaps half an inch long. Her breasts sloped down to a flat stomach that flowed on to a trim, firm belly framed by smoothly curved hips. Her navel was a slight 'innie', and served to guide my eyes to her pubis - covered in a longish, wispy hair the same color as on her head. The vee of it directed my gaze further, to her mons, where her labia were clearly visible, separated and moist. I could make out the hood of her clitoris, too - though slightly longer than most, her pubic hair was also slightly less dense, and it's color did little to conceal her womanly charms.

Trim, muscular thighs bracketed her pubic area, and curved into equally trim, smooth calves. He skin was an extremely faint pink, almost porcelain white, with not a blemish of any kind to be seen.

The incredible beauty of her - and the willingness with which she shared it with me - nearly took my breath away. Who in their right mind could look upon such a vision, and want to do anything other than their very best to earn the right to see it again?

Leaning over her, I slowly moved down to kiss her - softly - between the top of her mons and the very edge of her pubic hair. And from there, her navel; then on to between her breasts, to the base of her throat, and finally, her lips - which welcomed me.

Laying on my side next to her, I rested on my elbow as I put my hand on her stomach. She looked at me as I told her "You are not pretty, as you said. You are beautiful. Trust me on this, you are. But as delightful as you are on the outside, as much as I enjoy looking at you, it is the *inside* of you that attracts me: your heart, your mind, your *soul*. I can honestly tell you that if you were fat and ugly and had zits on your zits, I'd still love you - because of who you _are_. "

She smiled at me, and said "I know that, Dan. Better than I did before. Because I love you, the same way. Yeah, you're cute, but even if you weren't, I'd still care about you, for the same reasons you just said. I don't know if I have the strength to live my life the way you do yours - but I *do* know that I'm going to _try_. And knowing you will help me have the courage to do it. And I know how much I owe you, and I know that even if there was a WAY to pay it back, I literally _couldn't_ - and I understand what you told Sandra about repaying it to others, instead - and I will."

I nodded, and smiled at her, before she took the hand that was on her stomach, and moved it up to cup her breast, holding it there, before reaching out to put the other hand on my upper thigh.

We lay like that for several minutes, just enjoying each other's touch, and *being* with each other. I was _there_, at that time and in that place, with my full attention on her; and she was doing the same with me. For those precious few minutes, we were as one. For anyone that has ever experienced it, it's never forgotten, and never equaled.

Eventually, the spell was broken, and I took the opportunity to lower my head and kiss her, softly and tenderly, on the lips. She returned the kiss, and after a few seconds, pressed my hand against her breast, indicating that she want me to do more than simply hold it.

So I did.

As we kissed, more and more intimately and passionately, I ran my thumb along it's sides, feeling how firm and soft she was, at the same time. I hefted her breast as best I could, enjoying its weight and texture. I covered it with my hand, delighting in the way her nipple pressed into my palm, a point of heat on her otherwise warm flesh. On to the other breast, to repeat my explorations, and finding it to be equally delightful.

For her part, she moved her hand up, making contact with my penis. She traced its outline with her fingers; she traced her fingers through my pubic hair, as though memorizing its feel. She cupped my scrotum, slowly rolling my testicles in her hand, hefting them, and testing their sensitivity. Back to my penis, holding it, then squeezing it softly as it slowly got firmer in her hand.

Finally, our kiss broke - leaving both of us panting slightly in our mutual desire. As my breathing slowed a bit, I was able to detect the scent of aroused female; faint, but definitely there. I sniffed, as though clearing my nose, to fully sample it; but when I looked at her, she blushed, slightly - she could smell it, too, and knew what I'd done. So much for subterfuge.

We looked at each other, and she was the first to speak.

"Wow."

"Yeah, I guess I'd go along with that!"

She smiled, and we were content to hold each other again - at least, until she got an impish grin on her face, and pushed me onto my back before quickly moving on top of me to straddle my waist, saying "As nice as that was, you're not getting away that easy!"

I put my hands on her thighs, and began sliding my hands up and down their length, and even moving my hands behind her to softly stroke her ass cheeks. Looking up at her, I asked "And what makes you think I want to get away?", archly.

She grinned, and answered "Yeah, well, I just thought I'd better make sure you weren't going to make any sudden moves."

"No, any move I make with you will most definitely not be sudden - they'll be more like _this_", I replied, as I slid my hands up her thighs again, then onto her hips, and on up until I had my hands on both of her breasts; watching as her eyes widened slightly at the sensation.

Her response was to lean forward, and put her hands on the bed, near my shoulders, so that her breasts hung down slightly, and giving me easier access to them - a situation I happily, and quickly, took advantage of.

With them hanging free like that, I was better able to cup them, feeling their weight and firmness; and see how little they changed shape between when she was sitting up, and leaning forward. Her nipples had retracted slightly, but when I brushed my thumbs across them, quickly hardened and erected again; her areolas puckering too, in sympathy.

With both hands available for the purpose, I again began a Braille exploration of her body - tracing my fingertips along her sides (careful not to tickle her!); caressing her from her shoulder blades, down along her sides to her breasts; allowing my fingertips to memorize how the skin on her breasts felt; and sliding my hands down to her hips, and then around to her buttocks, caressing them, before retracing my route back.

As I did that over the next few minutes, she ever so gradually lowered her body, both to increase the pressure as I touched her, and to make it easier for me to expand my efforts. Finally, when she'd lowered herself enough, I raised my head slightly, and took the end of her breast in my mouth, and softly sucked on the nipple and areola - feeling her nipple pop up even more in my mouth as she moaned her enjoyment of what I'd done.

Even as I continued my tactile activities on the rest of her, I applied myself to first one, then the other, of her breasts: sucking on her nipples and laving them with my tongue; placing my mouth over different parts of her breasts and softly sucking on them; washing her entire breast with my tongue; applying feather-light kisses to random spots on her breasts, and between them; taking her nipples between my teeth and ever-so-softly chewing on them; and using my lips to gently 'nibble' on her areolas.

She let me go on like that for several minutes before her arms finally started to tire; when she raised up again, I could see traces of my saliva glistening on different parts of her breasts, and nipples. She sat there, panting slightly in arousal, for a few seconds before I put my hands on her buttocks again, and with a slight pressure, indicated that I wanted her to move forward. She scooted forward a bit, but when I continued the pressure, raised herself onto her knees; when she did, I carefully moved my arms between her legs and my waist, so that they came up behind her. Guiding her again, I got her to move forward until she was nearly to my chest; at that point, she seemed to realize what I wanted to do next, and readily moved herself the rest of the way, until her knees were on each side of my head.

Lifting my head, I first kissed her on her mons, just above her clitoris. A moment later, I stuck my tongue out, and placed the tip of it at the bottom of her vaginal opening. Then I curled it upward, between her vaginal lips and across her opening, finishing by softly stroking her clitoral hood. I looked up, and saw a faint concern on her face; my response was to repeat what I'd just done. That seemed to reassure her, and she quickly got into the spirit of the situation: spreading her legs even farther, and lowering herself a bit, so that I didn't have to raise my head so far to reach her.

I reached up and took hold of her breasts, and a moment later, she covered my hands with hers, guiding me. I bend my legs and moved my feet, so that my thighs formed a backrest for her - which she quickly took advantage of; the change in her position gave me better and easier access to the parts of her that I was most interested in at the time. It also made it easier for me to see that she had somewhat thin labia, deep pink in color from her arousal. They were medium-to-long, and very smooth, glistening with her arousal and my saliva.

As I explored her pubis with my tongue, I soon found that she had a very light, very faint tang to her juices - not at all unpleasant; quite the opposite, in face, when I got used to it. I also discovered that thought not prone to creating large amounts of fluids, her vagina was certainly wet enough: her lubrication didn't flow out of her very much, but when I probed her opening, there was still plenty of it available.

The first time I pressed my tongue a little way into her vagina, she gasped loudly and pressed herself against me; taking that as encouragement to continue, I gradually pressed my tongue farther and farther into her, until I was penetrating her as much as I could with the probe available to me at the time. Her apparent arousal deepened in proportion to how much of my tongue I was able to slide into her; by the time I couldn't hold my tongue stiff any longer, she was moaning almost constantly.

When I pulled my mouth away from her labia, I started to gently suck her clitoral hood; she flung her legs open as far as they would go, and hunched her hips forward, pressing herself even harder against my lips. I increased the suction slightly, and began to pull on it with my lips in a soft rhythm; in only a minute, her clitoris was fully erect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that once erect, her clitoris was slightly larger than I'd expected - perhaps the size of a large pea, and quite firm as I twirled it with my tongue - something that nearly got my ears fused to my head when her thighs slammed shut against my head as she released a deep, loud groan of obvious arousal. I continued my efforts, though, varying them slightly until I found the pressure and rhythm that suited her - and in only a couple of minutes, had the pleasure of giving her what seemed to be a fairly substantial orgasm, as her body shuddered through several spasms, and her vaginal opening fluttered against my chin.

As it finished, she gave a couple of shivers, relaxed her thighs - I was happy to discover that, yes, I could still hear - and opened her eyes to look down at me, her face flushed but radiant with the afterglow of her release. Again able to move my head, I let it lay back as she moved back to put her pelvis on my waist again, then lean forward so she could look straight down at me.

She smiled at me for a few moments before letting herself lay down completely, on my chest. As she pressed her face into my neck and throat, I could still feel it as she started to speak a couple of times, before finally telling me "When you, uh, tasted me that first time, I was *so* afraid that there would be something bad about me inside, and that you wouldn't want to go on."

"Candice, I knew that you were careful about keeping yourself clean by your smell - not just your body, but there, too; so I wasn't worried about how you might taste. In fact, from my experience, *every* woman tastes a little different; I like it, since it's a part of what makes each of you unique."

I could feel the warmth radiating off her as she blushed, but didn't say anything.

After a bit, though, she did manage to almost whisper "I was *really* curious to find out what it was like to have someone use their, uh, mouth on me like that; but I was kind of nervous about letting someone actually DO it - I didn't know how they'd react, or whether or not I'd like it."

"Well, now you know how *I* react, and I don't think it's too much of a leap to say that you seemed to like it."

"Like it?! Heck, I *loved* it! That was _great_!"

And with that, she rested herself on her elbows, so that we were face to face; and with a grin on her face, moved in to kiss me - KNOWING that she was also going to get a small taste of herself, as well.

Our lips met, and we were soon checking each other's tonsils. After a bit, she finally pulled back from me again, and after smacking her lips a bit, said "Hmmm. I think I could understand why you like to do that. You said that every woman tastes a little different - then they taste a little the same, too?"

"Yeah, I suppose - not a *lot* the same, but a _little_ bit."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned and blushed at me before saying "I, uh, kinda like the way I taste; I don't think I'd mind, uh, finding out what other women taste like, too!"

"You might, at that. Just be careful, is all - there are still a lot of people out there that wouldn't be happy with that idea, and might want to hurt you because of it. And, of course, there are still diseases out there that would last a lot longer than any pleasure you might get from a single woman."

She seemed mildly surprised by my response, and asked "You don't mind? That I might want to, uh, taste another girl?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Well, I mean, they tell us at school that it's a sin, and..."

There, I interrupted her, to say "Candice, I think you know that I'm not a Catholic. I'm not even a Christian. Or Baptist, or Moslem, or Buddhist, or any other kind of religious 'ist'. As far as I'm concerned, then only real 'sin' is to deliberately hurt another person, for *any* reason. If it makes you feel good, and it makes the other woman feel good, and you're both doing it because you WANT to, then by all means, go on and enjoy yourselves. Anything you do is YOUR business, not mine or anyone else's;-and if I, or anyone else, tried to tell you differently, I'd expect to hear you tell me - or them - to get stuffed, or go fly a kite, or anything else to get the idea across that it wasn't any of our business and to leave you alone. You know the Golden Rule, right?"

"Sure - 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'."

"And how does it apply?"

"Uh, treat other people nice, so they'll treat you nice."

"And what do you think the reverse of the Golden Rule would be?"

She thought a few moments, and said "Do not do unto others as you would have them not do unto you?"

"And that would mean?"

Again, she thought a moment before suddenly brightening up, and saying "If you don't want other people sticking their nose in your business, don't stick your nose in theirs!", with a laugh.

"So if you don't have any interest in finding out about them, and their lives?"

"Don't let them know anything about me, or my life!"

"And if they're rude enough to ask, or say anything?"

"Be just as rude, and tell them it's none of their business!", laughing even harder before suddenly giving me a kiss that nearly curled my toes before she let it end.

"You're really something, you know it?", she asked.

"Sure. But the question most people have is just WHAT is it that I am.", I answered, and launching her into a fit of giggles.

After a bit, she was mostly sobered up again, and asked me "What should I do if there's something someone else can do for me, and I want to do something for them?"

"Ask them, and tell them what you have to offer in return. If they find it agreeable, and they *can* do it, they will. If they can't or won't, try to find out why, and see if there's anything else you can add or do to make it happen - but only to the extent that you're _willing_ to. If either of you has to give or do more than you want, then it's not an *equal* trade of _values_."

"Then what is it when you want to do something to make someone else happy, without them doing anything in return? Like how you've done so much to help all of us?"

"That was still an equal trade of values, but with myself - the value of what I was doing was equal to the value of how good it made me feel to be doing it."

She blinked a couple of times as she thought about that - and what it meant.

Suddenly, she said "Then there's something that _I_ want to do, that's kind of like that."

"What's that?"

"I want to use my mouth on you, like you used yours on me. I want to trade the value of my doing something for you in exchange for the way it would it would make ME happy."

I smiled, and nodded, in acceptance of her argument, and said "Excellent. I accept and agree, subject to one condition."

"What's that?"

"That I can pick up where I left off, when I want."

She smiled, and quickly said "Agreed!".

She started by giving me a soft, gentle kiss on the lips before adding a couple more to the corners of my mouth. A few more along my jaw line, then my neck and throat. Chest, then shoulders - brief pause to nibble my ear, thank-you-very-much - and back to my chest before working over my chest muscles with her hands, and the skin - including my nipples - with her lips before scooting herself down my body a ways. Tongue-tip tracing a line to my navel; dip, and circle, then on to greener pastures: tracing an outline of my pubic hair. From top dead center, across and down to the juncture of my thigh and lower belly; along the junction to next to my penis. Then down to just below my scrotum, across my perineum to the other side, and then reversing the path.

That experience was enough to get the blood flowing.

Next, she kissed a direct line from my navel to my penis, applying small sucking bites with her lips as she did. When she finally got to the head of my penis, I was semi-erect, and ready for whatever she did next - which was to take just the very tip of my member in her mouth before 'walking' her lips down it's increasing length, and sucking me into her mouth as she progressed. In only a few seconds, she had my nearly erect penis completely in her mouth, but then didn't do anything else: she didn't suck on it, she didn't rub it with her tongue, or do anything else to stimulate me; it was as though she were simply taking the time to simply _experience_ the situation, and taste of me.

Several seconds went by, then she began sliding her tongue along me as she slowly twisted her head; before long, she'd run her tongue across every bit of me. As I started to grow again in her mouth, she lightly dragged her fingernails across the skin of my scrotum, then cupped it in her hands feeling the weight as she softly rolled my testicles around.

When I was almost fully erect, she allowed nearly my entire length to slide from her lips as she pulled her head back before pausing a moment and taking me back in again. Running her tongue along the bottom ridge of my penis, it didn't take her long to find out how sensitive the underside of the head was. With that discovery, she again slid me out of her mouth, and after only a moment's delay, took me in again, using her tongue to apply a light, fluctuating pressure to it. After perhaps a dozen of these cycles, I was fully erect, and she was taking perhaps two thirds of my length in her mouth: I could feel it as the tip of my penis ever-so-lightly touched the back of her throat.

With me completely hard, and starting to make small, involuntary thrusts into her mouth, she quickly settled into regularly bobbing her head on my erection. Whether it was teasing me with her tongue, applying a steady suction or something in between, she continued to add to the stimulation of what she was doing: circling the head of my penis with her tongue when her head was up, or gently pushing it into the start of her throat when her head was down, or twisting her head back and forth while moving, it was as though my entire existence centered on what she was doing to me with her mouth.

Finally, though, I had to have _something_ to distract myself from what she was doing, and raised my head to tell her "You're doing absolutely terrific " - she smiled around my erection - "but I want to do you, too."

She nodded her head slightly, without releasing me, and started moving herself around, using my erection as her pivot point. As her knees got close to my head, I used my hands - and gentle pressure - to guide her; in just a minute or so, her was in position for me to view the center of her womanhood; at no point during the process did she stop what she was doing, much less actually release me from her mouth.

With her opened up to me again, I quickly raised my head, and placed my mouth over her slightly parted labia, and sucked them into my mouth, along with a small sample of her juices. Holding them steady with my lips, I began using my tongue to flicker across them, and trace their outlines as I savored the taste and texture of her. After a bit, I released them, and again placed my mouth over the opening to her vagina - sucking on it softly and steadily as I began a random pattern of dipping into her opening to varying depths, and tracing her labia. It wasn't long before she was slowly hunching against my mouth, trying to draw my tongue inside her as far she could get it - and moaning around my penis, creating a *most* pleasant sensation.

I gradually eased off what I was doing, and then moved on to focus on her erect clitoris - rapidly circling it with my tongue-tip, licking across it, and applying a fluttering pressure against it. As I did, her arousal increased even more; I was delighted when a small trickle of her oils found their way down her cleft and onto my tongue. Her moans continued, as did her slow humping against my mouth; added to these were her occasional gasps and small exclamations of pleasure.

More than anything else, it was her moans that were stimulating me. The feeling of her warm, wet mouth enveloping me was wonderful, but the vibrations as she moaned only made things worse and better, at the same time.

With the increased stimulation from her, I knew that I had to do more if I was going to survive the experience, and finally released her clitoris from being the focus of my attentions to begin varying my actions; applying myself to stimulating her randomly, all over her entire pubic area. Vaginal opening, then clitoris. Labia, then clitoris. Labia to vagina to labia to clitoris to vagina. Varying what I did, and how long I did it - as well as how much or how little - I did my best to bring her to her orgasm.

Only when I felt the tightening of my balls did I finally again settle in to focus on her clitoris, applying a rapid, fluttering, soft flicking across it - a sensation that seemed to rapidly escalate her excitement. It was a self-defeating action though: the more excited she got, the more she moaned, and the more she stimulated me. Finally, as I felt myself go over the edge to my climax, I stopped what I was doing to her, and simply took her clitoris between my lips, applying a soft, steady suction to it as I coated her tonsils with the first hot jet of my semen.

When she felt me tense, she'd bobbed her head up and down a couple of times, quickly, before pulling back so that only the head of my penis was in her mouth when the first blast erupted, then the second. With the apparent decision that the taste wasn't unpleasant, she quickly took me into her mouth farther again, and applied a powerful suction to me as she drew her head back again, in time with my next spurt of semen, drawing it out of me more powerfully than I would have expected. She did it again, for the fourth, and then fifth eruptions. Only then did she allow my semen to roll around in her mouth a bit before swallowing it before taking me into her mouth completely again. Applying only a gentle suction, she used her tongue to 'squeegee' my penis, and the tip of her tongue to press against the ridge on the bottom, near the base, and sliding it toward the head, milking me of the last few drops.

As she did, I was again able to resume the fluttering I'd been doing before my climax hit; in less than a minute, I could feel her tense in my arms as an orgasm overtook her - with one last tightening of her lips, she pulled herself off my penis before emitting a loud groan of release and pleasure. As wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her, she continued to voice nonsensical sounds of pleasure between groans of release; gasping and panting as she tried to breathe between releases.

Eventually, the power of it lessened for her, and as it did, she was able to get _some_ control over herself again. Still panting and gasping, she managed to lower herself enough to lay on me, her head to the side as she tried to breathe while a couple of small aftershocks ran through her. She was completely lax as I took her leg in my hand and moved it next to the other, in preparation for easing her off me and onto the bed, where I thought she'd be more comfortable. That done, I carefully and slowly rolled onto my side, gently sliding her off me so that her side was touching the bed. Turning more, I was able to transfer her weight from me, to the bed, and then carefully guide her onto her back before turning myself around so that I could lay next to her.

Looking at her, I could see that she was still a bit unfocused, and after a moment's thought, decided to make a _quick_ trip to the kitchen and bring us back something to drink. She didn't seem to notice as I eased myself away from her, and then got up, heading quickly for the kitchen. When I returned with a couple bottles of club soda, she still wasn't completely alert, even though she did seem to notice when I lay next to her again. I set the bottles to the side, and laying on my back, eased her next to me, so that I could put my arm around her and hold her with her head on my shoulder.

A few more minutes went by, and I began to feel her stir as she again got full control of herself. I gave her a little more time, and when I figured she was coherent again, took one of the bottles and dangled it where she could see it, as an offering. I felt her head nod on my shoulder, and released her - with a disappointed moan from her - to move a bit and sit up, so that I could hold her head on my lap, which I did. I opened the bottle, and after raising her head and holding it, put the opening to her mouth. She tilted her head, and took a few swallows before letting me take it away from her lips. She looked up at me, and mouthed 'thank you'; I smiled and told her "My pleasure. Let me know when you're ready for more." She nodded, and I laid her head down again before taking a couple sips, myself, as she watched me.

After a bit, I could feel her trying to raise her head again, and quickly helped her before offering her the bottle. She took a few more swallows, and was able to reach up to guide my hand away when she was done. I followed her example, and when the bottle was empty, exchanged it for the other full one. By that time, she'd gotten some of her strength back, and managed to roll herself off my lap, and indicate that she wanted me to lay next to her, which I did. She took the bottle from me then, and drained off nearly half of it before raising herself onto her elbow next to me, so that she was looking down at me, and resting the hand holding the bottle on my chest. I tilted my head up, and she quickly offered me a drink; when I was done, she just as quickly finished it, setting the empty by the other.

She started to speak, but all that came out was a weak croak; she cleared her throat, and tried again, saying "Thank you. Not just for the drink - I needed it! - but for what you just did for me, and let me do for you."

"It was my pleasure - on both counts!", I grinned.

She smiled back, and said "Yeah, I could tell! I'm glad I only had a little bit of you in my mouth when you shot - it really surprised me how hard it came out, and how much of it there was. It tasted kind of strange, at first; a little bit salty, but okay. Uh, I guess men are like women a little, as far as being a little bit similar and a little different?"

"So I hear - but I wouldn't have any personal knowledge of it, you understand.", I said, with another grin.

She laughed, and said "No, I wouldn't expect you would. I think you like girls too much to have any interest in guys."

"True enough. I'm an 'outie' and girls are 'innies' - seems to work just fine, for me."

"Have you ever tried it? Guys, I mean?"

"Like most kids, I had a couple of minor encounters with the same sex - it didn't do anything for me, though, so I didn't follow up on it any."

She nodded, and after a couple moments, said "It's nice talking to you like this, but what I really want to do is hold you, and cuddle for a little while."

"I'd be delighted. Uh, how about if you get us a couple drinks, and while you're gone, I'll move up to rest against the headboard. Then when you get back, you can sit on my lap, and we can hold each other and relax, or talk if you want."

"Deal!", she said, and quickly got up to head for the kitchen after pausing to collect the empty bottles - earning bonus points from me for initiative and thoughtfulness.

While she was gone, I eased myself to the head of the bed, and got a couple pillows propped up to act as cushions/supports before leaning back against them. When she returned, I saw that she'd not only brought several bottles, but a couple of bagels, topped with cream cheese. Setting her burden on the nightstand, she quickly got onto the bed, and then my lap, making herself comfortable. Seeing that she was still a little tired, I eased her forward so that she was astraddle my lower belly, and raised my knees again, giving her something to rest against, as I'd done before. She smiled at me, and nodded her head in thanks, before leaning back against my thighs.

I reached out to the nightstand, and selected a bottle of soda; looking at her, I raised an eyebrow in question. She nodded her head, and I opened it and handed it to her. Again with a bagel, which she accepted. With my own bottle and bagel, we both sat back to refresh ourselves a bit: relaxed and unhurried, enjoying just having the company of each other. As we ate, we continued our conversation between bites, questioning and answering each other about all manner of things, such as school and the subjects she liked and disliked; my business and job, and what I did and how; what her life was like at home, and her family; how I'd gone from electronics training in the Navy to getting my degree and owning my own business. We ate slowly, and the conversation was casual, with no pressure - but neither of us held anything back when we talked. I found out that she delighted in math, but couldn't deal with such things as literature - the math was "neat, and clean" for her, while literature was a trial "because the teachers make us figure out these novels, and tell them what we think the novel means, but the only _right_ answers are the ones they know, and didn't tell us." I told her - a little, minus the female adventures of a young man full to overflowing with hormones - of my travels in Asia, and how I'd gotten interested in the people and their cultures, the how and why of the things that they did in the different cultures; and how it had gotten me started on an interest in philosophy that I still had. She told me how quiet and solemn her family was, and how they seemed to have so little humor and joy in their lives. I let her know that I'd gone into the Navy at 17 to get out of an unhappy home, and how the Navy - in it's infinite wisdom, I said, getting a grin from her - had taught me electronics, a subject I knew nothing about when I went in, and then how to fix airplanes; how I'd enjoyed the travel and experiences, but figured out that the control and discipline necessary to a military organization didn't jibe with the creativity I felt, and how I'd gotten out to go to a major technical college, getting dual degrees: electronics engineering and philosophy; how I'd worked for a number of companies doing instrumentation and control work before I realized that most large companies didn't want innovation, they wanted obedience and conformity, so I'd broken free of them to take charge of my own life - and while getting started, found out that it was scary, it was frightening, and there was an incredible amount of responsibility and work involved; but that I wouldn't trade it for twice the pay at any of the companies that I'd worked at before.

When we finished our snacks and drinks, she called a pause to the conversation long enough to collect our paper napkins and bottles to put them in the trash, telling me "I'm not a neat freak or anything, but there's no sense having them in the way, either, is there?"

Once seated on me again, she looked at me for a moment before tilting her head, and saying "You know, it's so much easier for me to talk to you than my parents, or even most of the people that I know at school."

"How's that?"

"Well, for starters, you actually *listen* to me - not just the words, but where they're coming from. And when you talk to me, or answer a question, you don't sound like you're trying to preach or tell me what to do or anything; you just tell me what you think, or teach me something I don't know, and then leave me alone to take care of things myself, like *I* have a brain, too."

I shrugged, and didn't say anything, but she wasn't going to let me off that easy.

"No, don't be like that, okay? Remember, I *know*, now, what it's like for you, and with you. I *know* that it isn't always easy for you to deal with people that way. I know that doing it makes you feel good, but I also know that you put a lot of time and energy and effort into doing it, too. I know you're not going to brag about it, or make any kind of big deal about it; but you don't have to do that 'aw, shucks' routine, either. Just acknowledge you did it, is all, okay?"

She caught me by surprise, and all I could do was look at her for a few seconds before answering "Okay. Just try to understand, too, that I'm not used to people knowing what's going on, so it'll take me a little time to get out of the habit, okay?"

She nodded in acceptance, and went on "Anyway, like I was going to say, when you talk to me - or any of us, really - you do it in a way that lets us know that you're not judging us; at least, not for anybody but you. I mean, we always know where we stand with you - but ONLY you; it's not like you're making decisions about us for *everybody*, like we were in some court or something. And when we DO make a mistake with you, you're careful to let us know what the mistake was, and how to both fix it, and not make it again, so that we actually _learn_ something from you. We feel bad, but not because of anything you've done or said, but from inside ourselves - it's like being around you has given us even better consciences, and a better idea of what's right, and wrong."

I nodded, and satisfied with that, she went on "Before I understood all this, before I 'got it' as Kelly called it, I thought you were pretty cool. I don't mean cool like you knew all the latest bands and dressed the way I did or anything like that, but cool that you had this *dignity* and self-respect - but not TOO much, you know? - and you treated us the same way; with dignity and respect, which was pretty weird at first. And I thought you *really* had your act together - there doesn't seem to be much that rattles you - and I *KNOW* that they were trying to rattle you at the, uh, fashion show, that night - but they didn't, and it _really_ blew most of us away. Jan told us the little bit she knew about your job, and it sounded pretty boring, really. But you dress nice, you've got this really cool house, and all this neat stuff; and you're not a dealer or pimp or anything like that - so I had to figure that there's more to what you do that there seems. And that just made you seem like you were that much more together, and that much cooler: you weren't doing what everyone else was, to fit in, you were doing what YOU wanted. Way cool."

"Actually, I know I've got my stuff together - because *I* know it, not because someone tells me. As for the other, I just don't much care about it - cool or not, I do pretty much what makes ME happy, or what I want to, and ignore anything else. Every flock of sheep has a Judas goat; I'll be damned if I'm going to be a sheep, so that leaves the goat."

She looked confused, and I explained to her "Sheep are dumb. No, they're flat-out _stupid_; dumber than a box of rocks. You can't get sheep into a pen - they're just too stupid to figure out the open gate. So they keep a goat - not smart, but an Einstein compared to sheep - to lead the way. It's called a Judas goat because it's most often used to pen the sheep for slaughter: the sheep will follow it into the pen, but the goat goes free and they don't."

Understanding, she smiled, and went on "And that's another thing: it's really obvious - to all of us - that you're smart. *WAY* smart. Kinda scary-smart, even. I mean, the way you figure stuff out, and how you remember things, is just _amazing_. I mean, I knew you were smart - but I didn't really know *how* smart until Jan and Kelly started showing us this place. I mean, YOU'RE the one that figured all this stuff out, like Mabel and everything, and designed it and installed it and made it all work. It's incredible - I didn't know one person could HAVE that many brains, but you do; and yet you're still able to talk to us like we're real people, about little stuff. And you've got WAY more sense than any of the other smart people I know, like our science teacher. I mean, he really knows about chemistry and biology and all that other stuff, but half the time, he wanders around with his shirt buttoned wrong, or his fly half open, or something else like that."

"Candice, do you think Susan is pretty?"

"Sure."

"Do you think you're prettier?"

She paused a moment, and said "Yeah, I suppose."

"Do you treat her any different, just because she's not as pretty as you?"

"No, of course not! She's my friend!", she answered, a bit testy.

"Would you treat Kelly any different, if SHE wasn't as smart as she is?"

"No. She's still my friend, and I like her!"

I waited, smiling.

She watched me for a moment, to see if I was going to say anything - then started thinking about what I HAD said.

Then she saw what I was getting at, and blushed a bit before saying "Okay. Lesson learned. Like people for who they are - all of them, just not one part of them; and treat them the same, no matter how they're different."

She leaned in toward me a bit, and asked "So how did you figure all this stuff out? I mean, I know you're smart, but still....."

"Like I told you, I traveled a lot in Asia. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, a lot of places. I watched people, and what they did. A lot of it didn't make sense from my perspective as an American, with my cultural background; so I started trying to figure out why they did what they did. As an electronics tech, I'd learned to analyze things, and look for cause and effect, and see why somebody would do one thing instead of another - what was good and bad about a particular choice in a particular situation. So I just kind of naturally applied that kind of thinking to the different cultures I was in - WHY would a person do a certain thing in a certain situation? What made it a good or bad choice for them? How did their society or culture evolve to that point? How did it help them, or their culture? That sort of thing. From there, it was a short hop to philosophy - not just the western and European stuff like Nietze and Kant and all that, but Santayana and Plato and Confucius, and even other religions. It was the 'Who am I? Why am I here?' deal that most people go through at some time or other; I just got more involved, and took it more seriously, than they do. I not only read the stuff, but looked at how it worked, too, and how it was applied. And I started looking at the things that were common, and different, between different cultures and religions and all that stuff; and what things were the same and different with people in different places and circumstances. After a *lot* of reading and watching and thinking, I finally managed to get it all down to something I could keep together in my mind, and started trying to live my life that way. Botched it a lot, at first, but I learned from my mistakes, and kept trying until I had it going pretty good; after that, it got easier and easier."

"What were some of the things you've learned?"

"Pretty simple stuff, really - things that just about everybody realizes at some point, or other; just not enough of them, or how to apply them."

"Such as?"

"Such as... Never let what you want or expect get in the way of what's really there. Life happens - deal with it, and move on. Until you're happy with yourself, you're not going to be happy with anyone else. Love isn't a claim ON someone, it's a gift TO them; if and how they return it is up to them. Religions get in the way of people in general, as much as they help people individually. When somebody latches onto a specific racial, or national, or any other kind of identity-grouping, they're showing that they're afraid to think for themselves - with their group of choice always being right, and everyone else being wrong, they set themselves up for a lot of hardship. Courage isn't necessarily doing what you're afraid of, it's doing what you know is RIGHT. People that are willing to sacrifice a principle don't usually have much of a principle to sacrifice in the first place. That kind of thing."

"What you said about religions getting in the way - what did you mean?"

"Did they teach you in school about the Inquisition?", I asked.

She shook her head 'no'.

"Okay, then let me ask you first what you think about Jews, in general."

"Uh, they're okay, I suppose. Most of the talk I hear in school isn't very nice."

"Okay, I want you to remember that.", I said, and went on to give her a brief history lesson before continuing "Now, if I was Jewish, how do you suppose I'd feel about that?"

She looked at me, horrified, saying "I guess you'd be pretty upset. But that happened hundreds of years ago!"

"So? The Jewish religion is THOUSANDS of years old - remember your Bible? And how it talks about Jews? They were a religion, even then. And I might point out that all Christian religions observe Easter, something that is supposed to have happened even longer ago than the Inquisition."

She looked at me, and I had to explain to her "Candice, I am _not_ putting down your religion - I am only pointing out how it's actions have gotten in the way of how it deals with Jews as a people, even as it was giving you comfort and solace as an individual. From what I could read, most of the other major religions have had their own problems, as well."

"Then what did you mean about the race or national group thing?"

"Know any black people?"

"Sure."

"Any of them ever get so busy being Black that they forgot to be HUMAN?"

She just looked at me.

"Candice, do you treat black people any differently than others?"

"No. Well, except.." she started to say, then stopping.

"Except when they go off to do some 'black' thing.", I finished for her. She nodded, realizing the circularity of it.

"I understand that they _are_ black, and that the history of black people in this country - for good OR bad - isn't something to be dismissed. But as long as it's an issue, it WILL be an issue: as long as *anyone* insists on being treated differently for some reason or other, they WILL be treated differently, _for that very reason_ . I was going into a store one time, and held the door for a woman that was a short distance behind me. When she got close, she proceeded to jump all over me about holding doors for women, and how it was sexist, and she could open her own damn doors, and all the rest of it. When she finally wound down, I simply told her 'I was holding the door for a fellow human being, as a courtesy from one person to another. I'd have done the same if you were male or female, black or white, old or young. But with that attitude, next time I'll just let it slam in your face so you can feel equal!'. She started to apologize, but I just told her that we'd already exchanged opinions, and that I had no further interest in speaking with her, and walked away to leave her standing there feeling like the fool she was."

She nodded, and I went on "If I give more compliments to women, it's because women do more to deserve them - I might see a woman with a new hairstyle, and tell her it looks nice, while ignoring the man she's with - who hasn't changed HIS hairstyle in twenty years. Ditto her new dress and his five-year-old suit, or the results of her health club membership and his eighty pounds of gut hanging over his belt. Otherwise, I try to treat people the same - man or woman, black or white, young or old, or any other difference you might come up with."

She nodded, telling me "I can vouch that you don't treat women any different than you do men - except in the ways that really matter!", she added with a grin, before moving closer to take me into her arms and kiss me. Hard. A lot.

When she came up for air, she grinned at me and said "I like it when you talk to me - us - but I like it even more when it's just you and me!"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Are you, uh, ready to make me a woman?"

"Not just yet, I think. Remember, I'm old, and decrepit - it takes me a little longer to recover than some young 18 year old stud."

"Hmmph. Old? Maybe, but I don't think so. Decrepit? No, I think the proper word is _depraved_. Maybe you're not some young stud - but I want to find out if you're an 'old' stud!", she said with a grin, adding "Okay, if you want a little more time, I'll be _almost_ as happy to snuggle with you for a while."

"Snuggling is good, too!", I agreed, getting a grin from her before she lay against me again, her head on my shoulder. I put my arms around her as she put her hands on my shoulders; we sat there like that for several minutes, content to simply be touching each other.

Finally, she couldn't resist it any longer, and kissed my neck - followed by a soft bite. Feeling perkier, I retaliated by nibbling softly at her shoulder before taking her neck muscle between my teeth and _growling_ as I wiggled my head. A little tickled by it, she scrunched her shoulder up and giggled, before doing the same to me - and raising the stakes by pulling her body slightly away from mine and brushing my chest with her nipples. Ill-equipped for *that* kind of fight, I changed tactics: sliding my hands down her body and around to her buttocks, holding them in my hands for a few moments before giving them several firm squeezes and soft caresses.

She countered by pressing her chest into mine as she - HELLO! - stuck her tongue in my ear; and felt my involuntary response under her.

I responded by tracing the curves of her ear with my tongue, then breathing into it - and feeling her shiver in my arms as her nipples hardened into my chest.

Still in the neighborhood, she nibbled my ear for a few moments, then my neck, as she began a slow rocking motion on my lap, making slight contact with my slowly erecting penis.

Moving my hands from her ass cheeks, I began to slowly caress her, from her knees to her hips, up her sides then around to her back. Down her back and across her firm, smooth ass, and back along the bottoms of her thighs to her knees - then starting the circuit all over again as I softly covered her shoulder in kisses.

Knowing that she was having the desired effect, she pulled herself away from me a bit, and lowered her head to begin applying wet, softly sucking kisses to my chest and shoulders.

The change in her position caused me to re-route my hands, so that rather than tracing a line down her back, I was detouring to her front - caressing and squeezing her breasts and nipples before curving down to her butt, and allowing my fingertips to brush across her rectum, making her shudder slightly when I did.

The rocking of her hips was serving both to caress my penis, and spread her rapidly developing lubrication on it - even as she raised up and moved against me again to kiss me, I could feel her wet labia and hot entrance beginning to reach the head of my penis as it made firm contact with her mons.

As we kissed, she could feel the increasing pressure of my penis against her opening, and after a bit, raised herself up, so that my erection was free to swing up; when she felt that it was clear, she lowered herself again. Having never broken our kiss, she arched her back so that she could continue rubbing herself against my penis - only this time, along the bottom surface of it.

She knew that I was fully erect; when she was satisfied that I was well-lubricated with her oils, she pulled away from me again, panting, and asked "Okay, now what? I know you're ready, and I *sure* as hell am!"

I was panting a little myself, and told her "Let me slide down a little bit, so you have a little more room. Then when you're ready" - "I _am_, dammit!" - "You raise yourself up so that I'm in the right position to go in. Then you just kind of sit down on it; as slow as you need to or want to, so things don't happen to fast for you. When we get to your maidenhead, you take it as fast or slow as you want, and do whatever you want, until we can get past it without hurting you."

"I, uh, don't think that's going to be a problem. When I was little, before I even had my first period, I was out in the yard trying to do some of the gymnastics I saw them doing on TV during the Olympics. I felt this tearing inside, and when I looked, I saw that I was bleeding a little. Scared the hell out of me, and I ran in to tell my mom. It embarrassed the hell out of her when she took me to the emergency room, and they told her that all I'd done was tear my hymen, that it wasn't a big deal and that I'd be okay."

"Uh, sorry to hear that it happened that way, but it's good, I suppose, that it DID happen - it just means that it will be that much easier for you, whenever you're ready."

"I told you - I *am* ready. God, I'm so ready!", she exclaimed.

She scooted back a bit to give me some room, and I slid myself down, so that I was resting more on my tailbone, but with my shoulders still resting against the headboard. She put her hands on my chest, and worked her way backward, watching her progress, until she figured she was in the right spot.

"Uh, do you want me to hold it, or do you?", I asked.

She smiled at me, and said "I do - I think I'd have a better feel for how it would go into me, that way."

"That's fine - whatever you need or want, that's how it will happen. Just take your time, and don't do anything to hurt yourself. I'll be right here" - she snorted - "and I'm not going to do anything to you, other than what you tell me to, okay?"

She nodded, then reached down between us to take hold of my erection, and lift it up. Lowering herself until she could feel it against her, she made a couple of small adjustments in her position. Sliding the head between her labia, she coated it with her secretions, making sure that it was well-lubricated. Then, looking me squarely in the eye, started to lower herself onto it.

She had hold of me near the base, and as she pressed herself down, I couldn't help but grimace slightly as I started to bend. She saw it, and raised herself before moving her grip up to hold me more in the middle. Lowering herself for another try, the added support to my penis kept me steady enough that she was able to wiggle the glans against her opening. She would press down a bit, then pause, press again, then pause again, until the head of my erection suddenly popped through her entrance. She immediately stopped, letting go of my erection, and looked at me in mild amazement before getting a slightly distracted look on her face.

I simply lay there, my hands on her thighs, and watched her as she adjusted to the new situation.

After a few seconds, she looked at me again, and I asked her "Are you okay? You're not hurt or anything?"

She smiled slightly, and answered "No, not hurt exactly - I mean, I was *really* surprised when it just popped in like that; it felt so *big*. I guess it's stretching me or something, because I'm starting to get used to it; it feels better when I can, you know, _relax_ myself there."

"Well, take it easy. Take as much time as you want to get used to it. We have as much time as you want, okay?"

"Yeah, I will - but it *is* feeling better the longer it's in me."

"That's good - but still no reason to hurry things. Just do what you're comfortable with."

She nodded, and got a slightly faraway look in her eyes as she concentrated on what she was doing, and the sensations she was experiencing.

After a bit, she looked at me again, and asked "Okay, I'm pretty comfortable with it. Uh, is there anything to make the rest any easier, or go any faster?"

"Raising and then lowering yourself a bit, when you're comfortable, would help make sure your, uh, lubrication gets onto all of me, and make things a little easier for you. Other than that, the only thing I can tell you is relax, and take it easy."

She nodded her understanding, and with both hands on my chest again, raised then lowered herself slowly a couple of times, clearly trying to get her juices better distributed. It seemed to work, because after pausing a few moments, she pressed herself down again, taking perhaps another quarter inch of me inside.

With no apparent discomfort now, she paused a moment, then slid herself up and down for a short distance a couple of times before pausing and then pressing down, and gaining a little more than the previous effort. She looked up to smile at me in triumph, then focused on her own actions again.

Over the next couple of minutes, the cycle repeated itself several times - after each gain, she'd pause a moment to get used to the feeling of having me inside her, then raise and lower herself; with more and more of me inside her, she was apparently more willing to increase the distance she moved to spread her secretions around. And with us better lubricated, each time she pressed herself onto me, she would gain slightly more progress, until her last thrust took the last inch of my erection, leaving her sitting on my lap, my hardness fully enveloped by her womanhood.

With that much accomplished, she was content to sit there for a bit, letting her internal muscles stretch the last bit they needed before they could accept this intrusion.

As she rested, I put my hands on her hips, and spoke quietly to her to help her relax and adjust.

After a minute or so, I felt it as she slowly moved her hips under my hands, easing them first one direction, then another, as she experimented with the sensations she could create with me inside her. Once satisfied with the answers, she raised herself up, perhaps half my length, before letting herself slide down again - and slide she did, with her ample lubrication coating the length of me.

Again seated on me, she looked down at me with a smile of triumph - and pleasure.

A few moments went by, and I could feel her start to move over me slightly as she began experimenting with trying to control her internal muscles: raising and lowering herself slightly as she moved her hips back and forth, changing the angle that I entered her; rotating herself around my erection, to see how the change in my position felt; moving her hips in small circles to experience how the pressure of my penis changed inside her.

After a bit, she lifted herself up again, until only my glans was inside her; looking between us, I could see that there wasn't a trace of blood to be found - only the glistening of her secretions on my penis and her vaginal lips, giving proof of her arousal and readiness. She sat down again, incredibly slowly, as though savoring the feel of my hardness filling her again, millimeter by millimeter, until our pubic hair merged yet again. A pause, and back up she went, the tightness of our union drawing her labia out, only to disappear when she lowered herself with only a momentary delay.

Over the next couple of minutes, her actions increased, both in speed and enthusiasm; she was moving over me almost constantly, and setting herself on me firmly and easily. I watched her face as she progressed, and saw her eyes close in pleasure, and watched her face and neck and shoulders flush as her arousal and desire overtook her.

After a couple of minutes, she stopped using her legs to move herself; instead, she leaned forward a bit and started hunching herself down onto me with her legs and torso held steady. The change in entry seemed to make her even more excited; I could feel the difference in pressure as she moved, and could see that she was getting more pressure against her clitoral area at the start of each downward thrust. It also seemed to stretch her opening a trifle, too - it went from being almost painfully tight around my erection to 'merely' tight enough to force the skin of my erection to stretch away from the head as I entered her, creating a pressure along my length that felt _wonderful_.

As she settled into a slow, steady motion, I had the ability and desire to focus on how she felt around me - tight, of course, at her opening; but also incredibly snug and slippery all along her insides, as well. She was very warm and wet around me; the overall sensation was that of having my erection buried in a very warm, very oily, slightly-too-small spandex glove.

Several minutes went by before I could feel her starting to get tired again; I took her into my arms, and told her "Let me do that for a while.". She nodded her agreement - she was panting too much from effort and arousal to say much - and slowed and reduced her movements as I took over. With her holding steady over me, I started pistoning up into her, at much the same speed and force as she'd been using, continuing the rhythm and pattern she'd started.

She gradually lowered herself, so that she was resting on her elbows and knees, her breasts pressing against my chest; my arms wrapped around her, I was able to make love to thrust into her easily.

We continued like that for perhaps five minutes or so, before I started to feel the effort of it; she must have understood, because she managed to tell me, between gasps, "Let's move, and find something that doesn't wear us both out!". I voiced my agreement; she raised her body off mine - both of us covered in a fine sheen of perspiration - and reluctantly raised herself enough to let me slide free of her intimate grasp.

Looking at me questioningly, I guided her to lay on her back; she readily spread her legs for me, and I moved between them as she watched my glistening penis sway in front of me. Settling on my butt, my legs bent to the sides, I was very nearly at the same level as her opening; I pushed my penis down slightly, so that the head was between her labia, and pressing against her opening. She edged herself toward me, getting me wedged into position; from there, it was easy enough for me to slide nearly half my length back into her, eliciting a moan from her as I did. I guided her legs over mine, so that her feet rested on my legs - that put us into a position where I could begin a rocking motion that moved me in and out of her with minimal effort, and plenty of pleasure - for both of us, judging from the small sounds she made as I moved in her.

In a fairly short time, I had a nice rhythm going - fast enough to please her, but not so fast that I was at any risk of climaxing sooner than I wanted. I wanted to make this experience as enjoyable for her as I could, while pleasing myself for as long as possible. As I rocked in and out of her, I could see a slight swaying in her breasts - firm as they were, they had barely changed shape when she laid down; standing proudly, her erect nipples waved in the air slightly in time with my motions in her.

At first, she was content to simply hold my legs where they extended under her, but after a little time, she moved her hands up to begin playing with her breasts - squeezing them, pinching and teasing the nipples, and caressing them. Looking down, I saw that her labia were fully extended and spread wide, moving only a little from side to side as my erection slid past them. As widely as she'd spread her legs, it was easy to see her clitoris, too, where it had come out from under it's hooded shelter. Glistening slightly, it appeared to nod it's head in time with my actions; collecting some of her juices on my thumb, I used them to lubricate her as I softly caressed and pressed her clitoris as I continued to rock back and forth, sliding nearly the entire length of my woman-wet sword in her sheath.

I was careful to keep my attentions to her clitoris slow and gentle - using them to add an extra little bit of pleasure and stimulation to the arousal she was feeling from my movements in her; the goal was to bring her, slowly and gently, to an orgasm that she would remember for the rest of her life, as the first she ever experienced from actually making love with a man.

As the time of our joining increased, so did her excitement. She gasped and panted, not from effort, but from arousal; more and more noises of pleasure escaped her throat; the blush on her face and neck and shoulders darkened, and expanded to cover her chest and the upper slopes of her breasts; from passively accepting my penetrations, she progressed to welcoming them, then encouraging them by lifting her hips slightly as I entered her; her head tossed from side to side; and her eyes opened only slightly, hooded in her desire and lust.

As the seconds turned to minutes, I could also _feel_ Candice's advancing arousal: from faint flutterings of her vagina, then tightening around my penis, her vaginal muscles increased to actually clasping at it; her secretions increased, and were pushed out by my penetrations of her, first wetting, then soaking, both of our pubic areas.

After perhaps ten minutes, I could watch as she got closer and closer to her orgasm - her gasps and moans increased not only in frequency, but volume; and I could see that her attentions to her breasts were getting not only faster, but harder, as well. Knowing that she was anxious for release, I slightly increased the pressure and speed of my thumb as I caressed and rubbed her clitoris; in only a couple more minutes, I was watching when her eyes suddenly flew open and she stared at a point about a thousand miles over my shoulder, and she let out a long, loud moan as the first of several spasms hit her. I felt her tighten down on me for several long seconds as I continued to move in her with the same steady motions and pace. When she loosened around me, I could feel the fluttering of her internal muscles as they tried to relax from the intensity of their clenching. She started to draw a ragged breath, but it was cut off as another wave of her release washed over her, freezing her in place. It seemed to last as long as the first, and as it passed, she managed to release a shuddering moan before sucking in a gasping breath - barely ahead of yet another powerful spasm that took her over completely.

With the end of the third cycle in her orgasm, she was able to pant a couple times and draw another breath before a fourth, slightly less powerful, clenching took her - but through it, she was able to release a low groaning sound of pleasure and release. The fifth and sixth spasms were each less than the one before; as she felt each move over her, she voiced her pleasure in a low moan.

Throughout all this, her vagina continued to tighten around me with each phase of her release, waves of muscle moving along my penis as they peaked, then fluttering sensations as they passed.

As her orgasm ended, I could see that she was in no danger of passing out or losing consciousness; but neither was she going to be in full control of herself, either. So I gradually slowed my pistoning, until I finally stopped with myself embedded in her; and leaned forward until I could rest on my elbows, so that I was covering her body with mine without putting too much of my weight on her. I put my arms along her sides, and my hands on her shoulders, and softly kissed her face and neck and shoulders as she fought to get her breath back, and control of her senses. A number of small shudders passed through her, but they quickly tapered off as she recovered from her experience. Her movements, as she got her breathing under control and regained her senses, produced a variety of involuntary tightenings and sensations where she was thoroughly wrapped around me - it was stimulating and pleasant enough that I didn't have any difficulty staying hard inside her without making any additional movement.

Finally, I felt her stirring slightly under me, and raised up enough to be able to see her face. Her eyes fluttered slightly, and I could see the effort as she tried to focus them on me. When she did manage it, I slowly raised myself even farther, so that I was resting on my outstretched arms, my hands on the bed next to her shoulders.

Perhaps ten seconds went by with her just looking at me, before she tried to speak - and all that came out was a soft croaking noise.

"Would you like something to drink?", I asked.

Her eyes told me 'yes', and I put my weight on one arm to free the other hand to get a soda off the nightstand. I set it nearby, and said "You can't drink anything laying down like that. I'm going to pick you up a little bit so you can drink, okay?"

Again, she communicated her agreement with her eyes; I leaned down a bit and worked my hands and forearms under her shoulders. It took a bit of effort, but I managed to raise her up to near-sitting position without any sudden movements. Holding her steady with one arm, I reached out and pulled in the bottle of soda, and with one hand, managed to open it. Bringing it up to her mouth, I tilted it when she opened her lips slightly. I carefully poured a little of it into her mouth, and watched as she let some of it soak into her tissues before swallowing. Her eyes told me she was ready for more, and I did it again, pouring a little more into her mouth, stopping when she indicated it was enough. After she swallowed it, she was able to croak out "Thank you". I smiled, and offered her another drink, which she accepted. With the additional recovery time, she was able to raise her hand to mine as continued to hold the bottle while she drank.

Quickly recovering her strength, she was able to take the bottle from me and hold it herself as she told me "That was really something. *Really* _something_." in little more than a whisper before taking a drink by herself. She sat up a little more, and was able to put her arm around me a bit, even though I still had hold of her to help support her. In a close to normal voice, she asked "Is it like that *every* time?"

"Damned if I know! I suppose that it *could* be, for you, if you wanted it to.". I answered.

"Oh, dear God!" was all she could say before shifting her weight slightly - and feeling me move inside her when she did.

Her eyes got big, and she looked down to see that yes, what she'd felt was true: I *was* still hard, and we *were* still joined. Lifting her head again, she could only stare at me for several seconds before asking "What are you? Superman? Didn't you like it, too?"

I smiled at the compliment, and told her "Oh, I enjoyed it just fine, thank you very much. No, I'm not Superman; I've just got a little control over myself. What we were doing felt good for me, too - I wouldn't be hard if it didn't - but I was more interested in making it good for you than getting myself off."

"Oh, it was good for me! Damn, it was good! The way you were sliding in and out of me, it felt like I was getting scratched for an itch I didn't know I had until then - it just felt so *good*, feeling you move in me like that. And the way you were touching me, just kept making it feel better and better, and getting me hotter and hotter, until finally, BLAM, it hit me! At first, I thought I was going to pass out or something 'cause I couldn't even _breathe_!"

"Yeah, I have to admit that it did look like you were enjoying It.", I teased.

She gave me a dirty look and said "Enjoyed it, hell. It felt so good I thought I was dying, and on my way to heaven!"

"Well, I just wanted to try and make your first time like that something you would be happy to remember, is all."

She gave me another dirty look, and said "Oh, I'll remember it, all right. I wouldn't have forgotten it anyway, but after _that_, I'll be dreaming about it the rest my life!"

I grinned at her, and gently pulled her to my chest, giving her a hug - which she quickly returned, fiercely.

As we separated, we could both feel it as I moved inside her again, a little bit.

She grinned at me, and said "Well, if that thing is still working, it seems a shame not to use it for something."

I grinned back, and said "Hmmm. That's an interesting thought - any suggestions?"

She laughed, and said "It seems to fit where it is now, so you probably ought to just keep it there - but maybe move it around a little?"

"Say, that's a good idea! I wish *I'd* thought of it!"

"THAT is the benefit of a good private school education!", she declared solemnly - before both of us broke up, laughing.

When she'd caught her breath again, she told me "I mean it - if you're still able, I'm ready to go again. Only this time, don't worry about me, okay? You've done enough for me this afternoon to keep me happy for the rest of my life; if you want to go ahead and, uh, shoot your stuff, don't wait for me. Seriously, you've already done enough for me, so go ahead and do something for yourself, now. All right?"

"If it gets to that point, okay, I will." I answered, hedging.

She gave me the fisheye, but I let it go, saying "Good. Now, what do you want me to do?"

"How about if we start like we did before, with you on your back? Only this time, I'll be between your legs, and can get a little more, uh, active."

She grinned at me, impishly, and said "'Active', huh? Sounds like a winner to me!"

That settled, she got her feet under her, and began - slowly - to raise up, as though reluctant to lose me. As I pulled free of her, there was a small sucking noise, which seemed to embarrass her terribly - judging from how bright pink her face and ears got. As she moved back, though, and got sight of my erection swaying slightly between my thighs, shiny with her juices, she got over embarrassment quickly, electing to get on her hands and knees long enough to take me into her mouth, and replace her vaginal juices with her saliva - and bringing me to maximum hardness in the process. Only when she was satisfied that she'd gotten all of her lubrication off me did she pull her head back, and release me from between her lips. She looked up at me with a shit-eating grin, and quickly moved to lay on her back, her legs spread and knees pulled up.

I moved between her legs, and leaned forward to put my hands on either side of her shoulders; she quickly reached down between us with her hands, using one to spread her labia, and the other to take hold of me and position me at her entrance. As we looked into each other's eyes, I firmly pressed my hips forward, and in a single, slow motion - she was still VERY wet from our previous encounter - slid my entire length into her, so that when I was done, my pubic bone was pressed against hers - and indirectly, her clitoris.

She removed her hands from between us, and put them around my waist, pulling at me to make sure that I was as far inside her as I could go. I eased myself out of her, until my glans was _just barely_ inside the ring of muscle at her vaginal entrance, then pushed forward again, accompanied by her moan of pleasure. As I got close to filling her again, she arched her back slightly, so that when our pelvises touched, I was pressing more on her clitoris. To help get her aroused even more, I pressed forward in a couple of short, firm pushes, 'bumping' her clitoris; she responded by gasping in pleasure.

I slid out of her again, not as far, and then back in - a little faster, and a little firmer; the groan she released told me that _that_ was what she wanted. So I did it again - faster and firmer still. Another groan, and again. In short order, I was pistoning in and out of her in quick, solid strokes, bumping against her clitoris each time I buried myself in her.

As I settled into a rhythm, I came to realize that the thing that seemed to be pleasing her most was the force with which I was entering her. I tested the idea by maintaining the speed I'd set, but not letting myself enter her so far - her reaction was a series of mildly frustrated moans, and pulling on my waist to encourage deeper penetration. The next thing I tried was penetration, but not so forcefully: for several strokes, as I felt myself approaching full entry in her, I slowed down slightly, so that I still filled her completely, but not as hard. Again, she moaned in frustration, finally telling me "Harder, dammit!"

At that point, I figured she knew what she wanted, and stopped holding back. Thinking that if I got TOO rough, she'd be just as willing to let me know that, too; I gave up a little speed in order to give her the 'enthusiasm' she wanted. I was soon thrusting into her solidly, our loins making a distinct slapping noise as they met - accompanied each time by a small grunt of pleasure from her. Even more than the slow lovemaking I'd used before, this was arousing her, tremendously: she was getting even wetter than she'd been before, and even pulled her knees back far enough to let her lock her ankles behind me. My efforts were taking a toll on my arms, though, and before long, I had to lower myself to my elbows. When I did, she quickly wrapped her arms around me, and raised her upper body so that her breasts and nipples brushed against my chest in time with my thrusting - giving both of us that much more stimulation.

Almost at the same time, we both looked down between us, to where we were joined, watching as my wet penis seemed to grow out of her clasping vaginal lips, then be swallowed up by them in turn. The sights and sounds and smells of our lovemaking seemed only to stimulate both of us to greater heights of passion and effort - we kissed, tongues dueling, and biting each others lips; I could feel it as she bit the side of my neck in her passion, knowing that I'd done the same to her shoulder a few moments before; we gasped out each others names; our bodies slid against each other as the sweat of our passion mingled, and slickened us. A few more minutes, and I knew that I was going to climax - and that it wasn't too far away.

Raising myself back onto my hands and arms, I increased the force with which I entered her, almost pounding into her hot, wet opening as she cried and shouted her pleasure at what I was doing to her, and raised herself up in welcome to my efforts. Her back was arched so much that both her shoulders and hips were completely free of the bed, and her arms were still wrapped around my back. Finally, I could stand it no more, and after slamming into her in a few last, slow thrusts, felt myself jetting my seminal fluid into her. As I did, I could feel her fingernails dig into my back as another orgasm hit her, making her almost scream with the power of it as it overloaded her senses. It felt as though I were squirting pints or quarts of semen into her, and the sensation of her vagina clamping down on me, and then going through a series of spasms that felt like waves of tightness running the length of my penis only made it that much stronger for me. I could have sworn that every one of my spasms of ejaculation was as strong as the first. But finally, I simply didn't have anything left to give to her, and nearly collapsed on her in exhaustion; only by supreme effort did I manage to stop myself at my elbows, so that I didn't crush her beneath me, even as she was reaching the end of her own release. When I felt her go limp beneath me, I managed to ease my rapidly deflating penis from her feminine grasp, and rolled over to the side to collapse on my back next to her, gasping for air, just as she was.

As my breathing slowed, I must have fallen asleep - I can only plead the short hours of the previous night, and the effort of making love to so many of them so many times prior to that.

When I awoke, it was to discover that Candice was laying on her side, next to me - her head on my shoulder (and breasts pressing into my side), one leg across mine (pubic hair brushing my hip), and her arm on my chest. Raising my head and looking down, I could see that she'd also apparently taken the time to wash me - and presumably, herself - clean of the evidence of our passion. As I lay my head back down, I could feel her stir next to me, and a moment later, her face came into view as she raised herself onto her elbow.

I could see the concern on her face as she looked down at me and asked "Are you okay? Or are you just tired?"

"Tired, I think.", I managed to whisper.

"I'm not surprised. While you were sleeping, I realized just how much, uh, activity you've had since we all got here yesterday, and how little sleep you must have gotten last night. I'm really sorry that I put you through all that this afternoon - I should have known better."

I licked my lips, and she quickly asked "Are you thirsty?"

I nodded, and started to sit up; she quickly put a hand on my shoulder to hold me down, saying "It's okay. I found something in the kitchen, so you can just lay there if you want, and still get something to drink." With that, she reached over to the nightstand, and brought around a bottle - and when I saw it, I understood, and couldn't help but smile: she'd found the Crazy Straw that Kelly had insisted she needed when we were in a store one time. I refused at the time, but went back the next day to get it - and giving it to her as a surprise gift a few days later. Ever since then, she'd drag it out and use it to drink something she ordinarily wouldn't drink through a straw: wine, milk, even coffee once. And when she was through with it, would come over and sit on my lap, cuddling with me.

Candice had found it, and put it in a bottle of club soda, since it would make a serviceable 'sickbed' straw - it would bend enough to let a person on their back drink from it, but wouldn't hold it's shape when bent. When the tip was offered to me, I quickly managed to down nearly half the bottle before having to breathe again.

On the path to rehydration, I rested a few more minutes, then eased myself into a sitting position - despite Candice's objections and remonstrations. Once seated, I took the bottle from her, and finished off the drink; she quickly replaced it with a full one, moving the Crazy Straw in the process. I took a few swallows, and then smiled at her, saying "I was just tired there, for a bit. I'm feeling better now, okay?"

She looked at me dubiously, and said "Well, okay. But you still take it easy, you hear me?"

"Yes, Mother!", I teased - and finally getting something like a smile from her.

She started to settle down next to me, but I put my arm out, and gently guided her toward my lap. She looked doubtful, but went ahead and sat down on it - facing me, a knee on each side of me - when I assured her "It's okay - we're just sitting, remember?"

I took her hands in mine, and told her "Candice, I'm okay. Really. I think you were right - I didn't get as much sleep as I usually do, last night, and yes, I was more 'active' than usual last night. So if I fell asleep when maybe I shouldn't have, and worried you, then I'm sorry. But the mistake was MINE; what you did was make me an invitation - the decision to over-exert myself a little was MINE, not yours. *You have nothing to feel bad about*, okay?"

I could tell from her expression that she thought I was trying to blow smoke up her butt, but was too polite to come out and say so.

Nothing for me to do but try again, saying "Do you think there was anything you or anyone else could have done to force me to make love with you?"

She shook her head, and I went on "Do you think that I would have agreed to make love with you if I had any idea that something like that would happen?"

She shook her head 'no' again, and I finished up by saying "Do you think that I would have done anything with you if I thought there was the slightest chance of something like that happening? Do you think that I would willingly do anything that would cause you to worry like that? Or that I'm foolish enough to do it on purpose?"

Again, 'no'.

"Then trust me when I tell you that YOU have no responsibility in my falling asleep like that. I made a mistake, and did something foolish - and paid for it. It was your- my- OUR misfortune that you were the last to come to me like you did. If anything else had been different, it could have been Sandra or Robyn where you are now. Okay?"

She nodded acceptance, reluctantly, but I could still see that her eyes were getting red, and starting to tear up.

I had one last hope.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour.", she mumbled.

"Well, there you go - a nice, afternoon nap. I usually have one on the weekends, and that was it. It just happened a little more suddenly than most, is all."

It didn't fly. Not even a little bit. Even as I finished, I could see the tears starting down her face. All I could do was take her in my arms, and hold her as she cried it out of her system; caressing her back and softly saying reassuring things to her to try and comfort her - and feeling like a total jackass the whole time, because I KNEW it wasn't her fault, even if she didn't.

She finally cried herself out, and was at the point where all she had left in her was a few small hiccups - and even those were starting to fade.

I took her by the arms, and eased her back into a sitting position. Then I took her face in my hands, and wiped her tears away with my thumbs before lifting her face to look at me. When I finally got her to look me in the eyes, I told her "Candice, that was *not* *your* *fault*. It was _MINE_, and I'm sorry if I worried you or made you think something was wrong." I kissed her softly on the lips, and went on "You didn't do anything wrong by asking me to make love to you again. *I* didn't know I was that tired, okay?" Another kiss, then "If I had it to do over again, I probably would do something different - but it's too late - and for that, I'm sorry." Kiss. "Candice, YOU have nothing to feel bad about. YOU have nothing to be ashamed of. YOU have nothing to blame yourself about." Kiss. "It was *my* doing that made me so tired - NOT YOURS." Kiss. "The choice was mine, and the responsibility is mine, remember?" Kiss. "If you want to be mad, or upset, or anything like that with anyone, be them with ME." Kiss. "*I* did something dumb, and I scared you and made you feel bad - and if I could go back and undo it, I would, without hesitation." Kiss. "But I can't, and I'm sorry that I made you feel that way - but don't beat up yourself for something *I* did because I was stupid, okay?" Kiss.

Then she started crying again - but this time, as she headed for my arms, I could see the relief on her face as she accepted what I'd told her.

But she wasn't in my arms long before she suddenly sat up, and started hitting me with open-handed slaps to the chest and arms and shoulders, saying "You rat! You stinker! What the hell were you doing, scaring me like that! I was worried half to death! What's the matter with you? Are you STUPID, or something? You *bastard*!"

I didn't do anything to stop her, or try and soften the blows. I just sat there, accepting what she was doing, and letting her get even *that* part of it out of her system as best she could - even if it physically hurt (and some of the blows did).

After a few seconds, she started to slow down, and eventually stopped; when she did, I took her in my arms, and held her again, reassuring her that everything was okay, now, as she sniffled into my shoulder - and eventually put her arms around me.

When she sat up again, I put my hands on her waist, and told her "Candice, I'm sorry that I upset you, I really am. I'll make you the promise, right now, that if we ever find ourselves together again, I will NOT repeat that mistake - or make anything like it."

She was still a trifle miffed with me, but now willing to be placated. "We damn well *better* find ourselves together again. I felt really great, until I saw you'd passed out on me!", she grumped.

"It wasn't something I wanted to happen, either - more than anything else, I wanted to be there for you, and hold you and comfort you and caress you when we were done."

"I wanted you to, too, dammit.", she responded, slightly mollified.

"I know it's late, but would you still let me do those things? At least now, we can both enjoy them a little better, if you do.", I offered.

"I suppose."

She had a nice 'mad' on; and there I was, spoiling it for her by being nice, and apologetic, and caring.

She leaned up against me, and I put my arms around her before twisting slightly so that I could lay down with her on top of me, Once on my back, I kissed her, first on the lips, softly, then again on each of her shoulders as I caressed her sides and back. A few seconds went by, and I could feel her relax a bit as she lay on me; after a bit, she decided it was okay to kiss me back - and from there, we quickly got reacquainted with each other's anatomy. I kissed the spot on her shoulder that I'd bitten - and finding that I'd left a nice hickey that I hoped she wouldn't have to explain to her parents or siblings.

In return, she saw where she'd bitten my neck, leaving a nice bruise and set of teeth marks that she knew she'd have to explain to Kelly, and perhaps even Jan. But it also gave her the giggles, and I asked what was so funny. She had to explain to me that it was a new situation for her to have to explain to her best friend why and how she'd given that friend's lover a big love-bite on his neck - and only having to worry that the friend would be upset about the bruise, not the lovemaking that led to it. I laughed, too, and agreed that it probably was a situation that didn't come up much in the rest of society - like never, I guessed. That got her giggling harder, and before long, she'd forgotten how mad she was at me, and went back to showing the love and concern that I knew she had inside her.

We continued to cuddle and kiss and play and cuddle and joke and cuddle for a while, but finally decided that we were both thirsty again. I sat up again, and got my legs positioned for her to lean back against my thighs while she got us each another bottle - mine sans Crazy Straw this time.

After she'd leaned back to rest against my legs, she told me "I really did enjoy making love with you - a LOT. I mean, not only were you real patient and gentle with me, but you tried real hard to make it easy for me, and to make sure that I felt good about it, too. I've *never* had orgasms like what I did with you; I mean, I've, uh, masturbated and everything, and even had some small orgasms -but now I _know_ they were small ones, because they were NOTHING like what I felt with you."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, and felt so good about it. It's nice to know that my trying to make it a good time for you worked."

"Oh, it was a good time, all right! Except there at the end; and I guess I can forgive you for *that*. What really made me relax about all of it, though, was that YOU were so relaxed about it. I mean, when you put your tongue in me that first time, I was really nervous that I would taste bad to you or something, but you just acted like there wasn't anything wrong, and did it again - and again and again and again! It felt *wonderful*, what you were doing to me; and then when I, uh, tasted myself on you, you just acted like that was perfectly fine, too - and even talked with me about it a little, to let me know it was okay. It really surprised me when you drank out of the same bottle of water I did after I used my mouth on you, but then I realized that if you were okay with me kissing you after you used your mouth on me, you probably weren't going to be too fussy about just drinking from a bottle after I'd done the same thing to you. And when you did that, it just made me realize that you really *were* relaxed with all of this, and that you really *do* just want to make whoever you're with happy."

I smiled at her, and she went on "There were a couple of times there that I was kind of embarrassed about wanting you to do anything, but you just acted like everything I wanted was perfectly normal, and didn't make any fuss about any of it - you just did what I wanted, and made me *deliriously* happy in the process. That last time, it felt *really* good to have you making love to me like that, but it wasn't quite _enough_ - until you started pressing against my, uh, clitoris. When you did that, it REALLY got me going, and when you started doing something different, I couldn't help but tell you what I wanted; and you did it - BOY! did you did it! Every time you went into me, and hit my clit, it was like little sparks were flying off it, into my, uh, insides, making me hotter and wetter. I was _almost_ there when I felt you push into me those last couple of times, and I thought I was going to miss out - it would have been okay, because of how much you did for me before - but when I felt you starting to shoot inside me, I could _feel_ it, and it just pushed me over the edge, REAL hard. Uh, did I kinda hurt your back? With my fingernails, I mean?"

"I felt you dig into me, but you didn't actually break the skin or scratch me or anything."

She seemed relieved, and said "Oh, good. I couldn't help it then, and I was kind of worried that I'd hurt you or something; that was part of what made me so upset when you fell asleep so long. Uh, while you were asleep, I worried about you, but after a while, I realized that you were just asleep, and I got a washcloth and cleaned you up before I went into the bathroom, and cleaned myself up a little, too. Both of us were kinda sticky, and pretty smelly, and it seemed like a good idea."

"Yeah, I noticed what you did - thanks. I'll return the favor, some day, if you'll let me."

"Oh, I'll let you - and 'some day' won't be long, if I have any choice about it!", she responded.

After that, we were content to sit there, just enjoying each other's company until we finished our drinks. When we had, it was Candice that said "I'd still like to take a shower, if that's okay."

I looked at her in surprise, and said "Of course! I only have two questions for you, though."

She got a suspicious look on her face, and carefully asked "What questions?"

"Do you want company for it, or not? And if so, when?"

She smiled in relief, and answered "Company would be welcome - in about 5 minutes; I've got some, uh, personal business to take care of, first."

"Six minutes, it is, then."

She smiled, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before getting up and heading into the bathroom.

To give her time to tend to her ablutions, I quickly changed the sheets on the bed - then disposed of our empty water bottles and took the rest back to the kitchen, putting them back in the fridge. By the time I got back to the bedroom, it was just over the promised six minutes - but I still knocked at the door before going in. I heard her call out that it was okay, and opened the door to the sound of the shower - and a room full of steam. I made my way to the toilet, and quickly drained off surplus fluids, then flushing it - before going over to open the shower door and being thoroughly engulfed by the sudden release of humidity. Exaggerating only slightly, I eased my way into it, my hands extended before me as though trying to find my way. What I found instead was an armful of wet, soap-slick, fun girl. We spent the next twenty minutes 'helping' each other clean off - though teasing, arousing, and generally getting in each other's way in erotic ways would be more like it: after I'd washed off my penis, she kept the water off it - by holding it for me. With her mouth.

As she tried to shampoo her hair, I 'helped' by rinsing off her back, squeegee the water (where it hit her from the shower head - 'helping' didn't have a darn thing to do with good sense) down to her butt, and past it. In doing so, I managed to run my fingers across her anus a couple of times (okay, several). After about the umpteenth time I did it, she finally told me "Look, that feels really good, but if you keep doing it, one or both of us is going to need a shower to clean up from the shower! Besides, Jan and Kelly will be back before long, and I want to be ready for them." So I left her butt alone. Mostly. Sort of.

When we were satisfied that we were as clean as we were going to get, Candice shut off the shower, and I opened the door to grab us a couple of towels. The helping continued, but wasn't as much fun - the damn towels kept getting in the way. Ultimately, we found ourselves clean, and dry - and then back in the den, where we shared the couch as we talked about any number of things, large and small, as we waited for Kelly and Jan to return.

After perhaps three-quarters of an hour, we heard the sound of a car pulling up, and then entering the garage. A couple minutes later, the door opened, and my two greatest loves came in to find us still sitting on the couch, where they'd left us.

Jan looked at us, and asked "Did you two even *move*?"

Candice got a shit-eating grin on her face, and Kelly answered her "Oh, yeah, they moved. Just look at her. If they'd moved any more, we'd have to pry her off the ceiling!", with a laugh. The two of them set their books down, and moved over to join us, undressing as they went. It was perfectly normal for them when they were in my house - both were comfortable being nude around me, and neither much cared for wearing clothes when skin was so much more comfortable - and friendly. As they got closer, they noticed the bruise on Candice's shoulder. Slightly alarmed, they looked over at me - and found the one I had on my neck; teeth marks, and all.

They quickly found seats, and Kelly looked at Candice. Candice answered the implied question by saying "Uh, we kinda got a little carried away there, for a bit." Then, defensively, said "He bit me first!"

Kelly turned to look at me, trying not to smile at Candice's last statement. I simply said "I got a little 'enthusiastic'."

Kelly turned to Jan, and said "'carried away', she says."

Jan nodded, and replied "'enthusiastic', he told us."

Both sat there for a few moments, deadpan, before bursting out in laughter - and relieving Candice of any fears she might have had.

Both turned back to Candice, and suddenly realized that there had been some change in her.

They examined her face closely, and it was Jan who finally asked "You got it?"

Candice nodded, happily, and Kelly said "Yeah, she got it." - before getting up and moving over to give Candice a hug, and kiss - only to be surprised when Candice kissed her back, hard. When Kelly moved back from her, the two of them looked deeply into each other's eyes for several seconds before Kelly finally spoke again.

"She got it, all right. ALL of it. She's one of us, now."

Jan hurried over to get her own kiss - and was only slightly less surprised than Kelly at the passion she got in return - never mind the way Candice moved one of her hands up to cup Jan's breast. Kelly saw that, and turned to look at me; all I could do was smile, and say, "She seems to like guys - but doesn't seem to have anything against girls, either." Kelly nodded her understanding, and quickly moved back in to join in the festivities - putting her hand on Candice's breast in the process, and getting one in return, similarly placed.

When Jan came up for air, Kelly moved in - Candice didn't seem to mind in the slightest; nor did she seem to be experiencing any discomfort from the virtually non-stop kissing she was going through. In fact, it was Kelly that finally drew back, taking a deep breath and smiling. Even from where I was sitting, I could see that her nipples had perked up considerably. After a bit, they went back at it, with Jan starting things off. Before long, it was a three-way kissing and fondling contest, with a little groping tossed in for variety. I simply sat there, enjoying the sight, when I started to detect the first, faint whiff of aroused female - and I wouldn't have taken any bets on which one of them it was, or even if it WAS just one of them.

As things heated up even more between them, it became apparent to them that the end of the couch was restricting their activities; and without even a look in my direction, all three eased their way down onto the floor in front of the couch - and a little distance away from it, so they had plenty of room.

It wasn't long before Kelly and Jan ganged up on Candice - both with a hand caressing her and exploring her anatomy as first one, then the other kissed and sucked and licked her breast while their partner in passion kissed her. They'd done similar things to me, and I *knew* that Candice wouldn't be able to take it for long - and she didn't. As they were transferring from mouth to breast on her, she quickly pushed Jan onto her back before giving back what she'd gotten - and leaving room for Kelly to join in, or not. Kelly had been surprised by Candice's actions, but it didn't take her long to take advantage of the new opportunity; in short order, the two of them had Jan as worked up as Candice had been.

It was after Candice had pulled away from a length and involved kiss with Jan that Jan managed to gasp out "Kelly's turn!".

Kelly only smiled as she moved to take Jan's place on the floor - only to have it disappear when the two of them started in on her. For whatever reasons, they seemed to delight in torturing her: as one of them kissed her, the other would apply the faintest kisses to Kelly's breasts and nipples; one would kiss her *ever* so lightly as the other sucked on her nipples; whatever else they were doing, first one, then the other, would draw a finger between Kelly's labia and across her clitoris - softly, so as to tease her into even higher passion.

When Kelly's hips started to arch up a bit, Jan moved her torso a bit, as though to bring Kelly some relief - but Candice put a hand on her shoulder, and said "Let me - please?". Jan readily acquiesced, and Candice moved her way down Kelly's belly, applying a series of soft kisses as she advanced. On arriving at her goal, Candice didn't seem to hesitate to first kiss Kelly's mons, then extend her tongue and draw it between her labia - only then did she pause briefly, as though to savor the new taste, before doing it again, slower. Jan watched as that went on, and I could see her nipples erecting even more than they had been; Kelly's only reaction was to gasp in relief at the direct attention being paid to the center of her arousal.

As Candice continued her efforts, Jan moved back up to resume kissing Kelly; but as Candice's attentions took effect, it became harder and harder, and she eventually decided to take advantage of another opportunity: that *Candice* was accessible to her. Changing her position, Jan moved to Kelly's other side, and began caressing the insides of Candice's thighs - and seemed delighted when Candice readily moved her knees apart, granting better access not only to her thighs, but what lay between, as well.

With that kind of encouragement, Jan soon had her hand on Candice's sex - tracing a finger between her labia, softly rubbing her clitoris, and even sliding a finger into her. Candice's only response was to moan into Kelly's pubis, and spread her legs even farther - giving Jan the room and angle necessary to begin her own oral exams.

Kelly was not content, though, to remain merely a recipient of Candice's attentions; she was able to reach Jan's legs, but Jan was _just_ out of reach for anything more. With that realization, Kelly started easing herself over onto her side; which encouraged Candice to do the same - and thus, Jan, as well. In a minute or so, all of them were laying on their sides: Kelly, with Candice's head between her thighs, Candice with Jan's head similarly placed, and Jan extending out from Candice - but with the change in position, Kelly was able to bring her face to Jan's leg, near the calf. When Jan felt Kelly kissing her leg, she readily shifted herself over, making it easier for Kelly. After a couple of minutes, Kelly was able to work her way up Jan's leg; when she got to the middle of Jan's thighs, Jan readily lifted a leg up, and set her foot on the floor, opening herself to Kelly. Shortly after that, the circle was fully closed: Jan eating Candice eating Kelly eating Jan.

Though I couldn't see all the details of what they were doing, what _was_ apparent was that it was having the desired effect: each of them was taking what was being done to her, and adding to it before passing it along. In a short period of time, the scent of aroused female was nearly thick enough to cut, and the sounds emitting from the triangle of bodies on the floor was incredible: slurping noises, moans, gasps, groans, panting, and just about any other noise one could think of.

With all of them feeding off each other's arousal that way (pun intended!), I knew that it wouldn't take long before one of them went over the edge - and made a silent bet with myself who it would be.

I lost as Kelly suddenly let out a near-scream as her orgasm hit her, even as Candice stayed busy between her thighs. Jan heard it, and knowing that it was Kelly, redoubled her efforts to bring Candice to orgasm as well - and even as Kelly's was finally starting to taper off, succeeded in easing Candice over the edge. With Candice now 'distracted', Kelly's recovery quickened, and it wasn't long before she was again tending to Jan, and then bringing Jan to release, as well.

With all three of them temporarily satiated, they rested, each with her head on the thigh of the recipient of her attentions - and all three with shiny-slick mouths and chins from their activities.

Seeing that none of the three was going to be moving for a while, I got up and went into the kitchen, getting all of us something to drink - small bottles of club soda for thirst for them, and some hot chocolate for snuggling and quick energy for all of us.

By the time I got back, they'd recovered enough that they'd managed to rearrange themselves, with Kelly and Jan bracketing Candice, and all three of them holding each other. They didn't notice my return until I cleared my throat, and offered the drinks I'd brought. Candice blushed slightly in response, but all three readily grabbed a bottle of soda, and started drinking. When they'd each had a chance to deal with their thirst, I told them that the carafe had hot chocolate, when they were ready. All quickly finished their soda; I poured, then handed them, cups of hot chocolate as they set their bottles on the tray I'd used. With the hot drinks to distract them slightly, they seemed more willing to leave each other alone - and rest up for the next go-around that I *knew* had to be coming.

Sure enough, Kelly had barely put down her empty cup before she shared a kiss with Candice - and then proceeded to work her was down Candice's anatomy. Jan hurriedly finished her hot chocolate, as well, and took Candice's nearly empty cup as well, setting both on the tray. When she begin kissing Kelly's lower abdomen and thighs, Kelly quickly spread her legs again, making room for Jan. Knowing that it was inevitable - and not seeming to mind a bit - Candice moved over onto her side, as well. When she kissed Jan's mons, Jan readily parted her legs, and Candice moved between them - I had only a few seconds to watch as she stuck her tongue out and licked at Jan's labia before running across her clitoris.

In only a couple of minutes, they had assumed a mirror of their previous positions: Kelly doing Candice doing Jan doing Kelly. With them in a slightly different position, I had a better angle to watch as Candice did her share to bring all of them to orgasm again. With Jan's labia extended, Candice happily took them between her lips, pulling on them slightly as she sucked on their very edges before extending her tongue - and apparently using it to see if she could reach Jan's tonsils, judging by the way Jan reacted. From there, it was on to Jan's clitoris, then back to her vagina and labia. Back and forth she went, doing anything and everything she could think of to arouse and please Jan - even as Kelly was apparently doing similar things to HER.

Though they seemed to be taking the time to enjoy what they were doing this time, it was still clear that they were still feeding off each other, as well - and enjoying it immensely. The sights and sounds of them as they went after each other was incredible - more than enough to let me feel the stirrings of my own arousal, which surprised me; after the scare with Candice, I'd thought I was pretty much done for the evening.

Still, I didn't want to intrude, and was content to sit back and enjoy the sight of them pleasing each other: hands touching and caressing breasts without concern for who they belonged to, nipples erecting and hardening, chins glistening with each other's juices, and the wriggling and hunching of pelvises as their owners became more and more excited.

It took a bit longer this time, but the result was just as inevitable - first one, then the others, had their climaxes. The difference this time was that it was Candice that lost it first, followed by Kelly, with Jan apparently content to have her orgasm last. Again, they collapsed on each other, and again, I brought them out some drinks - Cokes this time - setting them on the tray so that they were easily accessible when the girls were ready for them.

As they lay there, I had the simple pleasure of just _looking_ at them, as young, vibrant, alive, sexy, attractive females - the differences in breast size and shape, the different body structures, the different faces and bodies and legs and all the rest of them. As I looked at them, though, I found that my eyes kept going back to Kelly - as much as I loved and cared for all of them, and wished all of them the very best in the world, there was no escaping the fact that it was Kelly whose presence and wit and intelligence and personality that I most enjoyed.

Gradually, they all came back to Earth, and sat up - then taking a can of Coke from the tray with an appreciative smile to me.

When they were all again sitting up - side by side - I just sat there looking at them for a few seconds. Jan and Kelly didn't pay any attention to me; I did it enough with them that they'd gotten used to it - but I could see that it was starting to unsettle Candice a bit. She finally looked directly at me, and asked "What?", nervously.

"Don't worry about it - he does that with us, too, all the time.", Jan told her.

"What's he *doing*?", Candice asked, slightly exasperated.

"Just looking at us. He does that. If you ask him, he'll just tell you that he likes looking at prettiness, and that he thinks you're pretty, too. There's nothing wrong; he's not upset or anything, he's just having fun looking at us. Looking at a damn smelly mess, *I* think, but there you go.", Kelly said.

Candice asked me "Is that right? Is that what you're doing?"

I nodded, and told her "Yup, Ever actually _watch_ a sunset? How the clouds and colors and everything change as the sun goes down?"

She shook her head, and I told her "Try it sometime. I don't mean just look at it several times as it's happening, but put all of your attention on it, and *watch* it. It's beautiful - every time."

Candice looked at me, doubtfully. Kelly saw it, and told her "Really. It's true. When he told ME to do that, I thought he was getting senile. But then I decided to try it one day. The more I actually *watched* it, the prettier it got - and the more I actually got _into_ it; it was like me and the sunset, we were the same thing. Weird. But definitely cool."

Jan spoke up, telling her "I did it, too - and it _is_ weird, but most definitely cool, too. I felt the same thing that Kelly just said - like I was *part* of the sunset. Since then, it's like I can look at things, and if I'm patient, I can actually SEE them, a lot better than I used to. Flowers, snowflakes, trees, all of it - once you learn how to actually look at something, and SEE it, you never feel the same way about it again."

Candice looked at me, questioningly, and I told her "It's a Zen thing I picked up - if you can focus your attention on something, I mean *really* focus on it, then you start experiencing all the things there are about it. If it moves or changes, then you really start to open up to experiencing the outside world. If it's something that doesn't move, like a Zen garden, then you start to open up on the _inside_, and start learning things about yourself. Either way, your mind expands, and helps make you a better person."

Candice got a thoughtful look on her face, and I could tell that she was resolving to try it - and soon.

After a bit, Candice spoke up, saying "As nice as all of this has been" - "Damn right!" Jan offered, making all of us laugh - "I still have to get home before long - my parents expect me for supper, tonight."

"Not a problem. We'll clean up, and Jan and I will take you home in my car. You'll get there in plenty of time.", Kelly said.

That settled, the three of them finished their drinks before getting up to head toward the master bathroom, and it's larger shower. Some 45 minutes later, they reappeared, dressed and Candice with her bag in her hand. I stood up, and went over to her to give her a hug, saying "Candice, it was a pleasure having you here - and not for what happened this afternoon."

She looked into my eyes a second before answering "It was a pleasure for me too - BECAUSE of what happened this afternoon. And yesterday, and last night, and all the other times I've been around you." She shared Looks with Kelly and Jan, and turned back to me to say "I *know* that I'm welcome here - not just for fun, but for any reason I want to be here; and that makes me feel really good inside. And I know that I'm welcome to come back and make _love_ with you again, either alone, or with either or both of Jan and Kelly. You - all of you! - make me feel more relaxed and welcome and at *home* than I do in my 'real' home; and I can't tell you how good that makes me feel." With that, she moved into my arms for a kiss, and giving me a fierce hug - and doing the same to both Kelly, then Jan. She sniffled a bit, but had a happy smile on her face as the three of them got their coats and headed for Kelly's car in the garage.

When they were gone, I went around the house, picking things up and just giving the place a light cleaning - collecting the clothes that Kelly and Jan had forgotten, putting away the tray and setting the cups in the dishwasher, and so on.

Perhaps half an hour later, I heard them return, and when they came in, I could see that their eyes were a little red from having cried at some point on the way back. When I asked them what had happened, they told me that they'd cried because they were so happy - the entire ride over to Candice's house, she'd done nothing but express how happy and contented and welcome she felt, and how she was looking forward to coming back to visit as often as she could.

When they'd told me that, Jan spoke up, asking "So how many was it, Uncle Dan? How many times did you make all of them happy?", teasing me.

"I don't know - I didn't know I was supposed to be keeping score. Probably around a hundred, I suppose.", I answered, teasing her right back.

Both of them laughed before Kelly said "Well, however many it *really* was, you made all of them very, very happy - even Susan.". Turning to Jan, she said "I think we can mark this one up as a success, don't you?"

"You bet. I think we all had more fun than we did at the other sleepover, and I *know* that we're all better friends than we were before.", Jan added.

Kelly only snorted at that.

About that time, my stomach growled, and Jan looked at me in surprise, saying "That's right - we haven't eaten yet, have we?"

I couldn't resist the temptation, and said "Well, YOU two did, but *I* didn't - and I'm ready for supper, too!"

It took a second before both of them got it, and gave me the Goober look; then Jan said "It's a little late, now. How about something light, like sandwiches and chips?"

Kelly and I agreed, and she went into the kitchen, reappearing a few minutes later with ham and cheese sandwiches, potato chips, and sodas for all of us. We sat there, quietly discussing the sleepover/party/orgy as we ate

Even though it still wasn't particular late, we were all still running on short sleep rations, and after another couple of hours, elected to go to bed.

With me being nude already, I got to cheer and whistle and clap from the bed as I watched the two of them get undressed - and in the spirit of the moment, both got grins on their faces, and went about taking their clothes off as though doing a strip tease.

When they were done, the joined me, and I fell asleep with them on either side of me, facing me, each with an arm across my chest and their breasts pressed into my sides.

The next morning, we took our time getting out of bed and moving - all of us were content to just lay there and snuggle for a while before hunger, thirst, and the call of the bathroom eventually got us all out of bed. Over the course of the day, we had ample time and opportunity to make love with each other - Kelly and Jan first, then a bit later, me and Jan, since she had to get home. When we were alone, Kelly and I shared a leisurely, pleasant session of love-making that left both of us thoroughly satiated.

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

Tuesday afternoon, I was in the office when I got a call; my secretary told me that it was from a Roy Carson. It took me a few seconds to connect the last name to Robyn. Sure enough, it was her dad.

"This is Dan. How may I help you Mr. Carson?"

"Yes, Mr. Marshall, this is Robyn's father. I believe she was at your home over the weekend for a sleepover?"

"Yes, Mr. Carson, I remember her. Is there a problem?"

"Not at all - in fact, quite the opposite is true. Could I ask you what happened at that little party they had?"

"Well, the girls seemed to spend most of their time talking, to the best of my knowledge. I spent very little time actually with all of them.". Technically true - most of my time was with them in a one-on-one situation.

"Uh, did you have an opportunity to talk with all of them?", he asked.

"Yes, for a bit, after we'd had supper the first evening."

"Would you mind telling me what it was that you talked about?"

"They had some questions about my outlook on life, my philosophy, if you will. I explained it to them, and gave them a few examples. A few other questions came up that I answered as best I could, making sure they understood that I was giving them my own opinion, and nothing more."

"Well, whatever you talked to them about, or whatever you did, seems to have had a major impact on Robyn."

"How so?"

"Since she got back from that little party, she's been like a different person - you may have noticed that she was a bit, ah, boisterous at times. But since she got back, she hasn't been quite as, uh, outgoing as she was. She's still quite active and all that; but her mother and I have both noticed that she's much more considerate of others. She also seems to have a kind of calmness about her that we haven't seen before - I suppose you could call it a tranquility, or inner peace. It's quite a change, I can assure you.", he replied.

"You think it a change for the better, I take it?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Then, if I could ask what it was that prompted you to call me?"

"I only wanted to say that whatever you've done to bring such a change about in Robyn, I hope that you will continue doing it."

I could barely suppress the urge to laugh, and simply said "I would be happy to, if the opportunity presents itself."

"I think it will", he told me. "She has mentioned a couple of times that she found you quite pleasant, and wanted to visit you again, if you would permit it."

"I found her to be quite delightful", I told him, without specifying the *way* that I found her delightful. "Provided she called first to make sure I didn't have other plans, she would be welcome."

He assured me that she would, and the conversation soon ended - leaving me sitting there with a Cheshire Cat grin on my face.

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

As Christmas approached, I had to give some serious thought to what to get Kelly and Jan. I also bought gifts for the rest of the party crew, as well - I figured they would be over shortly after Christmas, and that would give me the chance to give them their presents without drawing unwanted attention. For Sandra, I found a nice turquoise and silver bracelet that I knew she would like; Robyn would be getting a small emerald necklace that I knew would act as a wonderful counterpoint to her eyes. Candice's gift was a pair of platinum and opal earrings; Susan was to receive a gold mesh bracelet. I made sure to take Kelly with me as I bought them, to make sure I got something that all of them would like - and when she saw them, Jan agreed that they would be big hits.

Again with Kelly's help, and a promise of absolute secrecy, I got Jan some *very* nice silk lingerie and under things - and a small diamond charm for her bracelet that she could show Paul.

I did Kelly's shopping myself, with no help. I came up with a couple of things that I *knew* would thrill her.

I'd always politely turned down Paul's invitations to spend Christmas with him and the kids, so that they could have the day to themselves. For a change, it worked in my favor, since it meant that I'd have Kelly to myself on Christmas.

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

Christmas Day, Kelly found herself waking up to the first of the gifts that I'd gotten her - she opened her eyes to find herself being stared at by a small, yellow, tiger-striped, blue-eyed, scrawny tabby kitten. She'd mentioned a couple of times how she missed the family cat that her parents had, but had never said anything about getting one. But I still knew how much she missed it, and decided to get her one of her very own.

It took her a couple of seconds before it really sank in that she was looking at a kitten - but when it did, she made up for the delay. Pulling it under her chin, she hugged it and started rubbing it's ears - the resulting purr could be heard across the room. I could see her start to cry, and had to point out to her that if she started crying, she was likely to upset the cat by getting it wet.

After a bit, she set it down, and launched herself into my arms, crying on my shoulder and hugging me ferociously as she thanked me.

When she'd finally calmed down, and dried her eyes, she picked it up again, and looked it over before asking me "What do I name her?"

"Well, she's got that dark spot on her pink nose - how about Booger?", I offered, teasing.

Kelly got an indignant look, and said "We are NOT naming this cat 'Booger'! How about 'Tiger', for the stripes?"

I just gave her the fisheye, and said "Sure - nobody's ever done *that* before!"

She thought a moment, and offered "Tigger?"

"To cute."

"What, then?"

"Who says you have to name her now? Give her a little time, and _then_ name her - might turn out she's a feline Einstein or something, then you've got a name for her."

She thought that over, and finally agreed, before holding my hand as we went into the den, where we'd set up a small tree - more out of a desire not to have to clean up after a big tree, than anything else.

Kelly sat on the couch with the kitten, and I went into the kitchen to load a carafe with some coffee, and load a plate with some muffins. Back in the den, I saw that Kelly had gotten up, and was rummaging around the presents under the tree - with the kitten helping. She found a package that I'd wrapped for the cat: "To: Spot" - she opened it, and found the collar and tags I'd gotten - the little fuzzball was ready to go, with all of her shots taken care of. Kelly hugged me, pulled out another package, and handed it to me. It was from her, and when I opened it, I found that she'd gotten me a nice Tag Huer watch, stainless steel, to replace the ratty old Casio I'd had for so long. I quickly got it adjusted, and put it on - that sucker was _heavy_, and felt good on my wrist. I kissed her, and pulled out a package for her.

She opened it to find the gold bracelet I'd bought - made of fairly thick links, it looked like a small chain around her wrist when she put it on. I could see from her face that she was delighted with it, and she quickly kissed me in thanks.

Next, it was the cat's turn again - one of those climbing poles, with platforms, for her to play on.

Kelly's next gift to me was an electronic organizer - something that I'd wanted, but simply hadn't gotten around to getting for myself. It was a top of the line model, and I couldn't help but play with it a few seconds - Kelly knew me, and waited patiently - before giving her a hug and kiss, and giving her my thanks.

The next package she opened held a dress - black, that flowed off one shoulder to a bodice that would make it painfully clear that she was female, before flowing down to accentuate her slender hips and fanning out into a skirt that would fall to her ankles. I'd meticulously snuck measurements of her over the past couple of months, and knew that it would fit her like a second skin - and that there wasn't a way in the world for her to wear either a bra or panties with it. Even before the alterations, it had cost me nearly a thousand dollars - and knowing how she would look in it, it was worth every penny to me. She stood up and held it against herself, before heading back into the bedroom where she could examine herself in a mirror. When she came back, it was without the dress, and she told me "That is *so* beautiful - I think I can see what you think I would look like in it, and I LIKE it. But where am I going to wear something like that?"

I smiled, and said "You're going to your Senior Prom, aren't you? At least, I hope you are - I've already made plans for us that night. You *do* want me to take you, right?"

She promptly teared up, and hugged me before digging out another package for the cat - several small toys for her to play with; Kelly opened one of them, and sure enough, the kitten went to town with it.

She hugged me again, and handed me what was her last gift to me - an album of photos she'd had taken at one of those glamour photo places. As I leafed through it - in absolute awe at how they'd been able to bring out the best of her - I found out that she'd apparently been to more than one place: toward the back the photos were of her in lingerie, and in a variety of come-hither poses. I looked up at her, and could see the concern on her face about what I might think about all of it. I looked at her, then at the photos, and back to her again, finally saying "I've always known you were a beautiful person, inside and out. But *these* - these only prove it, beyond any question or doubt! Looking at some of these - not just the ones in the back, but in the front, too - it nearly takes my breath away."

At that, I could see her relax, and quickly took her into my arms, and thanking her, before kissing her and letting her go.

The last gift I pulled out for her was, ostensibly, from Santa Claus. She saw that, and gave me a Goober look, while I did my best 'Who? *Me*?" impression. When I handed it to her, the weight surprised her, and she gave me a questioning look. I just shrugged my shoulders, and said "Beats me. Open it, and find out what Santa thinks of you."

She gave me another dirty look, and tore into it - a girl after my own heart: 'screw the wrapping, what IS it?' - and found that it was a necklace. It started as a gold mail band around the throat; but as it dropped to the shoulders and chest, it tapered to a kind of very fine fringe - the effect was that it would look as though it were growing up, out of her, when she wore it.

She seemed to realize what it would look like on her, and took my hand to lead me back to the bedroom - where I found that she'd hung up the dress, to make sure the cat didn't get to it. I put the necklace on her, and stood back as she held the dress up against herself in front of the full-length mirror. Only then did she get the full effect of the bracelet, dress, and necklace - and reacted by gasping. After a moment, she turned to look at me, and I just smiled, telling her "I think this will all work, when you wear it to the Prom, don't you?". She could only nod in reply before turning back to examine herself again.

After a bit, she was able to pull herself away from the mirror; as I watched her, it seemed that she was moving in slow motion - at least, until she got the dress hung up again, next to my tuxedo (I did enough formal social events that I'd finally broken down and bought one). Only then did she return to normal speed, as she launched herself at me, knocking me back onto the bed, where she straddled my waist as she showered my face with kisses before telling me "That is going to knock every one there off their feet - I'm going to look like a million dollars!"

"Nope. Not good enough.", I replied.

She frowned at me, and I explained "You've got more class and style than anyone else I can think of. To show it all off, you need to look like TEN million dollars - at _least_!"

She grinned down at me, and said "Yeah, maybe - but when I walk in with YOU, they'll know where the rest is!"

I smiled back at her, and she lay down on me. We cuddled like that for several minutes - until the cat showed up, and started rubbing up against us and purring to beat the band. We both laughed as her soft fur tickled us, and got up to go back into the den - kitten neatly tucked into the crook of Kelly's arm - where we had our coffee and muffins as we watched the Christmas Day parades.

With neither of us being particularly religious or traditional, lunch was leftovers that I reheated. The kitten *insisted* that what we were eating was good for cats, too, but Kelly firmly kept her on the floor as we ate. The cat finally retaliated by ambushing Kelly's feet and toes, making her giggle at the tickling sensation. When Kelly got up and took the dishes into the kitchen, she found the food and water dishes that I'd gotten - and saw that I'd laid in a proper supply of quality food, as well. When she got back into the den, she kissed me and thanked me again before laying down on the couch, her head on my lap. I put my hand on her stomach - she promptly moved it to her breast - and we stayed there like that for a couple of hours, just listening to music and enjoying having each other there. Eventually, the cat got tired, and climbed up onto the couch, too - then deciding that Kelly's belly would make a _dandy_ napping spot, thank you very much. In just a couple of minutes, we could both hear the little beast purring, loud and hard. Kelly reached up and put a hand on my face, and when I looked down at her, mouthed "Thank you!", her face as happy as I'd seen it in a long time.

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

The next day, Paul and crew came over at our invitation. We exchanged presents, and while Paul and I were talking, Kelly and Jan went back to the bedroom - not only so Kelly could show off her dress and jewelry, but to pass along the things I'd gotten for Jan. When they came back, Jan leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek, and whisper in my ear "Thanks, Uncle Dan - I'll model them for you soon!"

Jan and the kids loved the kitten, and played with it for hours before it finally tired out, and climbed into Kelly's lap for a nap. Even Paul seemed to find it amusing - and he was most definitely a dog man. Lunch was roast beef sandwiches and fries; I didn't figure any of them were in any frame of mind to enjoy anything too similar to Christmas dinner. Afterwards, Paul and I watched a couple of games on TV while Jan and Kelly talked in the bedroom and the boys had fun playing with the cat. As evening approached, Paul rounded all of them up, and with goodbyes all around, headed home.

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

Over the next several weeks, each of the girls that had been at the sleepover stopped by at various times and for various purposes - sometimes to simply stay with us for a while, other times because they wanted to make love; either with me, or Kelly, or Jan, or even each other. For whatever reason they chose to come over, they were always welcomed, unreservedly. And they always left more content and happy than when they'd arrived.

In March, she came home to tell me that she'd been selected as Valedictorian for her class, and been told she could give a ten minute speech. I congratulated her, and hugged her. Over the next few weeks, she wrote, then honed, the speech she wanted to make. Since she didn't solicit any suggestions or advice from me, I simply left her to it.

It was in April that I got a call from Kelly, in school, while I was in the office. I could tell she'd been crying, and when she told me that she needed me to come to the administrators office at the school - "right NOW!" - I went. Right NOW.

When I got there, I was quickly directed to the offices, and then quickly past his secretary, and on in to see the Administrator.

When I went in, I could easily see that Kelly had been crying - but not out of sadness but pure anger and frustration. After I saw how upset she was - and must have been - I looked at the man behind the desk; he visibly drew back from the expression on my face.

"My name is Dan Marshall. Why am I here?"

He spoke, saying "I'm Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Marshall. I am the administrator of the school, and it was Kelly that called you, not I. We were having a bit of a problem with her, and asked her to call someone that was responsible for her."

I looked at Kelly, and saw the outrage she was feeling, before I spoke to him again, telling him "What would be the problem that you would have to make such a request?"

"She had been selected as Valedictorian for her graduating class, and we had asked her to submit a copy of her proposed speech. We found the speech to be unacceptable, and asked her in here to explain what her purpose was for wishing to make it. We found those reasons to be unacceptable, and requested that she come up with a different one. She flatly refused, and I'm afraid that things deteriorated to the point where either she agrees to give a different speech, or I must select a different Valedictorian. Uh, might I ask what your relationship is to her? I know that you aren't one of her parents, since I've met them before."

This pompous little despot had managed to aggravate me with his attitude, so I told him "It is my privilege to be Kelly's lover."

That threw him, a LOT, and before he could start up again, I continued "Kelly does not NEED to contact anyone - by law, she is an adult, and responsible for herself."

"Yes, she said something about manumission, but that could only apply to slaves, and slavery does not exist any longer.", he proclaimed.

"I would suggest that you contact your legal counsel - this state does, in fact, have a manumission statute that allows an otherwise minor child to be granted the status of full adulthood. So your demand that she contact someone 'responsible for her' was most likely a violation of her civil rights as an ADULT. I may be wrong on that; it would be a matter for the courts to decide, should she decide to seek legal redress of the matter."

At the mention of it going to court, he paled slightly, and said "Now, I really don't see how the courts would have anything to do with this."

"Then I would suggest that you contact your lawyers. In fact, I demand it - right here, and right now - so that we can at least get THAT part of this nonsense out of the way. So long as you insist on treating her as you are, you're only making the situation worse."

With that, I stood up and told Kelly "I would suggest that we wait outside while this twit finds out what kind of hole he's dug himself into." She grinned at me, and stood up; he tried to bluster that we couldn't leave - I just turned and looked at him, saying "Unless you're prepared to use force, which I doubt even YOU are stupid enough to try, you cannot stop us. Make your call - we'll be outside when you're done."

We went out, and took seats in the anteroom to his office. His secretary looked at us as though we'd declared ourselves to be Wiccans.

A few minutes later, a very pale, very shaken administrator invited us back into his office. We took seats in front of his desk, and he opened the conversation.

"It seems that there's been a mistake made. "

"Yes, and you made it.", I replied.

"Er, ah, yes, well, the schools lawyers have informed me that what you said is correct - and I've found that there is a copy of the appropriate paperwork in Kelly's file."

"So you were too stupid to even check what she was telling you. Hardly a surprise." It was *fun* putting the spurs to this toad.

"Yes, well, with Kelly being responsible for herself, I don't believe that there is any reason for you to inconvenience yourself here any longer, Mr. Marshall."

"Oh, it's not an inconvenience. Besides, I've been around longer, as you can see, and I already have a reason to stay, whether it was convenient, or not."

"And what would that be?"

"To ensure that you don't bully her into doing something she doesn't want to do, for starters. And to ensure that she has adequate counsel available to her, for another - if you think I'd leave her alone in this room with you, you're grossly mistaken."

"Surely, you aren't suggesting that I would have any kind of improper contact with a student of this school!", he said, puffing himself up.

"Not at all - Frankly, I doubt you've got the balls to even think it, much less try it. No, I simply wouldn't trust you not to use your position and ostensible authority to either bully her into something, or deny her a right or privilege - or perhaps even both."

Realizing that I didn't intimidate worth a damn, he gave up that tack, and demanded "Then why do you remain?"

"As counsel to Kelly, or if she wishes, to act and speak on her behalf - independent of any legal or civil actions she may elect to pursue regarding your previous efforts to deny her her civil and legal rights."

"Now, now, there's no need for any legal action; that was just a misunderstanding."

"No, it was your stupidity and arrogance.", I told him. I don't tolerate bullshit well. "Now, what is the basis for your demand that she change her speech?"

"I did not find it to be appropriate for our school." He turned to Kelly, and asked "Are you sure you don't want to talk to me?"

Kelly just told him "Not a chance, pipsqueak. Talk to him about the speech, while I decide if I want to sue your ass, or not!".

He got a *very* pained expression on his face, and turned back to me.

"So you chose to tell her that her speech was inappropriate because YOU decided you didn't like it?"

"Yes", he said, primly.

"And what is the basis for that decision - that is, what are the guidelines for appropriateness? Where are they written down? When and how are they made available to the student? How long have these guidelines been in effect?"

He sat there, looking at me blankly, for several seconds before admitting "We, er, don't have _written_ guidelines."

"I see - you have no written guidelines. Let me guess - you never gave Kelly any guidance or instruction on what you thought was 'appropriate'."

"Well, er, no, I didn't."

"So she had no prior idea of what was acceptable to you. With no direction from you, how is it, then, that the students are to know what subjects are allowed, and which aren't?"

"This situation has never come up before."

"Indeed? That would hardly be something to brag about, sir, if your intentions in running this school were honorable. Clearly, they aren't - otherwise, you would have been teaching these kids to think for themselves, independently; and situations such as this would have come up sooner. None the less, I don't see how or where you feel that you have the power or authority to deny her the right to give the speech she prepared."

He puffed himself up again, and tried to threaten us, saying "It is well within my power to remove her as Valedictorian!"

"And if you do, I will make it my personal crusade to not only run you out of this school, but out of the entire field of education - AFTER I sue you, this school, and the diocese. By the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to get a school job as a custodian!"

He paled, and said "You wouldn't dare - you'd lose in court!"

He went absolutely white when I gave him my best Godzilla-eyeing-Bambi smile, and said "Fine. Call the Bishop, and lets get him in on this as a conference call. Do it now, or I walk out of here and go straight to my lawyer's office."

His hands trembled as he picked up the phone, and he had to dial the number twice before getting it right. He told them who he was, and that he needed to talk to the Bishop - *now*. A few seconds later, he was telling the Bishop that he had a problem, that someone was threatening to sue, and wanted him to listen in. He listened for a moment, and put the phone on speakerphone.

"This is Bishop Ferguson. Who am I speaking to, please?"

"Yes, Bishop, my name is Dan Marshall. There seems to be a problem with the pompous twit you have running this school, and I've decided that it's not worthwhile to put up with his foolish arrogance any longer."

"What is the problem?"

"It seems that Mr. Jenkins has taken it upon himself to screen Valedictorian speeches before allowing the students to give them."

"That is his job, sir."

"And I recognize that duty - but for him to do so entirely without oversight, using only his own opinions as a standard, could hardly be considered proper, I would think. Nor do I consider it appropriate for him to do so without providing any guidelines - either verbal or in writing - to the students involved."

"Is this correct, Mr. Jenkins?"

"Er, yes, sir, but..."

"That's enough. We'll discuss this later. What else is happening, Mr. Marshall, that would cause you to threaten legal action?"

"Mr. Jenkins also took it upon himself to try and deal with this matter with a manumitted student of your school - essentially, denying her her legal right, as an adult before the law, to act on her own behalf. I came here only after he insisted that she call - and I quote - a 'responsible adult' to represent her. I believe that such actions would constitute a violation of her civil rights - something that may well leave this school open to civil and criminal action."

"Indeed, it may. But why would YOU threaten to sue?"

"I have told Mr. Jenkins that since he provided no instruction or direction, I do not see how he has any authority to deny the young lady involved the right to make her speech, as written. His response was to threaten to remove her as Valedictorian. It was at that point that I said that I would sue him, the school, and the diocese, if he did."

"You understand, of course, Mr. Marshall, that suing us would be a lengthy, costly process."

"Indeed - one that I would cheerfully devote time and money to, even as I took every opportunity to paint a picture of the Pope, and entire Catholic church, running roughshod over the rights of a single, attractive female student of this premier private school; who was declared Valedictorian, and then had that honor forcibly removed after she wrote a heartfelt speech to her fellow graduates."

"But neither the Pope, nor the Church, have any interest in the speech of a single student in a single school."

"No doubt - but in this predominantly Baptist part of the country, such an image would be easy enough to generate."

"Are you threatening us?"

"Not at all - only pointing out the adverse effects for YOU, if this should go to court."

We all heard him sigh before he asked "Why is that you are so adamant about this matter?"

"Because of the attitude taken by this petty, tyrannical, pompous, ignorant, *stupid*, overbearing _jackass_ you have holding down a chair in this office. If he had any two of ethics, a sense of fairness, or two brain cells to rub together, I believe we could have settled this amicably. Instead, he's tried to bully and berate the student, threatened her AND me, and generally been a pain in the ass. People like that aggravate me to no end, and I'm not going to give this twit *anything*."

"I see."

"Please understand, sir - my position is that the young lady should be free to give the speech she originally wrote. Whether you choose to disclaim it, ignore it, or otherwise disavow it is up to you. We can do it easy, with Little Hitler here prefacing it by saying that it's her speech, and not condoned by the Church or some other folderol, or it goes to court. If it does, I might lose, or I might win - but either way, the Church comes out looking none the better for the fight. It is your choice, sir.", I said, and then shut up. I'd pointed out an 'out' for him, and hoped that he'd see it as a way for all of us to avoid even bigger trouble.

After a couple of minutes, we heard him say "Very well, then, Mr. Marshall. There is much to be said for the validity of your points and opinions. Mr. Jenkins?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I wish you to take note of the following."

Jenkins hastily grabbed a pencil and note pad.

"First: the young lady is to give her speech, as written, as Valedictorian. She has earned the honor, and we will not remove it from her. You are also to forward a copy of it to my office, for review.

"Second: When you introduce her, you are only to say that her speech is her own, written by her. No editorializing or other disclaimer. If she has learned enough at our school to make this kind of stand, then it is our duty to let her speak freely.

"Third: You are to develop a set of guidelines for future speeches, properly worded, so that future students may have independent guidance. These guidelines are to be objective, and sufficiently detailed as to prevent future confrontations such as this. Further, no ONE person shall have final approval of the content. I would suggest a member of the clergy, a member of the administration, and one of the independent teachers, for a proper balance and perspective.

"Fourth: you are to apologize to the young lady - not only for your ignorance in knowing her status as an adult, but for any inappropriate tactics you may have employed in attempting to deal with this farce.

"Fifth: you are to apologize to Mr. Marshall, for reasons that should be obvious by now, even to you.

"Sixth: at your earliest convenience, I wish to visit with you in my office." With that one, Kelly looked at me - she *knew* that 'earliest convenience' meant "instantly if not sooner", and that it wasn't going to be old home week for Mr. Jenkins. He knew it, too - the sweat was popping out on his forehead.

He finished up by saying "Mr. Marshall, I apologize to you for any inconvenience or unpleasantness resulting from this confrontation. I promise you, no one else will have to go through it. I would also apologize to the young lady involved - I trust she's there and can hear me as I say that I am both sorry for putting her through this, and admiring of her for having such a friend as Mr. Marshall. I would also congratulate her on her achievement - I have no doubt that she has well and truly earned it."

Kelly spoke first, saying "Thank you, sir, for both your apology and recognition."

I followed her by telling him "I wish to thank you, as well, sir. It is a pleasure to speak with someone of your intelligence and caliber."

I could almost *hear* him smile as he said "Indeed. I think I would like to meet you, Mr. Marshall, under more - shall we say amicable? - circumstances."

"I think I would like that, too, sir.", I answered.

"Then if there is nothing else?"

We all assured him we were done, and the connection ended.

Mr. Jenkins waited, nervously, until the phone went dead; then made his apology to Kelly. She accepted it, quietly, while looking at him as if he was something that had just crawled up out of a primordial ooze.

His apology to me was nearly as abject and profuse as what he'd offered Kelly - I treated him as though he were something I'd have to clean off my shoe.

When he was done, I stood up, and asked Kelly "Do you want to leave now, or finish up the rest of your classes?"

She glanced over at Jenkins; he looked as though wishing the ground would open up and swallow him. Clearly, whatever her decision, his opinion wouldn't be a factor.

"I think I'll finish up. See you at home?"

"Gladly."

With that, we kissed - Jenkins only glanced at us - and left the office. At the secretary's desk, Kelly said "I'll be needing a pass to get to class, please."

The secretary seemed hesitant to comply - until she looked up at me, and saw that I wasn't going to tolerate any nonsense or delays. A few seconds later, Kelly had the requisite pass, and we went out into the hallway - where she hugged me fiercely, and said "Thanks, Dan. I'm sorry to have to ask for your help like that, but he just wouldn't *listen* to me."

"It's okay. I've met him, now, and understand _completely_. But I don't think you'll have any more problems with him."

She smiled, and said "I don't think *anyone* is going to have any more problems, once the Bishop gets through with him!"

I grinned at her, and when she turned to head toward her class, I gave her a pat on the butt. A nun saw me, and looked horrified at what I'd done. I couldn't resist it, and grinned at her before heading back out to my car, shocking her even further.

Only two things came out of the situation. First, a few days later, Kelly got a letter from the Bishop - not just his office, but the Bishop himself, handwritten - telling her that he'd read her speech, and found it "provocatively honest" and "thoughtful"; he also said that he looked forward to actually hearing her as she gave it. The other was that some of the teachers that had seemed to delight in singling her out in class had eased off, considerably - apparently lest they come to the attention of the notorious (infamous?) Mr. Marshall.

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

In the final weeks leading up to the prom, I found out that none of the other girls at the sleepover had accepted dates from any of the boys at school. I discretely asked Kelly about it, and she said that all of them had told her that after me, none of the boys at school had any interest to them - at least, not enough to go to the prom with one. She also told me that she'd done everything she could to convince them to accept and go anyway, but none would. I let that rattle around in my head for a couple days, and finally talked to Kelly again, asking if she would mind if they went with us. She smiled at me, and said that she'd already thought of that, but didn't want to say anything to me for fear of making ME think SHE wanted them to go with us. We both laughed at that, and I asked her to get them all over after school one evening - that I wanted to have a 'chat' them.

A couple of days later, I got home to find all of them in the living room, chatting away. When I went in, Kelly saw me, and discretely moved herself out of their sight - she knew I was going to lay into them a bit, first. I looked down at them: Jan, Susan, Candice, Robyn, and Sandra all looked up at me, expectantly.

"First off, it's nice to see all of you together again. But there's something I think I need to say, and get things straight between all of us."

They smiled at the welcome, but quickly realized something was going on, and got serious.

"I want you all to know that you're being foolish. Your Senior Prom is a special event in your life, and not something to miss. I remember mine, like it was yesterday; and I'd hoped that all of you would have enough sense to realize what you were setting yourselves up for by not accepting dates."

They looked mildly surprised at my words, and I went on "You're all also being a pain in the butt - not just for me, but for Kelly. Every last one of you knew that I was already going to take Kelly to the prom, and all of you have had ample opportunity to see the dress and jewelry I got for her to wear. How much did you think she was going to enjoy going, while she knew that all of you had turned down dates?"

They all looked at each other, and realized that what I'd said was true - and knew that Kelly wouldn't have fun at the prom without her friends there, too.

"From what I understand, all of you turned down dates because you didn't think the boys were as good as me. That implies that you think I'm a pretty good person. But if I'm a pretty good person, WHY would you refuse dates, and not go to the prom, when it would make Kelly unhappy - and through Kelly, *me*? If I'm good enough that you would turn down other dates, then why would you choose to act in a way that would hurt me like that?"

Clearly, they hadn't thought of that, and a few started to get a little wet around the eyes - despite the presence of the kitten (we'd finally just named it 'Cat') rubbing up against them as it trolled for attention.

"*Every* *last* *one* of you has forgotten, or ignored, the ONE thing that I'd hoped you would learn: that *everything* you do has an impact on other people - and the closer those people are to you, the greater the impact. YOU decided none of the boys at school were good enough - but how good were YOU when WE first met? How many frogs are out there, versus how many princes? All of you know that not everyone is like you, or us - and got so full of yourselves that you're now without dates for what _should_ be the most memorable night of your lives. Every one of you told me that you would repay what you learned from me by showing it to others - but how the hell are you going to do that if you never spend any time with them, or find out which others are willing to learn from you?"

By then, all of them had tears running down their faces with the realization that they'd well and truly stepped in it.

I let them stew for several seconds before saying "It's a good thing for you that WE - Kelly and I - love you as much as we do; WE have decided that we're willing to give up OUR time together so that YOU can still go to the prom."

It took a few seconds before they all realized that I'd just said that they could still go to the prom - with me and Kelly. Their combined relief and joy was clear on their faces as they jumped up (scaring the cat) and headed for either me, or Kelly. Kelly wound up with Candice and Susan; I got Jan, Sandra and Robyn. Both of us were tear-saturated in short order, before they all decided to exchange sides.

They finally settled down again, and found seats on the floor. After a bit, the cat eased around the end of the couch, as though worried about another stampede. Finally satisfied that they were going to hold still again, moved in among them, and got all the attention and affection it could possibly have wanted.

As they all dried their faces, Kelly came around to stand next to me for a moment before we settled ourselves down on the couch. They all shared looks, and it was Jan that looked up at us and said "Kelly, Uncle Dan, we're really sorry about this. What you said was right - we *did* think we were better than the boys at school, and we *did* forget that what we did would affect you and Kelly. And we're all *really* sorry that we messed up YOUR time together."

Robyn took over, saying "Yeah, we were _really_ dumb, and were selfish - but about the wrong things, and for the wrong reasons. I don't know how we can ever thank you for loving us enough to take us with you."

Kelly answered her by saying "That's easy. Learn from the mistake, so nothing like it happens again."

Chastised, all of them looked at their laps, and nodded their heads. But it didn't take them long to cheer up at the idea of still going to their prom, either.

Eventually, they started talking among themselves, and I pulled Kelly over to whisper in her ear "Okay, I was the bad cop. Now you be the good cop, and find out what they need to still go - dresses, jewelry, that sort of thing. If any of them need help getting something to wear, I'll cover the difference between what they can afford and what you decide would be appropriate. I know I can get some loaner jewelry from Paul, if they need it. I'll make arrangements for the transportation and corsages." Kelly smiled at me, and gave me a quick kiss before I stood up and headed for my office to give them that extra bit of freedom to talk.

After a while, Kelly came back to tell me that they'd gotten everything worked out, and that the others were getting ready to leave. I went out, and each of them came over to me to give me a kiss on the cheek and quiet 'Thank you!' before heading out the door.

When they were gone, Kelly came up and hugged me before saying "That was really sweet of you to offer to help them get ready, and get them some nice jewelry. Uh, we're all going to the mall tomorrow to pick out dresses for them. They're all perfectly happy to let you pick out jewelry for them to wear."

I dug my wallet out, and handed her my Amex Platinum card, saying "Here. If any of them need financial help, use this. If they insist on giving you the money, tell them to go ahead and put it in the poor box at church, or give it to a charity or something. After they've got their dresses, you and I are going to Paul's and pick them out something to dress up with."

She smiled, and took the card, before giving me a kiss. We sat down on the couch, and were immediately joined by the cat.

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

After they went to the mall, Kelly absolutely refused to let me see any of the dresses they'd selected, saying "They all wanted it to be a surprise for you. I promise you, it will be - and a nice one, I think!", with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

When we went to Paul's place, he was more than happy to let me 'borrow' some jewelry - not only did he know I was good for it, but Jan had told him *why* I wanted to borrow it. I made Kelly promise that if the girls got to keep their dresses secret from me, then WE got to keep the jewelry secret from THEM. She grinned, and said it sounded fair to her. Kelly knew what the dresses looked like, and was able to help make appropriate selections.

For Robyn, we found a gold necklace set with a bunch of small emeralds, and matching earrings. Kelly and Paul both agreed that it would look stunning on her.

Candice's choice proved to be surprisingly easy - a platinum mesh necklace and matching bracelet.

Susan was easy, as well: a necklace made of miniature white gold ingots; a pair of white gold earrings set with rubies that would match her lips and accentuate the blue of her eyes.

Sandra was the most difficult - but we finally settled on a gold necklace that tapered to a 'vee', where a yellow star sapphire was set, with gold earrings set with yellow sapphires.

I had to get a promise from Paul that he wouldn't tell Jan about the gold necklace set with a variety of small diamonds we'd picked out, or the wrought gold armband that accentuated it so nicely.

With our selections made, I told Paul that I'd pick them up the afternoon of the Prom, and keep them with me until I put them on the girls, and return them the next morning. He assured me that it wasn't a problem, knowing that the stuff would be safe with me.

That out of the way, I called around, and found a place that actually had a limo large enough to hold the entire group of us - the manager of the limo service casually informed me that even during Prom season, nobody needed or wanted a monster that size. I booked it, and went on to find corsages for all of them. I finally found a florist that was willing to take orders for their top-end corsages - no one else had been interested, because of the price. They assured me that the Hawaiian orchids they were made of would be flown in the day of the prom, after being picked that morning.

I checked with Kelly, and made arrangements with her for each of them to get a small bottle of fine perfume. The ploy was that she was to take them, individually, into a particular store belonging to one of the finer chains. There, they would be 'awarded' a free gift for being the umpteenth visitor to the perfume counter that day - a week long promotion, you know. The prize was to be a bottle (smallest size, to make it plausible) of her choice of their finest perfumes. The lady at the perfume counter thought it was delightfully sweet of me, and romantic, and promised full cooperation. Just for safety's sake, we ran it by her boss, too, and readily got his approval - he liked the idea of multiple sales, and was willing to play along to help make them.

Sure enough, Kelly was able to ease them into position, so that each one was 'first' to arrive at the perfume counter, where the saleslady played her part to perfection. Each of them was delighted at their good fortune, and each made her own selection - unique from anything the others selected, thankfully.

The last part was something that Kelly did, independently and on her own - she and all the rest of them went to one of the best beauty salons in town for the full treatment, the day of the prom. Coiffed, made up, manicured, pedicured, and generally pampered to within an inch of their lives, their only regret was the necessity of leaving.

When she got home, I almost didn't recognize her, so thoroughly had they gone over her - I could only imagine what waited for me with the others.

As it got time for them to meet us at my place, Kelly started to get nervous - and promptly calmed down when Candice, then Susan showed up; and soon after, Sandra, then Robyn, and finally, Jan.

Candice was dressed in a raw silk sheath that I was *sure* the silkworms had spun directly on her. It almost made my guts ache to look at her, she was so delightful.

Sandra had opted for a strapless black evening number, snug on her torso, but loose and flowing below her hips. If it hadn't been for the texture of the material, I'd have though it was spray-painted on her.

Susan was in a black spaghetti-strap gown that molded to her curves, and made it amply clear that she was female - but doing it with style and class.

Robyn was in a pale, pale green outfit that covered her shoulders, but left her back exposed all the way down past her waist. Low-cut, it let her show off an interesting amount of cleavage.

Last, and certainly not least, was Jan, dressed in a sheer white number that nicely accented her complexion and shape. Sleeveless and strapless, I couldn't help but wonder at the design and attention that went into making sure it stayed in place.

They all smelled absolutely wonderful, too - soft, natural perfumes that only served to entrance and attract; none of that chemical nonsense that usually assaults the senses, rather than caress them.

I guided them into the den, where the nondescript briefcase Paul had given me to hold the jewelry was. Making each of them keep their eyes shut, I put the necklaces on them, to the 'oooh's and 'ahhh's of the others - and when they opened their eyes and saw what they had on, every last one of them got saucer-eyed and all but stopped breathing. They were able - just barely - to get the earrings and bracelets on themselves; and looked at me as though I'd just landed in a UFO.

Once all of them were fully decked out, Kelly went back to the bedroom to dress herself - and when she came out, every last one of them gasped as they got the full effect of what she was wearing. She'd let them all see all of it, but individually, not with the dress and jewelry together. I was already dressed in my tux, and was ready to leave at any time.

About that time, the florist showed up with the corsages - a couple minutes later than promised, but still in time. Again, they could only stare at the delicacy of the flowers, and savor their gentle fragrance.

A couple minutes later, we heard a discrete knock at the door, and I observed that it must be our ride. Candice looked at me, and asked "What ride? Limos have been booked for MONTHS." I smiled, and said that I'd chartered a bus - and every one of them - including Kelly - gave me the Goober look. I only smiled as I guided us to the front door, and opened it. When they saw the limo, and driver in full livery, they could only stare for several seconds before pulling themselves together. Taking Kelly and Jan on my arms, we headed out to the car - the driver beating us by only a couple of seconds, to open the door and help us all in, addressing each and every one of them as "Ma'am", and calling me 'sir' with a note of awe in his voice.

The ride to the prom was smooth as glass, giving the girls plenty of time to find the champagne the limo company had included - not the best available, but certainly respectable. We each had a glass before pulling up in front of the hall where the prom was being held. Again, the driver beat anyone else to the door, and helped the ladies out first, then me. I paused a moment to tell him that we'd be inside for at least two hours, and probably more - and that he could take a break and make himself comfortable, if he wanted. He nodded his understanding and appreciation, and I headed to the open door, where they were waiting for me.

When we entered, one of the school staff politely asked for our prom receipts. I handed them over, and we started to go in - until another staff member objected, saying that she didn't know if it was okay for an older man to take six girls into the prom. At that, a couple of security guards came over, ready to block us, if necessary. I told her who I was, and suggested that she check with the administrator. She told one of the security people to find him; the fellow nodded and took off. I waited patiently, knowing that this idiot was about to find out what was what. As we waited, the remaining guard kept looking at all the jewelry on display, and finally asked me "Is that stuff all real?"

"Yup - about twenty thousand dollars worth of real, bub. Anybody makes a grab at it, you'd better stay the hell out of my way."

His eyes got big, and he just looked at me for a bit before looking around for his partner - who chose that moment to make his reappearance, telling the woman who'd stopped us "Mr. Jenkins says quote, 'quit screwing around, and let them in if you know what's good for you', unquote.", and then leaned over to whisper in her ear. When he stood up again, she was white as a ghost, and quickly said "I'm sorry, Mr. Marshall, my mistake, sir! Please, go on in!"

The girls all smiled at the reaction to my name, and we went on through the second door, then paused a moment behind a curtain they'd put up for privacy, to get used to the low lights. Behind me, I could hear the second guard tell the first "You know, all that jewelry and shit on those girls is *real* - twenty grand worth, he said!"

The first answered by telling him "Yeah, well, when I found Jenkins, one of the off-duty cops was nearby, and heard me talk about this guy. After Jenkins told me to tell her who this guy was, the cop pulled me over and told me what this guy did to three punks that showed up - put all three of 'em in the hospital, one of them stayed there a while."

"He told me if anyone made a play for the gold, to stay the hell out of his way."

"I would, if it was me - he impressed the hell out of that cop; he said the punks were dusted or some shit, and this guy took all three of 'em out in less than a minute; didn't even break a sweat!"

Our eyes adjusted, we moved on past the end of the curtain - and as we cleared it, we could hear all the conversations that had been going on simply fade out as everyone stopped talking, to look at us. Kelly leaned over to whisper in my ear "I think this is what they call an entrance?". I smiled, and nodded, getting a wicked smile in return.

After several seconds, the noise level slowly increased as people started talking again - with the choice of subject fairly obvious. As we made our way toward the seating area, a couple of the waiters came alive, and pushed a couple of empty tables together for us. When we got there, I nodded to them in appreciation, and discretely slipped one of them a $50 bill and whispering "For you and your buddy. Keep up the good work, okay?". He gave the bill a quick double-take, and nodded his agreement - and as the two of them left us, I could see them both looking over their shoulders at me. The rest of the evening, we had no trouble getting their attention. Later, when we left, I slipped the other one another $50, and a whispered "Thanks."; he nodded enthusiastically, and smiled.

We'd been sitting there only a few minutes - Kelly on my right, Jan on my left, the others expanding out from there - when Kim showed up, standing on the other side of the tables from me. She looked first at Jan and Kelly, then me, before saying "I owe you an apology. I made trouble for you, and my friends, when I shouldn't have. I did something dumb, and I'm sorry for it."

Kelly and Jan shared a look, then looked at me, before Kelly spoke up, telling her "Yes, you did make trouble for us - but in the end, it made me even happier than I was before. I don't think I could ever trust you again, or be your friend, but I can at least forgive you."

Jan spoke up then, saying "I wouldn't want you as a friend, any more, and I'll never trust you again; but I can forgive you, too."

I could see that Kim was hurt by what they'd said, so when she looked at me, I simply told her "I can forgive people for their mistakes. But that doesn't mean that I'll give them a chance to hurt me, or the ones I love, when I do. Your apology is accepted, and I forgive you for your mistake. But don't bother them, or me, again."

Her eyes got big, and she quickly left us alone again.

Perhaps half an hour later, Mary Alice showed up with her boyfriend, along with Kathy and her boyfriend slightly behind them. She said "Just *look* at all of you! So _lovely_ tonight; but what are all of you doing here with just one guy?"

I think all of us were surprised when it was Susan that told her "That's none of your business!", quite vehemently.

Mary Alice looked surprised, and said "Well, I was just asking a simple question!"

Sandra looked at her, and said "Nothing from you is simple - and nothing we do is any of your concern. Why don't you just leave us alone to enjoy the party?"

Mary Alice got an irritated look on her face, and said "Well, if nothing you do is my concern, then nothing I do should be of yours!"

"Except that you keep sticking your face in our lives, and asking questions that no _decent_ person would.", Robyn quietly told her.

"You say that *I'm* indecent? What gives you the right to judge me?!"

At this point, Kelly spoke up, telling her "WE don't judge you - your own actions do that. We're only responding to the way *you* show us you _deserve_.", calmly.

"You're saying that I deserve to be treated like a whore?", Mary Alice asked, angrily.

"Only if you act like one.", Candice answered her.

At that point, her boyfriend decided it was time to make a stand, and said "Hey, you can't talk to her like that!"

Jan looked at him, and said "Sure we can - we just did!"

"Well, you'd better just watch yourselves, or I'll... I'll..."

My turn.

"You'll what, boy? Kick their asses? Raise a hand - a *finger* - toward any one of them, and I'll be on you like white on rice."

"Oh, sure, old man - like I couldn't kick your ass, too! These bitches give me any shit, and I'll do what I want to them!"

I couldn't help it - I *growled*. Mary Alice paled a bit; the others turned to look at me in surprise and concern as I stood up. Before I could say anything, Kathy's boyfriend moved up and whispered something in Junior's ear. He got an uncertain look on his face before I quietly told him "Boy, you ask anybody that knows me, and they'll tell you that I only speak God's honest truth. You fuck with me, you fuck with any of these _ladies_, you fuck with anybody that I know or care about, and I promise you, you'll spend a very long, very painful time in the hospital wishing you hadn't."

About that time, I saw one of the off-duty cops getting close - and recognized him from the Phil incident. I nodded in recognition, and he smiled in return. When he came up, he saw the expression on my face, and asked "Everything okay here, Mr. Marshall?"

"I think so, Officer. This young lad and I were debating the finer points of survival in a hostile world."

"Yeah, we've met before, haven't we Johnny?", the cop asked the kid, obviously recognizing him. He went on to say "Johnny boy, do you have your insurance card in your pocket?"

"Uh, no..."

"Then I would suggest that you have it with you before you go pissing him off. I took the report when he took care of your buddy Phil and his dipshit pals. They were stoned, or dusted, or on some damn thing or other, and he flat took them out, in less than a minute. I don't think he even broke a sweat. You might also remember that all three of them left in the meat wagon, and Phil was in the hospital for a while. You mess with Mr. Marshall, here, and he will flat *fuck* *you* *up* - and he'd do it whether he was going to go to jail, or not. And I don't know of anybody that would dare get in his way. Got it?"

At that point, the kid looked in my eyes, and saw something he didn't like: that if I took a real dislike to him, I'd do just what the cop had said I would - and that there wasn't a thing on God's green earth that could stop it.

The cop - Patrolman Johnston, by his nametag - smiled at me and wished all of us at the table a good evening before walking off.

The kid got an expression like he'd been teasing the lion, and just discovered the cage wasn't locked.

Mary Alice also seemed to realize the trouble she was getting herself into.

I looked at her, and said "Mary Alice, this is the second time you've managed to upset me and my friends. I won't let it happen a third time. Got it?"

She paled again, and nodded, before grabbing her boyfriend by the arm and leading him off - quickly followed by Kathy and her guy.

Fortunately, the band started to play a slow tune, and I took Kelly's hand in mine and led her out onto the dance floor. When she was in my arms, she whispered to me "You were serious about that, weren't you? About hurting him, or anyone that messed with us?"

"Yup."

"And you'd do it, too, wouldn't you?"

"Yup."

"Even if you went to jail?"

"Yup."

I felt her shudder slightly in my arms before she said "Thank god that's over! When I heard you make that noise, I wasn't sure if you were serious, or just trying to scare them - but now I know!"

"Relax. It's over. They're gone. Let's just enjoy the party now, okay?"

She shuddered again, but as we continued to dance, I felt her finally start to come down from the tension. By the time the song ended, she was again able to smile and laugh as I told her a joke. The band promptly went into another slow tune, and neither of us was surprised when Jan came out for her turn. Jan whispered in Kelly's ear for a moment, and Kelly nodded her head slightly before heading back to the table while Jan moved into my arms.

"You kind of scared them, you know.", she said.

I sighed, and answered "Yeah, I suppose I did. I'll apologize when I sit down."

She giggled, and said "You don't have to. I explained to them how you are, sometimes, and they understood. Shucks, they're even flattered that you would come to their defense like that!"

"Thanks, I guess.", I told her, a bit sheepish.

"It's okay. Kelly's going to talk to them, too, a little. That was really something, the way John left. He's not real smart, and he doesn't go looking for trouble, but he won't run away from it, either. I think you scared him pretty bad if he left like that."

"All that matters is that he leaves you and the others alone. Beyond that, I don't much care what happens with him. Or Mary Alice, for that matter."

Satisfied that everything was close to normal again, Jan rested herself against me, and we finished the dance in each other's arms. The next tune was some new thing, and I wasn't about to make a fool of myself trying to dance to it, so we quickly headed back to the table. As we got close, I could see the others looking at me, watching me - and saw Kelly give Jan and I a small nod of her head, indicating that things were fine, again. I smiled at them, and held Jan's seat for her.

After a while some of their other friends began stopping by our table with their dates. Each time, introductions would be made, and I'd stand to take the girls hand in mine, and kiss it - and every time, they'd stutter for a second, and blush slightly, their eyes wide, before introducing me to their dates - whose hands I'd shake politely, and firmly, as I greeted them. In between visits like that, they carefully pointed out who was what - this one the captain of cheerleading, that one the Prom Queen, and so on.

When the next slow song played, I asked Susan to dance, and she happily agreed. Once we were on the dance floor, I took her in my arms, and whispered to her "Feisty little thing, aren't you? Telling Mary Alice off like that!". I could see her shoulder darken as she blushed, before she said "Being around you, I've gotten stronger, inside; like I'm not afraid of stuff like I used to be. Besides, I was just so *sick* of her _bullshit_!", she exclaimed, before blushing again at her use of profanity.

I hugged her gently, and said "It's okay, Susan. You know what the best revenge is?"

"What's that?"

"Be *seen* to be happy, and doing well."

She thought about that for a few moments, then looked up at me, grinning, before saying "Yeah, I suppose it would be, wouldn't it? Especially for someone like Mary Alice."

"*Especially* for someone like Mary Alice.", I agreed.

We finished out the song, and were on our way back to the table when the band decided that another slow tune was called for. I walked Susan back to her seat, and was surprised a bit when Robyn got up.

Back out on the dance floor, I held her close as I told her "I'm sorry if I upset you, Robyn."

She pulled back a bit to look at me in confusion for a second before putting her head on my shoulder again, saying "What on earth are you talking about?"

"That little incident with Mary Alice's boyfriend."

She snorted, and said "Hell, that dipstick _needs_ his ass kicked. Besides, why would I be upset that you would care enough about me, and the rest of us, to be willing to stand up to him like that? If anything, it makes me kinda horny, having you talk him down like that!", pressing herself against me.

I sighed, and said "Sheesh. Some women. Absolute animals when they see two bulls butting heads.", teasing her.

She laughed, and said "No, not two bulls. One strong, wise old bull, and one sorry excuse for a calf."

After that, the rest of the dance was quiet, and sensual - until the band decided that some more of the current popular tunes were overdue.

We walked back to the table, and I held her chair for her, then sat down myself. Some more of their friends stopped by, and a very few of them were invited to join us, which they did, eagerly. They, and the rest, spent no small amount of time in little huddles as they exchanged what could only be gossip about who was with who, and wearing what. At one point, I caught sight of a photographer wandering around, and promptly bribed him to get photos of me and the rest - not only as a group, but individual shots of me with each of them - portraits and full-length, in an assortment of poses. I gave him my card and told him to call me - I'd want _plenty_ of copies of the photos.

As the night went on, I continued to take the girls out on the dance floor during the slow tunes. With Kelly and Jan's encouragement, I even invited a couple of their friends out, which they happily accepted. The boyfriends were less than thrilled, but tolerant - particularly since I didn't hold their girlfriends nearly as close as I did my bunch.

Eventually, though, I started to see them getting tired, and asked one of the people that had been tending to us to let our limo driver that we would be out shortly. "Which one?", he asked. "You'll know when you see it,", I assured him. In a minute or so, he was back, and nodded to me, smiling.

At that, I quietly suggested that we call it an evening - claiming that I was tired. There was a little grumbling, but only a token amount: I'd been right about their energy levels. Goodnights were passed all around, and with a final kiss on the hand of their friends, I got us moving toward the door. When we made it outside, our limo was waiting, the driver standing next to the open door - and plenty of other couples standing around to watch, and spread the story of how we were traveling. With all of us inside, we headed back to my place, again enjoying a glass of champagne along the way.

When we got home, the driver held the door, of course, and I was the last one out. As I stood up, I passed him a $100 tip, and told him "I'll be letting your boss know how good you did tonight. It was good work - keep it up." He quietly thanked me, and waited until we were all inside before getting back in the car and driving off. Clearly, a professional that took pride in doing his job well.

With all of us finally home, and free to just let go, all of them found seats in the den - leaving me my favorite chair. I could see that the excitement, hour, and champagne had hit all of them, and told them that if their parents okayed it, they were welcome to stay the night; otherwise, I'd be happy to drive them home. The result was a brief argument about who got to call home first - all wanted to stay.

In short order, though, they got it organized, and each made the necessary call - and in every case, the parents told them they could stay, provided I didn't mind having them. In a couple cases, I had to speak with the parents myself, but that easily satisfied them - they'd apparently seen beneficial changes in the girls, and learned that those changes had started with me; none of them hesitated about trusting their daughters to my care.

With the necessity of going home eliminated, Susan was the first to remove her jewelry, and hand it back to me so I could put it back in the case Paul had provided, before standing up long enough to take off her dress - without the slightest trace of concern or hesitation. The rest quickly followed, and with all the jewelry accounted for, I closed the case and set it aside to enjoy the sight of all of them for a few moments before taking off my clothes, as well. In a short time, the cat made an appearance from under the couch, yawning and stretching before trolling for affection - and getting it from every one of them. Jan suggested coffee, and we all readily agreed - she headed off to the kitchen as Kelly went back to the bedroom to put away her things.

As the aroma of the coffee filtered into the den, Candice looked me in the eye as she said "Dan, I want to thank you for tonight. I did something silly, and hurtful, and almost missed the happiest night of my life - except for one!", she grinned. "If it wasn't for yours - and Kelly's! - love and kindness, I would have missed out on it. It makes me realize just how much both of you DO love us, and makes me love you that much more, in return."

The others quickly added their agreement, and as Kelly and Jan entered the den again, began chatting about the evening, and all that had happened - without once mentioning Mary Alice or her boyfriend. All of them were simply thrilled at the way the entire room had gotten quiet when we entered, and they laughed themselves to tears at the memory of how the woman at the door changed her attitude when she found out who I was.

They didn't delay in comparing their own outfits to those worn by other girls, and quickly realized that they'd been not only the best dressed, but best outfitted of anyone else in the room - and that with a few notable exceptions, were the envy of every other girl that had been there. It was Sandra that told me - with the rest of them listening - that my kissing the hands of the girls that had stopped by had been a phenomenal hit: those that hadn't stopped by would be kicking themselves for _days_ was their collective opinion. And they also knew that more than a few of those girls had noticed how their boyfriends all but stared at the dresses they'd worn.

They also quickly reached agreement that I'd been the best looking guy there - almost entirely due to the fact that I had worn a tuxedo that was obviously *mine*, and fit me the way clothing should. While some of the guys had tried more 'modern' styles, I'd stuck with the more traditional approach, and the quality fabrics coupled with simple style and proper tailoring just made me look _better_ - classier, and far more mature and refined. They all figured they would be getting a LOT of questions about me the next few days - and quietly plotted to keep the answers simple and brief, so as to make me seem all the more mysterious and romantic. Within hours of my visit to the school, word had spread that I had not only squashed Jenkins, but gotten the _Bishop_ involved, as well. There were also some rumors about him being fired, but since he was still there, those stories quickly died out. All told, I was apparently both held in awe of what I'd done, and shrouded in mystery because of how little was actually *known* about me, and how few had actually seen me.

As the coffee disappeared, so did their enthusiasm for staying up even later. When I suggested that it was time for bed, all of them got grins on their faces before Robyn asked "Okay, who gets to sleep where?"

Before anyone else could, I answered.

"I get to sleep in MY bed. As far as I'm concerned there's enough room for _three_ more. Kelly is my first choice, since she lives here, too. Beyond that, I don't care, or have any preference - and if Kelly wants to give up her spot, that's up to her."

Kelly jumped in, saying "Tonight? You think I'd give up my spot with you after tonight? You're crazy! There are two beds, both the same size. Me and Dan in one, with two more of you. The rest of you can share the other bed - I expect you're good enough friends not to mind!" - and getting laughs from them. All of them but Susan had made love with each other at least once, and enjoyed it - and even Susan wasn't bashful about touching and kissing.

With no muss or fuss, they had soon worked out who was sleeping where - I found out that Kelly and I would be joined by Candice and Sandra; the rest would snuggle with each other in the second bedroom. That settled, we all trooped back to the bedrooms, and soon found ourselves fast asleep.

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

The next morning, Saturday, I woke up to find myself on my side, 'spooning' with Sandra - her breast in my hand and my morning erection trapped between her thighs, pressing against her mons. I could feel a pair of breasts pressing against my back, and the tickle of pubic hair against my ass - judging from the tickle of the hair and body position, I thought it was Candice; raising my head slightly, I could see Kelly with her back to Sandra, confirming that it was Candice behind me.

As nice as it felt to be there, I *had* to get up - to relieve a significant hydraulic pressure, if nothing else.

I released my hold on Sandra's breast, and she made a small noise of complaint - so I took Candice' arm where it lay across me, and moved it up to rest on Sandra. That seemed to satisfy her, and left me with the next problem: how to get out bed without waking anyone. I finally settled on simply easing myself 'down' the bed, sliding myself from between them. Over the next couple of minutes, I managed to move a few inches at a time toward the foot of the bed, As I did, Candice naturally tried to continue to spoon with whoever was in front of her, so that as I made my 'escape', she gradually moved forward to rest against Sandra - even moving her arm to cup a breast when she could.

Once past their torsos - I couldn't help but kiss the top of the cleft of Sandra's ass when the chance came - progress was a little faster; finally, I was able to get up and head for the bathroom.

With space available for intake, the next goal was the kitchen, and some coffee - with a detour to the other bedroom, where I saw Susan, Jan, Robyn, and Sandra in a tangle of arm and legs, all holding each other. There was a temptation to eel myself in among them, but it passed, and I continued the trek to the kitchen. With the coffee started, I grabbed a robe I kept by the front door, and went out to get the paper; the carrier had learned to keep it on the porch after several calls to the delivery office complaining about it being on the sidewalk, in the gutter, and on one memorable occasion, on the roof. In return, I paid the bill promptly, and gave them a nice tip at Christmas.

After looking over the front page, I left the paper in the den as I went into the kitchen to get myself some coffee. It wasn't quite done brewing yet, but there was easily enough to put in a carafe, which I did. With a supply of coffee and cup, it was back into the den to read the paper - comics, editorials, then the rest of it. I'd just finished my second cup when Susan wandered in to the den; when I saw her - rubbing her eyes and yawning - I told her "Good morning. Grab yourself a cup from the kitchen, and have a seat, if you want." She blinked a couple of times, then poured me half a cup of coffee before taking the carafe with her to refill it when she got a cup. When she got back, she topped off my coffee and poured herself a cup, as well, saying "I went ahead and started another pot - I expect the others will be up before too long."

I thanked her for the coffee, and saw that something seemed to be on her mind.

I set the paper aside, and looked at her carefully as I asked her if there was something she wanted to talk about.

She looked at her lap for a moment, then said "Well, yeah, there's something I wanted to tell you, is all.", before looking up at me and hesitantly asking "Uh, is it okay if I sit in your lap, first?"

I smiled at her, and said "Of course! I'm *always* happy to have a pretty girl in my lap."

She got up, and started to sit down on my lap sideways; then changed her mind and sat down facing me, her knees on each side of me. This was something new - since the sleepover, she had always been wiling to sit next to me, and have me hold her and touch her casually - but had *never* sat on my lap before, much less so directly and openly.

I gently put my hands on her hips, and waited patiently for her to say what was on her mind as she sat looking toward my chest.

After a couple of false starts, she finally spoke, saying "As I was going to sleep last night, I realized how right Candice was about the mistakes we made, and how much you and Kelly must love us to give up your time together to make sure we got to go to the Prom last night."

"Susan, we DO love you, and it really wasn't a problem for us. I expect - I hope! - that Kelly and I will have plenty of special times together. We love you - all of you - and we were both glad to do it. Don't worry about it, okay?"

She nodded, and then went on to say "Well, it still made me realize how much you love us, and how much I love YOU - you and Kelly both, I mean. And it made me want to show you - both of you - how happy you've made me feel since I started coming here."

"Show us? How?"

"By, uh, making love with you. Uh, both of you, I think."

I took her face in my hands and lifted her head so that I could look into her eyes.

"Susan, whatever else you do in life, do NOT make love with someone because you think you owe them something, or feel that you 'have' to, for ANY reason. If you want to make love with Kelly or me, do it because you *want* to, out of love, and because it would make YOU happy to do it. Anything else is only sex - the physical act between two people, done out of debt of one to the other - which is nothing more than simple prostitution. And that is something that I have *no* interest in, whatsoever - nor would Kelly."

Her eyes misted over, and she didn't lose eye contact with me as she said "I kinda figured that out, and that's what I'm saying - I DO want to make love with you because I love you. It's just that it wasn't until last night that I finally realized that I DID love you enough to want to do that. The only thing is that I'm still _scared_ - that you won't like it, or Kelly won't, or even that *I* won't. I know that everyone else has said how patient and gentle you are, but I'm still *scared*. Not about being hurt physically, or anything like that, but that I'll do something wrong, or go too fast or too slow, or SOMETHING.", before dropping her eyes again.

"Susan, look at me."

She raised her eyes to look into my face, and finally, my eyes. She must have seen the care and concern there, because she visibly calmed down as I started to tell her "Susan, making love is just that: making LOVE. It's the physical expression of what's in your heart - nothing more, and nothing less. Do you think Kelly could ever do anything to hurt you?"

"No, of course not."

"Do you think I could?"

"Oh, no!"

"Then you can be sure that none of us - me, Kelly, Jan, or any of the others - would EVER be angry or upset with you - about ANYTHING. Have you ever made love before?"

"You know I haven't."

"Then why should I - or anyone else - think that you know anything about it? Maybe - *maybe* - you'll make mistakes. So what? Do you think nobody else had made mistakes the first time they made love? Believe it or not, the first time *I* made love - well, had sex - I didn't know anything more about it than you do; and sure as hell made mistakes. But that's what making _love_ different: the mistakes in what happens don't matter, as long as the LOVE is there."

She smiled at me, and I went on "As for going too fast or too slow - if it's right for YOU, then it's neither. The first time we met, would you have let me touch your breast?" She grinned and shook her head. I went on "But here were are, right now, both of us naked, and you sitting on my lap. Tell me, did we go too slow, or too fast?"

She nodded her understanding, and I said "When I gave you the massage that night, you were scared at first, weren't you?"

She said "Yeah, a little."

"Then why did you let me do it?"

"Because I knew you wanted to help me feel better, and I trusted you."

"I know that you've kissed the other girls - didn't that make you nervous at first?"

"It scared the HELL out of me", she admitted.

"But you did it anyway - because you knew you loved them, and they loved you."

She nodded.

"And you keep doing it, too - I guess you found out that you liked it? And they keep kissing you back, so _they_ must like it."

She grinned at me, and I continued "You know that I've made love with them, and that they've made love with each other. But NONE of us has EVER bothered you about it, have we? Not ONE of us has treated you any differently, have we? We've neither excluded you, nor tried to involve you; in fact, you and I sat here on this very couch and cuddled when Kelly and Sandra got carried away and made love to each other right there on the floor, in front of us. And when they were done, both of them blushed - not because they'd made love in front of us, but for getting as carried away as they did; I never knew that two women could make so much noise making love, did you?"

She blushed a bit, and shook her head, saying "I see where you're going. I have *never* felt any different than any one else when I've been here. I guess maybe I _have_ been worried about stuff that I didn't have to."

"Not at all. You were worried because you were still unsure, and uncertain; and it was reasonable for you to worry under those circumstances. All I've done here has been to help show you that _now_ you can put those worries and fears aside, and do what you WANT to - whatever that may be."

She said "What I *want* to do, now, is THIS" - and leaned forward to give me a kiss that quickly went past the friendly, affectionate kisses we'd shared before, and headed straight for lust in the dust.

When the kiss finally broke, both of us were panting slightly from the intensity of it - and I could see that Susan had most definitely decided where she wanted to go.

Smiling, she took my hands and put them on her breasts, squeezing them as a sign that she wanted the contact to be more than social and casual as it had been before. As I ran my thumbs over her erect nipples, she reached down and took hold of my penis - for the first time since the anatomy lessons the night of the sleepover. Holding it gently, she did a Braille examination of it, and my scrotum and testicles, as I did a similar exam of her breasts.

Her eyes were open, if hooded in desire, when Kelly came into the den with a cup of coffee in her hand. As she looked at us in surprise, Susan realized we weren't alone, and turned to see who it was. When she saw Kelly, quickly got off my lap to go hug her - and then give her a kiss that must have matched the one she gave me, judging from the changes of expression on Kelly's face. I stood up, too, and took the cup from Kelly, so both her hands would be free to return the kiss - and she did, with considerable enthusiasm. When their kiss finally broke, Kelly looked at Susan, and asked "You're ready?", concerned.

Susan only nodded, happily, before the three of us bunched up for a group hug.

When it broke up, Susan stood there, tears running down her face. I asked her "What's wrong?", and was quietly informed "Nothing's wrong, you lunched - I'm just so HAPPY!". Kelly and I both laughed, and the three of us headed for the couch again. Kelly sat to the side, and gestured for Susan to resume her place on my lap, which she did, smiling at both of us. She leaned forward, and I held her in my arms as she and Kelly shared a number of small, loving kisses.

We stayed like that for the next little while, as one by one, the rest of them got up to the smell of the coffee, only to be surprised at the sight that greeted them when they wandered into the den. They could see that something had changed in Susan, and sat there quietly, watching as she drank in our love and affection the way a sponge soaks up water.

Susan finally sat up, and looked around at them, finally *seeing* the love and happiness all of them felt for her. Jan first, then the others, got up and came over one at a time to give her a kiss and tell her that they loved her, smiling in obvious happiness for her. When they'd all kissed her, she got up long enough to turn around on my lap, leaned back against me and pulled my arms around her, holding them in place as she looked from one to another to another, and back again.

As she was looking at Jan, I felt her suddenly start in my arms, and a couple of seconds later, heard her say "You love me."

Jan looked at her, and calmly answered "Of course".

Susan turned to look at Candice, and said "You knew I would get to this, didn't you?"

"Of course.", was the reply, again, before Susan focused on Robyn.

"You waited for me, didn't you?"

"Sure. We love you, don't we?"

Susan next looked at Sandra, saying "You would have waited, though, for as long as it took."

"We love you too much to do anything else!" was the answer, before Susan shifted her attention to Kelly.

"I'm happy - and you're happy THAT I'm happy, BECAUSE I'm happy."

"That's it."

Susan looked at each of them in turn, before saying "And if I wanted to make love with Dan, right here and right now, none of you would mind in the slightest - except to be glad for me that I was learning what it was like to make _love_, and be happy that *I* was happy."

They all nodded, seeing that she was getting close.

"And if I wanted to make love with one of you, the rest would still be happy for me, for the same reasons."

They nodded again.

"And if I DIDN'T want to make love, with anyone, you would still love me, anyway."

More nods.

"And you can do all that because you love me. And you know how much I love you, even if _I_ didn't know it before."

Jan spoke then, simply saying "Yes."

Susan suddenly moved my arms aside and stood up, turning to face me. She looked deep into my eyes as she said "And you - you had enough love and caring inside you to bring every one of them to this; and you've STILL got enough to do it for me, too." She stared at me, intently, for several seconds before saying "And there's still so much more inside you - there really *isn't* a limit to it, is there?"

I shook my head slowly, and she suddenly turned around again, looking at all of them.

With a sense of awe and wonderment in her voice, she said "As much as I love all of you for all the good that I see in you, you love ME - _the_ _same_ _way_!" - before almost collapsing backwards into my lap again. I took her in my arms, and she turned to sit sideways, her legs on the couch, as she pressed herself against my chest, crying in deep, wracking sobs. I held her, softly hugging her, and all the rest of them got up to come over and caress her as they murmured words of comfort and encouragement.

After a while, her crying tapered off, and the others continued to comfort her until she finally released me to sit up to look at me. When she did, they eased back to their seats, listening as she told me "You knew all of this, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And you gave it to us - without knowing if we'd ever really *understand* it, that we'd truly 'get it'."

"Yes."

"And knowing how much making _love_ - or being willing to - would help us understand, and how much it would change us and make us better, you *still* didn't do anything to move us along before we were ready; you were willing to wait for as long as it took for US to make the decision."

"Yes."

"And knowing that if any of us misunderstood, or got upset or angry with you, we could complain about how you tried to touch us and you would maybe wind up in jail, STILL took the chance - because you loved us, and cared about us."

"Yes."

She looked at me in wonderment for several seconds before finally saying "I owe you so much. And I know that there's no way to even begin to pay it back to you - the risks you took, the love and caring you showed and gave, the *knowing* you must have had inside. I understand, now, why you told every one of them that the debt is to the ones that don't know - and WHY we owe them and not you. And now, even more than before, I want you - all of you, but especially you, Dan, and you, Kelly - physically. I love you, all of you, and want to give back to you the love and happiness you've given me."

When Kelly started to speak to her, Susan turned her head to listen as Kelly said "If you know all that - and it's obvious that you do, that you've 'gotten it' - then you know there's no hurry, on ANY of it."

"I know. If it happens today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, that's fine - because now I know that it WILL happen, and that I WILL enjoy it, and be able to give joy back. But for now, I think I'd better get home - I'm sure my parents are starting to get concerned about me, and I love them, too, and don't want them to worry."

Kelly told her "I've got some things you can wear, if you don't want to wear your dress home this morning", and turning to the others, said "I've got enough to get all of you home, if you want - just don't forget to bring them with you to school Monday, okay?" They all smiled and agreed before accepting her offer. They got up and headed back toward the bedroom, leaving Susan with me to make our goodbyes.

She looked at me again, and said "You are really something; the more I learn about you and how you think and behave, the more I want to be like you - and now I know that I can be. Thank you." before giving me a kiss - the kind that I treasured more than any other: one that expressed the kind of love that only a fully aware person can manage, because it comes from the heart and mind and spirit. After we separated, I told her "I love you, Susan.", and she answered "I know, Dan. Just like you knew I would." before getting up to get dressed herself.

When they got back, Candice called her parents, and they agreed to come and get her - and give Sandra and Robyn rides home, as well. Kelly was to take Jan home, and that left me take Susan. Pure coincidence, I'm sure.

As I drove, she sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching things as though seeing them for the first time - and enjoying her new vision.

When I pulled up in front of her house, she turned to look at me, and said "Thank you, Dan - for _everything_."

I answered "My pleasure", and she responded "Yes, i think it was." before collecting her things and getting out. I sat there watching her as she headed toward the front door; when she got there, she turned and gave me a bit smile and small wave before going in. Satisfied she was safe, I headed home - via Paul's store, where I dropped off the jewelry I'd borrowed, keeping my promise.

A few hours later, Kelly and I were in the den - she was studying for a test while I listened to music - when a call came in. I took it, and heard "You did it to her, didn't you?"

"Did what to who?"

"Had sex with Susan."

"Good morning to you, too, Steve. No, I didn't have sex with her."

"Then what did you do to her?"

"Talked."

"Uh-huh. About what?"

"The fact that I love her. And before you go off on me again, I mean that I love her as a human being, not a potential bedmate or anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that she's a reasonably intelligent, attractive, decent human being. There aren't that many, so I tend to like the ones I find. She's got a good heart and good character. I love her for those things - not what's between her legs or on her chest."

I'd nailed him square between the running lights, and I could almost hear him thinking it through before he spoke again, saying "You're saying you didn't do anything to her? Just talked?"

"That's it."

"You didn't touch her?"

"I didn't say that, Steve. I said that I didn't have sex with her. Or make love with her, or have any kind of intimate sexual contact of any kind. Okay? Now, you want to tell me what the hell brought all this on?"

"She told me she loved me."

"You call me up at home and jump in my shit because she told you she *loved* you?"

"It's not what she said, but how she said it that got to me."

"What, she sounded like C-3PO, or something?"

"No, you dolt. I was sitting in the den watching a game and she came in to sit next to me for a little bit. When a commercial came on, she just said 'Daddy?', and when I turned to look at her, she just up and says 'I love you." - but from the way she said it, and tone of her voice and everything, I knew that she was different, somehow - that she really, truly meant it and was telling me what was really in her heart, like she didn't care if I was a lawyer or an axe murderer, I was her dad and she loved me."

"So you assumed that the change was because I'd jumped her bones, and called me up to chew my ass."

He realized how silly it sounded, and what kind of fool he'd been, and answered "Well, uh, yeah, sort of. I mean, I couldn't think of any other reason for it at the time. What do YOU think happened?"

"Like I said, all I did was tell her I loved her - and she understood that I meant that I loved her FOR HER, as a person. for all the good things that are inside her, and that I didn't think less of her because of any flaws she thinks she has."

"That kind of sounds like the way she told me she loved ME."

"Ever tell her that you love her?"

"Of course!"

"The same way she just told you?"

The silence at the other end was my answer. I went on "Steve, you ever wonder what she sees in me?"

"Well, yeah, a little. I mean, I know what she's said about you, and I know what your character is like and how you've helped Kelly and all that. But why she picked YOU in particular, with so much devotion, I really don't understand."

"Because she knows I love her, and care about her. I don't just do stuff because I care, I also TELL her what I'm doing, so that she knows I AM doing it because I love her and care, and why. And I take the time to tell her what it is about her that makes me care about her the way I do - I TELL her about the good things I see in her, so that she KNOWS she's a good person. When she knows that I love her for the good stuff in her, she also knows that as long as that good stuff is there, she's got my love - that I'm not going to just suddenly take it away from her for some mysterious reason. And she knows that because I love her for what's inside her, that as she becomes a better person - more courageous, more honest, more integrity, and all that kind of stuff - I'll love her even more. I've shown her that love doesn't have to be some abstract concept; that it can be gauged and measured and traded as a VALUE. When she finally understood all of that this morning, she had an epiphany, I guess you could call it. What you saw was the end result of all that."

"Where was she when this 'epiphany' happened?"

"Sitting on my lap."

"What?! You weren't in your underwear or anything, were you?"

"Oh, no, certainly nothing like that. We were both naked at the time." Kelly had been listening in, and almost fell over, trying not to laugh out loud.

"WHAT!"

"Sure. It's okay, though - everyone else was naked, too." Kelly started turning red; I was wondering if she'd blow while we were still talking.

"You're joking, right?"

"Why would I be joking?"

"Oh, dear God.", I heard him sigh.

"What, is there a problem?", I asked.

"You're sitting with my daughter on your lap, both of you naked, and you ask me if there's a problem? How did it happen that you wound up in that situation?"

"Well, when we got back from the Prom last night, we were all sitting around, and Susan decided to give back the jewelry I'd borrowed for all of them. After she handed it back, she took her dress off so she wouldn't ruin it, and so she'd be more comfortable. The rest of them thought it was a good idea, and did the same thing."

"And you?"

"It's my house. My guests want to be naked, I'm going to be a good host and be naked with them." Kelly grabbed a cushion and stuffed her face in it.

I heard him sigh again, before he said "And you're going to tell me nothing happened."

"Oh, no, plenty happened. They sat around and talked about the prom, and we had a cup of coffee. Then we all went to bed."

"Went to bed."

"Yeah. It was late. Kelly slept with me, as did a couple of the others. Susan was with Jan and the rest."

"Naked."

"Sure, why not?"

"And you didn't have sex with any of them."

"Nooooo. Was I supposed to?"

He ignored the question, and asked "And this morning?"

"I got up and got the paper and some coffee. I was reading the paper when Susan came into the den, I could tell she wanted to talk to me, so I put the paper down, and we talked a little bit. She asked if she could sit on my lap, and I told her I was always happy to have a pretty girl on my lap. She sat down and I held her for a little while, until Kelly joined us."

"And Kelly didn't mind finding you with Susan on your lap, the two of you naked?"

"No, why should she? They're friends." I could see Kelly laughing into the cushion, her shoulders shaking.

"Go on."

"The two of them talked a bit, and we sat there for a little while, and the rest of them joined us."

"Naked."

"Sure. Why not?"

"What happened then?"

"Susan started looking around, and realized that all of us loved her, for pretty much the same reasons, and that she loved us the same way. There was a little talking, and then she had her, uh, epiphany."

"Epiphany."

"Yeah, I suppose that's the closest thing to what you could call it."

"What would you say happened?"

"She just sort of realized that we loved her and she loved us and that everything was cool between all of us."

"Cool."

"Yeah - we loved her for the good stuff that's in her, and know that she loves us for the good stuff that's in us. That whole love and values thing I told you about."

"And all this happened with all of you naked, and Susan sitting on your lap - but no sex happened between you."

"Steve, do you love you wife?"

"Of course."

"Do you love her any more or any less, whether she'd got clothes on or not?"

"Of course not!"

"Do you have to have sex with her to love her?"

"Certainly not."

"Then why is it so hard for you to understand that I, and Susan, and Kelly, and all the others could love each other, naked or not, without having sex?"

That seemed to stop him dead in his tracks - there was nothing but silence at the other end of the line for a couple of minutes.

"You make your point well, Dan. But I'm still uncomfortable with all this."

"Fine. Are you uncomfortable that it happened, or that you don't think you know how to deal with it?"

After a bit, I heard the sigh, before he answered "More that I'm not sure how to deal with it. Nor will my wife, I'm afraid."

"Do you love Susan?"

"Of course I do."

"Then tell her that. For the same reasons, and in the same way, she told you. It's called truth, and honesty, and trust. Pretty radical concepts."

"Yes, I've heard of them. I just haven't seen them applied in quite this way before."

"Well, just look at Susan, and decide if they work, or not, for yourself."

"It's going to make quite a change around here, you know."

"So being honest and faithful and trusting in and with your family is a _bad_ thing?"

"Bad? No, I don't think so. But it will certainly be difficult."

"Was law school good for you?"

"Yes,"

"But worth the difficulty."

"Certainly so - and your point is taken."

"Steve, I promise - once you get past the problem of actually doing it, it gets a whole lot easier. And it is *definitely* worth it. I think Susan would be the proof of that."

"Indeed she is. Okay, Dan, it looks like you're off the hook. We'll see later if I thank you for this, or not."

"I'm willing to take my chances. Particularly on people such as yourself and Susan."

With that, he closed the connection, and Kelly finally fell out of the chair she was in, gasping for breath as she laughed out loud. I grinned at her, and she managed to gasp out "'both naked at the time' - boy you know how to set them up and then knock them down!"

It took her probably half an hour before she finally calmed down enough to go back to studying - and even then for the rest of the afternoon, she's suddenly say "it's okay - everyone else was naked too", or "good host", or "they're friends", and start laughing all over again. Cat tried to sleep on her lap, and would give Kelly a dirty look every time she started laughing again.

Over the next few weeks, Susan continued to come over for visits, staying with us a few hours at a time. She would happily kiss and caress with any of us, but was also content to simply *be* with us; it was as though she were recharging some kind of internal battery. The first time she visited us, she gave me a strange look, and told me that her father had said he'd talked to me - and that he and her mother were both trying, very hard, to understand her, and what she had learned from me.

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

By the time Graduation day arrived, the entire school had heard that the problem between me and Jenkins had been about Kelly's speech as Valedictorian. There was considerable speculation about what it would be, and anticipation of what would happen when she was to give it. I was delighted when the Bishop let me know that a special seat had been saved for me, in the center of the first row behind the students, so that I would have a good view of Kelly as she gave her speech. He also gave me an invitation to meet with him afterwards - in the school administrators office. I willingly accepted both offers.

So it was that I had a ringside seat, so to speak, when Kelly gave The Speech, as it had come to be known.

True to his instructions, Jenkins didn't introduce her any differently than he did any of the other speakers; when the crowd quieted down (she'd gotten a standing ovation from the students), she spoke.

"Your Grace, members of the clergy, administrators, teachers, students, and honored guests, I welcome you to this graduation ceremony.

"It serves to mark the passing of this class into adulthood, and as a remembrance of the extraordinary efforts of our teachers, not just here, but throughout our academic lives, to educate us, to teach us, and to make us wiser.

"It is incumbent on us to remember their efforts, and respect them, as well as to honor those who instructed us.

"But it is also our duty to learn from what they have taught us - both in the classroom, as formal education, and in their attitudes, methods, and intentions. Part of that duty is to exercise caution in accepting all that they have taught us. Just as the world is not now what it was when they were students, it must also follow that they are not the same kind of teachers as the ones they learned from. Both the facts that they have taught us, and the environment that they taught us in, have changed.

"I have learned much from the teachers that I have had here - some have taught me the pleasures of good health, or of the purity of mathematics and science. Others, however, have taught me the incomprehensibility of 'interpreted' literature; or doctrine accepted as true, but without proof of their claims. Still others have shown me what the consequences are of having one's dreams and aspirations denied, and discarded as useless, or without merit. One, in particular, has shown me what it is like to be subjected to the arbitrary whims of an embittered, soul-less tyrant that has been put in control of eager young minds.

"To their credit, I have learned the most good from those who taught me for the love of the teaching; who taught me not for the money, but the expression on my face when I finally comprehended what they were showing me; who taught me so that I might KNOW their subjects, and get from those subjects the same joy as those who taught them. To those teachers, I say 'Thank you', with respect and admiration and gratitude. To the others, I say 'A pox on you, and your houses!' - what you do denigrates those who are obliged to share their profession with you. What you do is a harmful, hateful, wicked thing; to take a young mind, and mangle it for your own warped pleasure.

"I was taught a great many facts and figures and other bits of information; but precious little time was spent teaching me how to THINK - independently, on my own, to question and answer, to identify and solve real life problems.

"One of the things that I was instructed in was love. Love of me by God, how I should show God my love, and how I should love my fellow humans. What I was NOT instructed in, though, was love itself - what it is, what it isn't, how to know it, how to find it, how to identify it, and how to measure it.

"In the subjects of how to think, and love, this school failed me, miserably. I do not mean 'failed' as in not passing a course, but failed as in not having the course to teach.

"Through my great fortune, there was one person who rescued me from the abyss of ignorance this school had left in my heart, and mind. This person not only taught me what love is, but showed me, by giving of himself without hesitation and without restraint. This person showed me that it IS possible to know love - what it is and isn't, how to give it and accept it, how to measure it - and to treasure it, above all else.

"This person taught me how to think - to question, to seek out the answers to things I did not know, to find solutions to problems on my own, to make my own decisions.

"While this school taught me the theories of morals and ethics and all the rest, this person SHOWED me, through his own example, what morality is; what ethics truly are; what integrity really means.

"In short, this person has given me an emotional, psychological, mental, and yes, even physical, philosophical basis for my life. I do not mean philosophy as it is taught in this school - a contest between arbitrary schools of one thought or another - but philosophy as a means of finding answers, as it was intended. The philosophy I have learned from this person is not that of Kant versus Hegel versus Santayana, but that of "What is it?" and "How do I know it?" and "What does it mean?".

"As evidence that what he taught me was a success, I need only point out the difference between this speech, and the others you shall hear today - I stand here to offer my own thoughts and opinions, while others offer meaningless platitudes and neutral bromides.

"My goal, my desire, my challenge to you - students, teachers, guests, and faculty alike - is to make this the LAST time you have to hear a story such as mine.

"Through *his* love, my benefactor has given me the DESIRE to make a change.

"Through *his* intelligence, he has given me the TOOLS to make change possible.

"Through *his* example, he has given me the COURAGE to make change happen.

"Thank you, and good afternoon."

Dead silence reigned as she retook her seat on the stage.

Until the Bishop stood up, applauding her - then he was quickly joined not only by the students, but most of the audience and faculty, as well. Even from where I was seated, I could see her blush as she tried to keep a straight face.

The applause went on for a good 5 minutes, embarrassing the hell out of her, even as she looked at me in pride - and I looked at her with love.

Compared to that, the rest of the speeches DID sound pretty lame - and the speakers knew it - most of them cut their time short, so as not to look any more foolish than necessary. Far sooner than anyone expected, it was time for the diplomas to actually be handed out.

There were the obligatory hoots and catcalls and cheers as different students got their diplomas - but only Kelly received applause from the time her name was called, to the time she sat down again.

When the ceremonies ended, I quickly found Kelly - and when she saw me, she all but launched herself into my arms, where I held her tightly as a number of onlookers smiled. After a brief kiss, we looked up to see the Bishop coming toward us - a smile on his face, as well.

When he got close, he said "I trust that you are Mr. Marshall, and the gentleman Kelly has been speaking so highly of."


I answered him by saying "I am Mr. Marshall - call me Dan, please. I have my doubts that I'm the guy she's been referring to, however."

He saw Kelly give me the Goober look, and laughed, saying "If you'll follow me, Dan - and you, too, Kelly - there are some things that I'd like to discuss with you in the administrators office."

Kelly moved next to me, and I put my arm around her as the Bishop led us.

When we got there, he gestured that we should take the chairs in front of the desk, while he sat behind it - leaving Jenkins to stand.

The Bishop looked at Kelly, and said "That was quite a speech, young lady. I can only hope that you learned some of what you said in our school."

"I did, sir - but it was Dan that taught me the rest; the important parts."

"Indeed. What you just said, in itself, is a sad commentary on what this school has become. I find myself here before you, indicted on two counts of neglect. Evidence of the first count, the more serious, is that speech you just made. Evidence of the second, only slightly less serious, is the fight you had to go through to make it. We're here to rectify both of those problems."

"How so, sir?", I asked.

"First, I want to apologize again, to both of you, in person. What you had to go through was unacceptable - for ANY school, never mind the kind we've tried to be. Second, I would like to solicit your input, Dan, on how we can accomplish the goals that Kelly set out for us in her speech."

I looked at him, and saw that he was quite serious about wanting to make the school more like what Kelly had called for.

"Sir" - "Call me Kevin, please - you, too, Kelly" - "Kevin, I'm sure you already know the changes that would be necessary, and how to implement them. And I'm equally certain that you know that the change would, by necessity, be a drastic one."

"Yes, Dan, on all counts, as far as you went. But what you're missing, though, is the fact that it was under my guidance that this school deteriorated to this point. Not to put too fine a point on it, but since I let it get this way, I'm not sure I'm the right one to fix it. I'm also told by a number of people - Jan's and Susan's fathers, for starters - that you have an uncommonly fine analytical mind. I am also assured that you are almost painfully honest and truthful, regardless of the potential consequences. I need both of those traits - desperately, I think."

I looked at Kelly, and she subtlety shrugged to me, as if willing to give it a try. I looked at the Bishop, and said "Kevin, if you'll give me a few moments to think it through, I'll give you an off to top of my head analysis. If you want something more, I'd need a little more time."

"I would be happy with either, or both if you have the inclination. Jenkins, I believe some refreshment would be called for. Coffee?" he asked Kelly and I. Both of us nodded, and he went on "Irish, I think, since I'm sure the sun is over the yardarm _someplace_", with a smile.

I started to go into Deep Think mode, and when he saw me go kind of blank, started to say something - but I saw Kelly gesture that it was okay, and he sat back to watch me, interested.

A minute or so later, I came back, and he asked me "Do you mind if I ask what you were doing just then?"

A little embarrassed, I told him "When I have a problem, I like to free-associate with it. I kind of go inside myself and pretty much turn my mind loose to collect anything it runs across. When it gets full, I kind of pop out of it, and have enough to start working with."

"An interesting technique. How did it work here?"

"Pretty well, I think."

"Please, go on, then."

"First, you've got several problems that you need to address."

At that point, Jenkins came back in, and handed each of us a cup of coffee - and from the aroma, well-laced with a good Irish whiskey. Where he got it, I wasn't going to ask.

With a sip of his coffee, the Bishop asked "Those are?"

"First: Institutional mindset - as in, we've always done it this way because I don't know why, we just DO.

"Second: Loss of focus - are you trying to cycle kids through here, or educate them and teach them to think?

"Third: With the loss of focus, you've lost purpose - are your teachers here to teach, or collect a paycheck? How are they evaluated? By who? Using what criteria? What crosschecks are there to prevent problems one and two?

"Fourth: Beaurocracy - what is the final product of this school? It's the kids. Anything else should be SECONDARY to graduating well-rounded, thoughtful, THINKING kids, ready to face the world for the first time in their lives. Most may well go on to college - how prepared are they, _really_, to face life on a college campus, away from home for the first time in their lives?

"Fifth: balance. What does it accomplish if you talk to them about justice, and have a teacher with the power to arbitrarily punish them for some imaginary offense? What does it teach them about ethics if a math teacher crams them in preparation for a state test?

"Sixth, but certainly not last, quality. Get the best teachers you can, and let them TEACH their subjects. Don't micromanage them, let them TEACH. That's what they're educated and trained for - they know how, if you just leave them alone to do it.

"When you've got the smart, educated, motivated teachers, you'll see the student in this school come alive - they'll WANT to learn, they'll WANT to think, they'll WANT to do better and better, always wanting to know what's in the next chapter in their schoolbooks."

"And if there are problems?", he asked.

"That's why you have rules and standards - uniformly and consistently applied. If a kid sees the captain of the football team get bounced off the squad and out of school because he got caught smoking dope - regardless of how the team is doing - he's going to know that he's going to get the same treatment - no more, no less."

"What do we do about the other problems you mentioned?"

"That depends. Do you want to FIX the problems, or just make them go away?"

"What's the difference?"

"If you FIX them, they don't come back. Just making them go away, they tend to ooze back in after a while - maybe months, maybe years, but they DO come back."

"Then let's fix them. How?"

"First, I expect that you're going to wind up firing about half your staff, for one reason or another."

"Why so many, and for what reasons?"

"So many because the greatest percentage of them are just the kinds of people that Kelly was complaining about. The rest will be because they either don't get the message from the first round of firings, or think that they're somehow immune."

He sighed, and asked "What then?"

"You get the word out - strongly, and in plain language - that this school WILL turn around, and WILL start graduating the kinds of kids you're actually _proud_ of. The first round of firings will help make that clear - IF you actually follow up on it by making the second round, which will last longer. The first bunch will be your obvious knuckleheads. The second batch will be the ones that are better at it."

"Then?"

"Then you start looking at what you're doing, and how, and why. You get your people to start looking at what they're doing - what's good about it, and what's bad? How could they make it easier, faster, better, cheaper? Then get them talking to each other, to see if they can't simplify and smooth things out. To make up an example, WHY would student go to the gym to get their registration cards, then go to the auditorium to sign up for classes, then go back to the gym to get their schedules signed off? Why not swap the registration or signoff with the scheduling, so that any two steps in the process are close to each other?"

He nodded, and said "I see your point. I'm afraid that even *I* don't know why we do some of the things we do."

"That's the ticket, right there: if it isn't blindingly obvious WHY you're doing something, you need to ask why you're doing it at all. If you can't explain what you're doing to someone else, easily, then it's too damn complicated. I'm an engineer; the questions I always ask myself about things are 'What does it do?', 'Is it good or bad? why?', and 'How can I make it better and cheaper and easier?'."

He nodded again, and turned to Kelly, asking her "Kelly, could you, or would you, tell me who some of the teachers are that you talked about - the ones that you, ah, put a pox on?"

She looked at me; I smiled and nodded, and she told him "I could, and would, My only concern is that I would mention someone that I simply had a 'personality' problem with, by accident. If I could make a suggestion?"

"Of course!"

"Don't just ask me, or a few students. Ask ALL of them. If you do it as a kind of survey, you can help the students distinguish between teachers they didn't like, and teachers that didn't _deserve_ to be liked."

"What do you mean? Give me an example."

"Well, for instance, if you ask a student which teacher was hardest on him, he may give you one answer. But if you also ask him what class he learned the most in, you might find out that it was the same teacher. But if you ask him which teacher he hated having for ANY class, you might get a completely different answer - and if enough kids give you the same answer, you know what you're looking at."

He smiled at her, and said "That's an excellent idea. Kelly, you are one student that I can honestly say that I AM proud to have graduated."

She blushed a bit, and said "And one more idea. Go back and look at how many kids did bad in which classes - and how they did in similar classes before and after."

"How would that help?"

"Well, if a lot of kids do good in Science, say, except when they had one particular teacher, you can figure that it's the teacher, not the kids. Isn't that the kind of thing you're looking for?"

He beamed, and said "It is, indeed. A most valuable insight, Kelly. Would you like a job? I'm offering you one, right now, as a consultant to this reorganization. Tell me what you want, and we can negotiate!"

She smiled at him, and blushed again, before telling him "I've already got a job, thank you. Dan offered me one a long time ago, and I've accepted it. I don't think I'll have time to work for you like that; but if you really want my help, I can do that - for the kids that aren't here, yet."

He sighed, heavily, and said "Noblesse Oblige - a concept I was afraid had been lost. Where did you learn such a thing, Kelly?"

She pointed at me, and said "From him."

He made a face, and said "I was afraid you were going to say that." before looking at me and saying "Dan, I'm finding that the more I learn of you, and the more I get to know you, the more amazing you become. Would YOU be interested in a job?"

"I have my own business, Kevin. Between it, and Kelly, and her friends, my time is pretty well occupied."

"No doubt. Still, I hope that you would consider becoming one of our teachers here - you seem to be just the kind of person that you described as being necessary for our success."

"With the offer coming from you, Sir, I would give it the appropriate consideration - but make no promises."

"Very well, then, I fear that I must return to my office with little to show for it but the faint glimmer of restoring our school to it's proper state. Thank you, both of you, for taking the time to sit with me, and discuss this matter. Dan, if you think of anything else, or have anything to add, please don't hesitate to contact me - my secretary knows who you are."

With that, he stood up - as did Kelly and I - and made his way around the desk, stopping to shake hands with both of us before taking his leave.

When he'd gone, Kelly and I were both surprised when Jenkins cleared his throat, and said "Mr. Marshall?"

We turned to him, and he said "Since your last visit to this office, I've had a lengthy discussion with the Bishop, and had more than enough time to consider the things that you said, and that Kelly wrote in her speech. I've realized that I was one of the causes of the problems here at this school - and that there is little that I could do under these circumstances to help correct it."

I nodded, and told him to continue.

"Accordingly, and with the Bishops blessing, my contract with this school is being cancelled, so that I can take a job at a smaller school, and try to get back to doing the kind of work that I *should* be doing. I know of several of the problem teachers here, and have so advised the Bishop. I believe I know who you were referring to, Kelly, when you spoke of the one memorable teacher that proved to be a tyrant - and I can assure you that she was at the top of the list, with my strong recommendation that she be fired, with extreme prejudice. If she is - and I believe she will be - she will not be able to get a job teaching in any school in the country; she is being forcibly retired, in effect."

He went on "Mr. Marshall, your opinion of me, that day in this office, was entirely correct - I knew it, even then, but was unable or unwilling to admit to it. Kelly, I want to apologize to you for putting you through what I did - that I did it was proof enough of what you had to say in your speech. I can only hope that the two of you can forgive me, and that I have the chance to show you that I *can* be the kind of school administrator I SHOULD be. One of the reasons that the Bishop allowed me to stay in the room today was so that I could hear what you had to say - both of you. I want to assure you that I will take what you had to say, and apply it the best I possibly can to make any school I am at the best it can possibly be. Thank you."

Kelly and I looked at each other, then him, before I said "Mr. Jenkins, if you have come far enough to say what you just did, I have no doubt that you will do fine. If you wish my forgiveness, then you have it - and my best wishes."

Kelly simply said "And mine, as well."

He looked relieved, and hesitantly offered us his hand - Kelly pushed it aside to give him a kiss on the cheek; I shook it, and said "This time, Mr. Jenkins, it was a pleasure to meet you."

He looked relieved, and we wished him a good afternoon before heading back outside.

We hadn't any more than gotten out the main door before I saw Steve Moore, Susan's dad, coming toward us. When he got close enough, he stopped and looked me in the eye before saying "You're a son of a bitch, you know that, Dan?"

"Okay. Why?"

"Because you keep being *right*, dammit."

"Susan? And your wife?"

He nodded, saying "We sat down a couple nights after I talked to you. and I had a chance to tell my wife what you'd told me. I let Susan know that you and I had talked. She didn't say or do a damned thing, just looked at me like if I decided to ground her for life, it wouldn't really matter - she already had everything she needed. It definitely got my wife's attention, since she's always been worried that Susan was too fragile or delicate - so when Susan just sat there, calmly waiting to see what I had to say, well, it really startled the hell out of her."

I nodded, and he continued "I did what you suggested, and *told* Susan that I loved her, and even managed to tell it to her in a way that seemed to connect with her. I don't think I got it exactly right, but enough to see she understood what I was saying - it was like her whole face lit up, and it surprised the hell out of me. Then she turned to my wife, and told HER that she loved her, the same way she'd told me - and my wife absolutely turned white when she did it. But after a minute, she was able to tell Susan that she loved her, and it seemed to connect again. It was the scariest damn thing I've ever seen."

"But it worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah, you son of a bitch, it worked. Since then, we've all been sitting down with each other, just two of us at a time, and just _talking_ - about how we feel about each other, what we like and don't like, what we mean to each other, and all kinds of stuff. For me, it was damned hard at first, but after I did it a couple of times, I realized that they both still loved me, and didn't think any less of me about some of the things that I'd told them. A few times, Susan went over to see you and Kelly and all the rest, and when she came back, it was like she was rejuvenated, or something - and I finally figured out that we were somehow taking something out of her, and she was using all of you to kind of resupply herself so she could come back and give it to US. The only thing I can't get around is that it seems like there's something missing from her, or that she hasn't done yet."

"You are taking something from her, Steve, and there *is* something she hasn't done yet."

"What?"

"You're taking love from her - because she hasn't learned how to give it herself, yet."

"What do you mean? Every time we see her, or talk to her, we get love from her."

"That's just what I mean - you _get_ love from her; she isn't able to give it to you herself, yet, so all she can do is let you have what you take."

"Well, what does she have to do to be able to do that - give love?", he asked, obviously concerned about her.

"She hasn't yet _made_ love, so she hasn't learned to give it.", Kelly told him.

He looked at her, and then me, before saying "Yeah, you did tell me that you hadn't had sex with her."

"No, Steve. It's not about having sex, it's about making _love_", I corrected him.

He looked confused for a moment, then said "Same thing, isn't it?"

"Not even close.", Kelly told him, before turning to me and saying "I think I know why she only comes over to visit, and not to finish it."

Steve heard her, and asked "Not the same? What do you mean? And finish what?""

Kelly looked at him again, and told him "No, they're not the same, Mr. Moore. Having sex is what you do when you lead with your genitals. Making love is what you do when you lead with your heart."

"What?", he asked, obviously confused.

"Have you ever given your wife an orgasm, and not climaxed yourself?", she asked him.

Having an 18-year-old ask him something like that clearly threw him for a moment, but he finally answered "No, I don't think so."

"Have you ever had sex with her where the ONLY thing on your mind was making HER happy?", Kelly asked.

"No, I can't say that I have."

"Then all you have ever done, Mr. Moore, has been to have sex. You don't seem to have EVER made _love_. There is a world of difference, and Susan knows that. SHE wants to make love - but knows that you would only think it was having sex, which is something completely different, and far inferior. So she keeps coming over to visit us, to draw on our love for her, so that she can go home and let YOU take some of that love from her. And all because YOU don't know the difference between love and sex - it's left her in limbo, so to speak, and until she gets it resolved, she isn't going to be able to MAKE LOVE - to finish learning what she needs to know to finally be a complete person, able to GIVE love in infinite amounts.", Kelly told him.

"How can I fix it, or change it, or whatever?"

"I doubt that you could, with Susan, until you know the difference yourself, Steve. You may have noticed that she's a LOT more perceptive than she used to be.", I told him.

"She sure as hell is. So what do I do?"

"Learn the difference between having sex, and making love."

"How?"

"The next time you're, uh, romantic with your wife, try thinking about HER. Find out from HER what she wants - and do it. Go slower. Kiss her more. Caress her - not just on her breasts, but all over; face, shoulders, stomach, _everywhere_. Pay attention to how she reacts to what you do - and if she likes something, keep doing it longer. Make HER happy, without trying to, uh, take care of yourself.", Kelly told him.

He looked at me, and I said "You love her, don't you?"

"More than anything!", he answered.

"Then SHOW her that, with your words and your actions - let her know that SHE is the most important thing in your world when you're together in bed. Treat her the way you *know* she _deserves_ - gently, tenderly, with your _heart_, not your genitals.", I told him.

He seemed to get the idea, then, and asked "How will that help Susan?"

"When you know the difference, and actually _respect_ what she needs to do, she'll know it - and then she'll be free to finish. Then you'll have more love from her than you can handle.", Kelly told him.

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

A couple of days later, we were surprised to get a call from Susan, wanting to know if she could come over for a little while. Since we didn't have any plans, she was told she could come over whenever she wanted; it wasn't ten minutes later that Mabel told us someone was at the door - and it proved to be Susan.

When she came in, she was almost in tears - Kelly and I quickly got her into the den, and got her on the couch, before sitting down next to her. After some gentle questioning, we finally got the story: after her dad and mom had sat down with her, and she'd told them both she loved them, they'd all been able to start talking more, and understanding each other better - but she felt that every time she talked with one of them, they were taking some of her love for them away from her - and she didn't feel like she had enough inside her for them, and felt like she had to come over to visit us to get some of OUR love so she wouldn't feel so empty when she talked to them. Further compounding the problem was that she didn't feel that she was being honest with us for coming over, that she was taking our love and not giving anything back.

Kelly and I looked at each other, and I gestured with my head toward the bedroom. She nodded, and I stood up, then picked up Susan to carry her. Together, Kelly and I got her into the second bedroom, where I laid her down on the bed, and Kelly lay next to her. As Kelly slowly unfastened her clothing, Susan watched me as I undressed. When I was nude, I moved over to the bed, and helped hold Susan as Kelly managed to peel her clothes off her, then got up to undress herself. When all three of us were naked, Kelly lay down on the bed again, and moved next to Susan, on the side opposite me. Together, we caressed and kissed her as we took turns explaining to her that it was okay, that we understood, and that she wasn't doing anything wrong by coming to us for love - that she was more than welcome to all she wanted. We told her that her dad had talked to us the day before, after the graduation ceremony, and that we had figured out that he was 'confused' about the difference between just having sex, and actually making _love_ - but that we thought he might learn the difference before long.

As we went along, we could see the tension starting to drain out of her, and between our soothing voices and gentle touches, she eventually fell asleep. When she did, Kelly and I went into the den for a bit, to talk.

"Damn him. Putting her through this - makes me want to go over there and kick his ass.", I grumped.

"I know, Dan - I want to kick him, too; but on the other side."

"The bad part is, he's a pretty nice guy, and a helluva lawyer - he's just got his head up his ass about this."

"Yeah. I hope he gets his act together, before he pushes her into a breakdown or something."

"No, that won't happen - I'll read him the riot act before it get too close to anything like that." I said, wanting to do it right then.

"I know. I think we'd better get back in there, before she misses us, don't you?"

"Yeah. I guess one of us had better stay with her until she's ready to go home - but if she wants to spend the night, she's welcome to do that, too."

"Damn right!", Kelly agreed.

That settled, we went back into the bedroom, and lay down next to her again - she started to wake up, and Kelly and I both shushed her and told her it was okay. She must have recognized my voice because she turned over and latched onto me before going back to sleep. I held her there, and after a couple of minutes, when I was sure she wasn't going to wake up again, told Kelly "Go ahead, I'll stay here with her for a while. Check back once or twice, in case I need a break for something." She nodded, and got up to leave us alone.

Maybe an hour later, I thought I heard a car, but when nothing happened, decided I was just imagining things.

About the time I started to feel the need for a bathroom break, Kelly came in - wearing just a long T-shirt, to my surprise - and asked if everything was okay. I told her that I did need a few minutes, and she quickly offered to take over for a while. Going slowly and carefully, we managed to swap places, so that Susan wasn't disturbed. Back on my feet again, I headed for the bathroom, then the kitchen for a bottle of water.

When I walked into the den, I was greatly surprised to find Steve and his wife sitting there - but not as surprised, I think, as they were at my lack of attire.

I started to get a robe, and then decided "hell with it - it's MY house!", before sitting down in a chair, facing them.

I looked at them for several moments before Steve cleared his throat, and said "Dan, this is my wife, Linda."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Linda.", I said.

She hesitated a moment, and said "A pleasure to meet you, too, Dan. Steve has spoken well of you, as has Susan."

After taking a healthy swallow of my water, I said "It seems that I've walking into the middle of something. Why don't you tell me how you happen to be in my house?"

Steve cleared his throat, and said "Uh, a little while ago, we got a call from Kelly, telling us that we - us and you and her - needed to talk, about Susan. We asked her what about, and she told us that she thought Susan was getting close to a breakdown, and that it needed to be stopped. Both of us take such talk seriously, of course, and came right over. When she let us in, Kelly was, ah, nude, and when she saw that we weren't comfortable with that, put on a shirt, telling us that your house was much more, er, informal."

"Yup. My house, I do as I please. But me sitting here with my willie hanging out doesn't have a damn thing to do with the fact that you two - particularly you, Steve - are pushing that poor girl toward the nuthouse." I didn't know what Jan had said to them, and didn't much care - I wanted to get their attention, FAST.

"What do you mean?", Linda asked, slightly offended.

"I mean that ever since she had what I told Steve was an epiphany, and all of you started sitting down and actually *talking* to each other, and _communicating_, you two have been sucking all the love Susan has right out of her."

"I don't believe it!", Linda said.

I stood up, and said "No? Then follow me, and SEE what your daughter looks like when she gets here!"

They stood up, and I led them back to the bedroom where Susan was - I opened the door, and when Linda saw what Susan looked like, she stifled as small gasp, and put her hand over her mouth. Steve only stood there and stared, the pain clear on his face. Kelly just glared at them.

Then I closed the door, and led them back to the living room, where they sat down on the couch, holding each other for a while before turning to me again.

"What happened to her?", Linda asked, on the verge of tears.

"YOU did.", I answered.

"Now wait just a damn minute...", Steve started - but I cut him off, saying "Wait just a damn minute yourself, asshole. I meant what I just said - not just to Linda, but you, too. You asked me at the graduation the other day what you could do to help her - and Kelly and I BOTH told you how you could not only help Susan, but yourself and Linda, as well. Apparently, you didn't listen worth a damn, because you can see for yourself how much help you've been!"

He got a guilty look on his face, and as both of them looked at me, continued in a calmer voice "I know that both of you love her - but she loves you, too, and it's tearing her up. Not for anything you've done *wrong*, exactly, but for something you haven't gotten right. Linda, has Steve told you what I told him - about what I've taught Susan?"

She nodded, and I went on "I can only assume that neither one of you really understands it, yet. So I'm going to sit here and explain something to you, and hope that it finally gets through to you - and that when it does, you'll understand what you need to do to take this horrible burden off your *daughter*, for chrissake!"

Both of them nodded, and gave me their full attention.

"I love Susan. Not like you do, but just as much - the same way that YOU love each other and love Susan - different, but equally."

They nodded their understanding, and I went on "One of the things that I've helped Susan understand is that love, full, honest, total LOVE, is basically an exchange of VALUES. That we love people for the good things we see in them, and we love ourselves for the good things we see inside."

More nods.

"I've also shown her that we love other people because they love US; that we love them because they see the good in us, and value it, and love us because of it. We love them because of the good - the VALUES - that we see in them; and they love us for the same reason: because of the good - the values - they see in us."

They were still with me.

"Where the problem comes in is that if the other person doesn't see OUR values, then they don't love US, or at least, not as much. And when that happens, we don't love them, or as much. So love is a trading of good, of values; and the degree of love is the quantity and worth of those values. So where there are unequal values, there can only be unequal love."

Okay, so far.

"If there is unequal love, then the person giving the most is, essentially, being robbed - they are giving higher values than what they are getting in return; nobody would take fifty pounds of fertilizer for fifty pounds of gold - at least, not willingly, right?"

They nodded again.

"Now, something else I've shown her - notice that I'm saying SHOWN her; not 'taught' her, not 'made her believe', but SHOWN -- is that it's perfectly okay to *give* someone your love, and not expect anything in return; but ONLY if you are doing so willingly, of your own free will, and to the degree that you are willing to do it."

They're doing fine, and tracking right along with me.

"The problem with Susan is that I've shown her all this, and she's learned - on her own - how it works, and how to do it. Except for one last, crucial step."

"And that is?", Linda asked.

"How to give love - in such a way that it never runs out. Essentially, how to tap into an unlimited supply of boundless love, for whoever needs it."

"And how do you learn such a thing?", she asked.

"By making _love_ with another person."

"Sex?"

"No - and that is EXACTLY the mistake Steve made, too. And it is that making of 'having sex' and 'making love' that is keeping Susan from being able to tap into that supply of love that I told you about."

"How so?"

"Because SHE knows they aren't the same - and YOU TWO don't. But because you're her parents, and she loves and respects you, the conflict between what she KNOWS, and what you THINK is preventing her from taking the final step of making love, and learning how to access all she would ever need or want. SHE knows that if she made _love_, it would free her - but at the same time, she knows that if she did that, YOU TWO would only think she'd had sex; and not VALUE - not LOVE - her because you didn't appreciate the distinction."

"So you want to have sexual relations with our daughter.", she said.

"Are you stupid? Haven't you been paying attention to what I've been saying? Once again, in a different way, here's the difference: dogs on the street have sex. People, that care for each other, that value each other, that LOVE each other, make LOVE. Okay?"

With that, I could see Steve beginning to comprehend it - but Linda was still stuck.

"But you're still the one that wants to do this.", she declared.

"Linda, what *I* want is completely irrelevant. It's what SUSAN wants, even needs. If I thought she could accomplish it with the first guy or girl coming down the street, I'd roll out the red carpet and open the door myself for her. Hell, I'd break out the champagne, and cook them breakfast afterwards, if I thought it would help! Don't you get it yet? ALL I CARE ABOUT IS SUSAN - that she's happy, healthy, and loved. Whether it's me, you, or anyone else that does it doesn't matter a tinker's damn to me - only that it gets done. Why the hell else do you think I'd spend so much of my time, and energy, and everything else I've got to make that happen? You've seen her in there - do you really think that if all I was after was her body, I'd be sitting out here trying to talk to YOU?"

With that little spiel, Steve finally seemed to understand what I'd been driving at, and said "I believe you, Dan. In fact, I think you've already made love to her - in every way *except* physically; and she's a better person, because of it. I *do* see the difference between having sex and making love - and can respect that she would choose one over the other."

Linda turned to look at him as though she'd suddenly noticed that he had bolts in his neck.

He turned to her and said "Honey, if all he wanted was sex, he could have had her a long time ago. If he wanted her worship, he could have had that, easily. But I know this man, and what kind of person he is - how honest and truthful he is, and how much integrity and courage he has. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he is speaking God's honest truth to us, sincerely and honestly. But all he wants is what we do: the very best for her. And through him, she's found something that is good, and loving, and caring, and sincere. If there's something she needs to do to have all that, and more, than I'm more than happy to let her do it - or even encourage her. or help her."

"But...", Linda started to say something, but Steve quickly put a finger over her lips, and told her "No, there's nothing left to say here, to me, or to Dan. I've made my decision. Go on out to the car, and I'll be there in a minute; when we get home, we'll talk about it, and I'll explain it all to you."

She gave me a dirty look - hurt my feelings terribly, it did - and left. When she was gone, Steve looked at me, and said "I finally understood what you told me the other day, when I called you. And what you and Kelly told me after the graduation. And I CAN respect the choice she makes - because it's the right one for HER. How the hell did you figure all this out?"

"The pieces were there the whole time; I just got lucky and saw how they fit."

"I think there was more than luck involved - but however it happened, I've got you to thank for making my daughter far happier than I've ever seen her before - and even happier after this. Could I talk to her, and tell her it's okay, now?"

"That's your call, of course - but if you want to let her sleep, you can dictate a message to her through my home control system."

"Your what?"

"Home control system. Voice activated. Automation, all that neat stuff. Wanna see?"

"Sure-"

"Mabel!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Den lights to fifty percent, please. Music, jazz, volume one point zero."

The lights dimmed, and music came out of the speakers - a local jazz station, at low volume.

Steve just sat there, amazed.

"Den lights to full. Music off."

The lights went back to full brightness, and the music died.

"That's all."

"Thank you , Sir."

He looked at me and asked "What else does it do? Who's Mabel? Who did this?"

I grinned, and said "Mabel is the system - Machine Access By English Language; voice activation, right? It maintains air temperature, does alarm clock stuff, can make coffee in the morning, handles all the phone, audio and video, fire alarms, security, and about anything else I could think of; I did it."

He just stared at me a few moments before I reminded him "You can leave Susan a voice message, and make it as private as you want."

"How?"

"Just call Mabel's name. When she answers, say 'voice message for Susan'. When Mabel says 'recording', say your piece, and when you're done, just say 'end of message'. If you only want Susan to hear it, just say 'private' instead of 'voice': 'private message for Susan'. Mabel knows her voice, and whether or not anyone else is in the room with her. If it's private, Mabel won't play it back until Susan's alone - and the door is closed."

He looked at me, shaking his head, before saying "This is simply too much. I don't care if anyone else hears it; as long as Susan does."

"Okay, then. I'm going to go into the kitchen so you can have some privacy, anyway. Need me to show you out?"

"I don't think so. Why, can't Mabel do it?"

"Sure - if you didn't mind asking her!"

He gave me the finger, and I laughed as I headed for the kitchen. Before I got there, I paused and watched as he got started.

"Mabel?"

"Yes, sir."

"Voice message to Susan"

A pause, then "Recording"

At that, I went into the kitchen, and sat there finishing off my water. A few minutes later, I heard the front door close.

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

Kelly and I were both next to her when Susan woke up. She looked at both of us, and tried to smile.

Both of us kissed her, and asked her if she was feeling better. She said she was, and I asked if she wanted to stay there, or go into the den. She said the den sounded good, so we got up - and when she got out of the bed, I picked her up and carried her to the couch before setting her down again - over her mild protests that she was fine.

Kelly asked her if she wanted a cup of coffee or anything, and she admitted that a cup sounded pretty good. Kelly went in and got it, bringing out a cup for all of us.

As we sat there sipping it, I told Susan "We were worried about you. A lot."

She looked at her lap, and Kelly said "No, it's okay - you didn't do anything wrong - like Dan said, we were just worried about you; because we love you, and care about you."

Susan started to tear up again, and I quickly told her "It's okay, Susan. We understand. Jan called your parents, and they came over here and we had a nice talk. Your dad left a message for you when you want to hear it."

"You asked my folks over here? Why?"

"Because we love you and care for you and were worried about you, silly!", Kelly told her.

"Susan, it's okay - really. When you listen to the message your dad left, you'll understand, okay?"

"What happened?", she asked.

"Jan invited them over, so she should be the one to start telling this.", I said.

Jan gave me a dirty look - it hurt as bad as the last one I'd received - and started telling Susan what had happened.

"When you fell asleep in there, I was really, really worried about you - worried enough that I called your folks. After you talked to us, you know, before we took you in the bedroom, you told us that they were really making things tough for you, so I wanted to talk to them and find out what was going on. When they got her, I kind of shook them up a little bit, and then let Dan have them. He can tell you the rest."

"Shook them up? How?", Susan asked.

"She answered the door naked.", I told her.

Susan giggled, and got an amused expression on her face before saying "Yeah, I suppose that would do it. What then?"

"Well, she came in there where I was holding you, and offered to take over for me. She kinda forgot to tell me that your folks were here, so I got a bottle of water, and went into the den - and there they were, and there I was, naked as a jaybird."

"Did you put something on?"

"No, why should I? This is my house!"

She giggled again, and said "What did they do?"

"Your mom hinted that I should put something on, like Jan did, but I just ignored her. We talked for a little bit, and then I kind of explained things to them, so they could try to understand a little bit about what we're like here. Your dad got it way before your mom, and when she tried to fuss, he basically told her to shut up and let him handle it. That was when he made a voice message for you, and left."

"Can I hear it?"

"Sure - just ask Mabel to play your voice messages.", I told her. "We can leave for a bit, if you want to listen to it alone."

"No, that's okay. Mabel!"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Voice messages for Susan"

"You have one voice message."

"Play message."

After a second, Steve's voice came out of the speakers.

"Susan, honey, I'm sorry that I have to leave you a message like this. Not because I don't like to talk to you, or because I don't love you, but because of what it means that I have to even leave it.

"I know, now, that your mother and I have been kind of a drain on you these last few weeks, and I'm sorry, for both of us. But I want you to know that you've also been a lot of help to us, too.

"Your mother and I didn't know how much of a strain we'd put you under until today, when Kelly and Dan asked us to come over - and we got a chance to SEE it for ourselves. Honey, I'm sorry, I truly am.

"I want you to know that, thanks to Kelly and Dan, I understand - a little bit - what they mean to you, and how very much you mean to them. And I understand that there's something that you want to do.

"Dan talked to your mother and me, and I finally understood how we were putting you under so much stress. And thanks to Dan, I understood WHY it was stressful for you. And even more, I understood how it was me that was causing it.

"Susan, I want you to know that I understand, now, that having sex, and making love, are two very different things - and that actually making *love* is so much better than simply having sex. I also understand that *making love* is something that you feel you have to do - because you think it's right for YOU. I understand that, honey, and I respect it - a lot. When you make a choice like that, it tells me that you're grown up now - but I also know that I still love you, and that you still love me, no matter WHAT happens with us, or between us. So I'm asking you to forgive me, and your mother; and telling you, because I love you, to go ahead and do what you want to do because I respect your choice,

"Dan and Kelly have told me that you're welcome to stay there as long as you want - and I'm telling you that it's okay with me, too. I know that they love you as much as I and your mother do, and that you love them. So stay, and have fun, and enjoy yourself. We'll love to see you when you get home.

"I love you, Susan."

By the end of it, Susan was crying, quietly, as was Kelly - and I have to admit that I felt a few twinges, myself.

It took Susan a few seconds to realize that the message was over, and when she did, she quietly slid into my arms, letting me hold her as Kelly moved over to hug her, too.

After a bit, she pulled back from me, and said "I'm free now. And ready."

Even as Susan and I kissed, Kelly was doing her part - kissing Susan's arms and shoulders and neck while caressing her body. Sometimes, both of us would go to work on the same breast or ass cheek; other times, we'd each work in our own area, keeping Susan stimulated as much as possible.

When things got crowded on the couch, we easily moved to the floor - and expanded our explorations of each other. I soon found that Susan's labia were thin and long, and between them lay a delightfully sweet/musky smell and taste. I enjoyed bringing her to her first orgasm while she and Kelly kissed and caressed and fondled each other - and Susan even dared to dip a finger into the center of Kelly's womanhood, and sample the nectar she found there.

As Susan took the initiative to take me into her mouth, Kelly was between her thighs, sampling the delights I'd found - and bringing Susan to another climax, shortly followed by my own as Susan swallowed every drop she could draw from me. As I recovered, the two of them joined, head to pelvis, and delighted in bringing each other to a slow, powerful orgasm. Susan insisted on reinvigorating me, and when I was ready, moved onto my lap, positioning herself as Kelly held me steady and guided her. All of us were pleasantly surprised when it turned out that Susan's hymen was thin and delicate - it didn't seem to trouble her in the slightest as she slid herself onto me; her more than ample lubrication making the process smooth and easy for her. When she was fully impaled, Kelly moved behind her, holding her breasts and kissing her as Susan first adjusted to, then learned to enjoy, my presence in her.

When she tired, Kelly and I eased her onto her back, and as I started to move in her, she guided Kelly to a position over her, so that she could again sample the nectar of Kelly's womanly flower as Kelly and I kissed. It did not take her long to bring Kelly to release, and then for me to do the same for her - listening to her shouts of joy and release as she was overwhelmed by it. When it was over, she was still anxious for more, and moved to her hands and knees, so that I could take her from behind. Kelly moved under her; as even as Susan put her head between Kelly's thighs, Kelly was already applying her nimble tongue to Susan's clitoris - and my erection.

Surprisingly, Kelly was the first of us to climax, and when it was over, managed to drag herself out from under Susan - a fortuitous move, since it wasn't much later that Susan found her release - and as she did, so did I, filling her with my semen, and triggering an even stronger series of spasms for her when she felt it. With both of us near exhaustion, we all but collapsed - and would surely have squashed Kelly has she not already moved.

Temporarily satiated, we lay there, holding and caressing each other as we regained our senses, and returned to normal pulses and blood pressures. When she'd recovered, Susan grabbed both of us, and hugged us fiercely, telling us "Oh, THANK you!", over and over again. We took her into our arms and held her, hugging her and kissing her softly for quite a while, before hunger and thirst got the better of us.

Over the next several hours, we all made love with each other, in pairs, with the third acting as facilitator and encourager. Only when we were all thoroughly exhausted, and entirely too sticky, did we stop for a quick - if fun - shower, then sleep; only to resume again when we woke up.

It was a full 24 hours before Susan wore us out - and then called in the reinforcements. Over the next few days, she went on to exhaust Jan, then Robyn, followed by Sandra and Candice. We were sure she must have slept sometime - but none of us could actually catch her at it. Only when all of us took turns on her did we finally manage to completely satiate her, and reduce her to a mass of erogenous flesh, whereupon she finally dropped into sleep.

On the fourth day after she made an appearance at our door, she was ready to finally go home - happily, and finally able to freely give anyone all the love they wanted, and more.

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

EPILOG

That all happened several years ago. Since then, thinks have changed, as I knew they must - and turned out far better than I'd dared to hope.

All of the girls went on to college, pursuing a variety of careers:

Jan is now a high school teacher - back at the very school she'd graduated from. She comes over to visit often, and we always have a good time, whether it's in bed, or not. She has found a nice guy, and all of us agree that he's pretty close to 'getting it' - Jan loves him, and he her. Robyn teasingly made a play for him once, and he was horrified - and promptly told Jan about it. Robyn scared him so bad, she finally had to explain to him that she'd been teasing, and apologize. He's still kind of twitchy around her, though.

Susan went on to become a lawyer - specializing in helping battered women. She's not particularly rich, but too happy with what she's doing to care. She absolutely terrifies the lawyers she goes up against - nothing seems to scare her or shake her up; and they know if they make *any* mistakes, she's going to roll over them like Nazi Panzers versus Polish horse cavalry. When one irate wife-beater tried to attack her outside of court, she dropped him in nothing flat, sending him to the hospital - and then sued him spitless when he got out.

Robyn, to everyone's surprise, became a cop - and a damn good one, by all accounts. She heads the domestic abuse and sex crimes department. Rumor has it that when she busted a guy that had raped a twelve year old, she stuck the muzzle of her .357 in his eye, pulled the hammer back, and told him "Go ahead. Blink. Burp. Fart. Do *anything* to give me an excuse!". Scared him so bad, he soiled his pants. Her cases are airtight, and have never been lost in court.

Candice is a journalist - reporting for a major newspaper chain, she makes the front pages a lot with her stories on official corruption, government inefficiencies, and such. When a spokesperson comes out to explain it all away, she's right there to hammer them over every lie, using their own documents to do it. Whenever she's in town, all of us get together, and have a good time.

Sandra finished up as a psychologist. Her field of expertise is troubled kids; she seems to be able to work miracles with them, and is considered the BEST. People from all over the country come to her, and leave happy - as do their kids.

True to his word, the Bishop did a _major_ overhaul of the school - now it's again considered the top private school in the state - parochial, or not. Any kid we graduate is virtually guaranteed a job on graduation - at well over minimum wage. Businesses have learned what we're doing here, and they know our kids are smart, and motivated. Some of the parents fussed at first - but when they saw the changes in their kids, quickly quieted down, and appreciated their good fortune. The Bishop finally managed to convince Kelly and I to teach classes at the high school. We're each there only one day a week, so it works out reasonably well. Kelly's class is Philosophical Discussions - but it gives her the cover she needs to teach the kids about love. Mine is Problem Analysis - and I teach them how to *think*. Both classes are nominally considered electives - but they're always full. Our football team is mediocre, at best - but everyone is proud of our debating team, which tends to kick ass, and the hell with names. Ditto our math and science teams.

Paul was made a partner of the store he worked at - and is making a lot more money for a lot less work; and enjoying life a lot more, now. He met a nice lady friend, and they see each other enough that we wonder if there isn't something going to happen between them. Jan likes her, as do the boys, so it's a good sign.

Steve Moore and I have become pretty good friends. After Susan went off to college, he and his wife found out that they simply didn't get along any more, and divorced - amicably enough. Susan had kind of suspected something about them, and wasn't particularly distraught by it - she still visits both of them on an equal basis.

Kelly majored in Mathematics, with a minor in Philosophy. She has bachelors degrees in both, and is working on a degree in Business Administration. She went to work for me, you see, and was good enough to more than double my customer base. It's a good thing, too - she's pregnant. When she graduated college, I asked her to marry me - and she agreed only if she could get some of my wigglers from the doctor and have my baby. Whether it's an innie or outie, we don't know - we want to be surprised. She and my secretary adore each other - I think the two of them plot against me, just for the fun of it.