The Bedtime Tales of Be287m

Friends and Benefits, Chapter Thirteen

“You’re joking!” Sherri said.

“No, I’m not,” I replied. “I know it’s one of those things that’s supposed to only happen in fiction, but it really happened.”

“So what was Alicia’s mom doing in Tucson?”

“She was there for the Gem and Mineral Show. Alicia’s mom was, or is, I guess, an amateur artist and she apparently decided to start making jewelry. She and a friend of hers came down to get supplies.”

“And she just happened to be staying at the same hotel.”

“Yeah.” I replied, nodding furiously. “I know it’s incredible, but it really happened.”

“On the day after Valentine’s Day.”

“The day after Valentine’s Day,” I repeated back. Sherri met my eyes. She stared into them, studying me for a while.

“I have no reason to make this up,” I said after a while. Sherri slowly nodded.

“I believe you, Joe. As amazing a coincidence as it appears to be, I believe you.”

“Thanks,” I said. I realized I’d been a little more tense during this exchange than I’d realized at the time. I stretched my legs a little and shook out my shoulders.

“So what happened?” Sherri asked.

“Well . . .”

* * *

“Hello, Mrs. Matheson,” I said. I didn’t extend my hand, but bowed slightly from the neck. “This is my girlfriend, Tina.” Mrs. Matheson nodded to Tina but didn’t say anything.

“I’m surprised to run into you, Joe,” she said.

“Me too.” Mrs. Matheson proceeded to explain how she was down for the Gem and Mineral Show. She gave some of the details, but they went in one ear and out the other. My pulse was pounding too hard for me to really hear all her words.

“So how are you doing?” Mrs. Matheson asked.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll graduate next December.”

“So Alicia said.”

“So how’s Alicia?” I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

“She’s doing much better now that she dumped the guy she was seeing before Christmas.”

“Oh?” I said.

“Yes.” Mrs. Matheson didn’t say anything more, so we fell into an awkward pause.

We were saved when the man in front of us finished talking with the hotel desk clerk. I broke off the conversation with Alicia’s mom and dropped the room key on the counter. I was definitely breathing hard and starting to sweat, but I tried to control it so Tina wouldn’t notice.

“It was nice to talk to you,” I said automatically to Mrs. Matheson as we turned from the desk. She nodded and Tina and I headed to the door.

“Who was that?” Tina asked as we got in the car.

“An old girlfriend’s mom,” I said.

“Oh.”

“Thank you for an incredible Valentine’s Day,” I said, changing the subject.

“No, thank you.” Tina replied. “It was really incredible.” I quickly glanced over and saw she was smiling.

“I’m glad,” I replied.

We had another passionate kiss at Tina’s dorm and then she slipped away to get ready for work. I drove home, my mind whirling.

Alicia had been single at Christmas. I had been back in Colorado too. But of course, I wouldn’t have called her. I would have had to run into her and our paths never crossed.

But now I was with Tina. I really liked Tina. The door with Alicia was closed. I’d gotten over her and moved on.

So why was my stomach such a mess and why was I on the edge of shaking?

I sat at my kitchen table for several minutes, replaying the conversation with Mrs. Matheson over and over in my head. I wasn’t getting anywhere. In fact, my stomach was starting to feel worse.

I picked up the phone and called Sharon.

“How did it go?” Sharon asked as soon as we’d said hello.

“It was fine except for running into Alicia’s mom when we were checking out,” I said.

“You’re kidding!”

“I’m not.” I proceeded to fill Sharon in on the encounter.

“The thing is,” I said, “Alicia dumped the guy she left me for before Christmas. I could have tried to reconcile with her.”

Sharon let out a loud sigh.

“How could you have done that?” she asked. “She didn’t call you or make any attempt to contact you.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I could have called her if I’d known.”

“I didn’t hear anything from our mutual friends,” Sharon replied. “How would you have known?”

“I don’t know.”

Sharon let out another loud sigh before speaking.

“Joe, get a hold of yourself! Alicia’s not worth it. You have moved on.”

“But—”

“No buts! If Alicia wanted you back she would have called. Besides, there’s Tina now.”

“But—”

Joe, stop it! Obsessing over your ex does you no good.”

The sheer hypocrisy of that statement ground me to a halt. Sharon was lecturing me about obsessing over an ex? Did I dare say anything?

“Besides, how would Tina feel if she realized you were obsessing about Alicia?” Sharon continued. “Here it is, the day after she’s given you the biggest gift she can and you’re going on about another woman!”

“Gift?” I blurted out.

“You know what I mean,” Sharon said.

“I’m not sure any of us consider virginity to be a gift to be given away,” I said.

“Fine,” Sharon said. “It’s still a shitty thing for you to be doing.”

“You’re right,” I conceded. “I’ll stop.”

“Good.”

There was a long pause as neither of us spoke. I didn’t like the silence.

“Well, other than that, the evening went well,” I said.

“Tell me about it,” Sharon said, the exasperation fading in her voice.

I proceeded to tell Sharon about the evening, in more explicit detail than I’d intended. I was so relieved to be past the argument that I didn’t hold back as much as I probably should have. Sharon seemed to enjoy it though, and she told me she was happy for me and Tina.

“You need to do something for her soon,” she said. “Don’t wait until Tuesday to see her.”

“Good idea,” I said. I realized there was nothing left to tell Sharon about Valentine’s Day. Then I realized I hadn’t asked her about her own.

“So, what did you do last night?” I asked. “Did you have a date?”

“No date,” Sharon answered. “I thought this guy in my afternoon class was going to ask me out, but he chickened out.”

“And you didn’t ask him.”

“No. I’m not into the shy guys. He was cute though.”

“So, what did you do?” I asked.

“Well . . . I took a long bath and enjoyed the last packet of reading material you sent me.”

“Sounds like a good time,” I said. I was trying to remember the last packet I’d sent her. It had been a while.

“Oh, it was.” Sharon said. I could hear the leer in her voice.

“I think I liked my Valentine’s Day better,” I said.

“Oh, I agree,” Sharon said. “I did think about you guys last night. I admit I was a little jealous.”

“Well, thanks,” I said. Jealous?

“You’re welcome. At least one of us has a successful love life.”

“It would be better if it was both of us,” I said.

“True. But one is better than none. Listen, I have to go. Glad it went well, Joe. And call Tina!”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I realized I was feeling better and my momentary insanity over Alicia had apparently passed. I was glad that Sharon was a good enough friend to help me through such times and to wish me well in my new relationship.

* * *

“So your definition of a good friend is someone who helps you out when you’re temporarily insane?” Sherri asked, her eyes dancing in amusement.

“Well, that’s part of it,” I answered. “I mean, we’ve all had fair weather friends who disappear when things get bumpy, right?”

“True,” Sherri replied. “The question, though, is whether those who stick around are actually helping.”

“Sharon did,” I said.

“Hmmmm.”

“She did when she suggested not waiting to talk to Tina,” I said, mildly offended at the implication in Sherri’s response.

“How did that go?” Sherri asked.

“Pretty well . . .”

* * *

I was a little nervous. Tina wasn’t expecting me and I was guessing that she’d still be at work, even though she hadn’t explicitly said she was closing up the poster shop. At least the roses looked good. I was glad the florist still had some the day after Valentine’s Day.

I needn’t have worried.

“Oh, Joe!” Tina cried, seeing the flowers. She set them on the counter and threw her arms around me for a kiss.

“I figured you might like to know I’ve spent the day thinking about you,” I said when we’d pulled apart.

“Aw, how sweet!” Tina said. “I’ve been thinking about you, too. Give me a few minutes to close up.”

I waited while Tina got things put away, the register counted, and the deposit bag prepared. She locked up and we walked the block to the local bank branch drop off, where she slid the money in the overnight deposit slot.

We wandered over to campus, holding hands and not saying much. I told her how much I’d appreciated the night before and she seconded the sentiment. We talked a little about the coming week and Tina mentioned that there was a note at work when she got in, asking if she could trade some shifts. She asked if I’d mind switching our Tuesday dinner to Wednesday just this week so she could say yes and I said I didn’t mind. We discussed some potential menus for that night and by the time we’d settled on trying a stew, we found ourselves at the Chi-O steps.

“Our feet just know the way here,” I mused.

“It seems so,” Tina said with a smirk.

We headed into the shadowed corner and I sat down with my back against the wall. Tina sat in my lap, straddling me, and wrapping her legs around me. The pressure of her mound against my cock felt good, even through the layers of fabric. However, getting hot and bothered didn’t feel right. After kissing a while, Tina just cuddled in against my chest and I held her.

“Any regrets?” I asked, some time later, as I ran my hand up and down Tina’s back.

“No,” she said, then turned and looked up at me. “None at all.”

We kissed, long and slow. Then we got up and slowly headed back to Tina’s dorm.

I thought a lot about the sex with Tina the next few days. It helped push the thoughts of running into Alicia’s mom off to the side. I also was glad to have Sharon around. I remembered her comment about my story packet and decided to send her a new one. It didn’t take long to find some new stories that I was sure she’d like and get them in the mail.

Tina arrived on Wednesday a little earlier than she did on Tuesdays. We spent a few minutes kissing hello before getting started on dinner. I chopped vegetables while Tina prepared the meat. She started sautéing garlic in the bottom of a deep pot when the phone rang.

It was Sharon. Of course. We usually talked on Wednesdays.

“Hi,” I said. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty well. How are you doing?”

“Fine. Listen, Tina’s here—”

“She is?” Sharon interrupted. “Let me talk to her.”

I glanced over at Tina, who was looking at me quizzically.

“It’s Sharon,” I said, covering the mouthpiece. Tina nodded.

“Put her on!” Sharon said in my ear. I looked at Tina again and shrugged my shoulders.

“She wants to talk to you,” I said. Tina’s eyes momentarily widened in surprised. Then she made a small nod.

“Why not?” she said.

“Okay,” I said to Sharon. “Here she is.”

I handed the phone to Tina and settled into the chair furthest from the phone. As small as my apartment was, it was impossible to avoid eavesdropping.

“I’ve heard a lot about you too,” Tina said into the phone and then paused, listening.

“It was really good,” Tina said next. “Joe’s the greatest.”

More pause. Tina looked over at me and caught me watching her. She grinned. Then she laughed.

“I don’t think I’ll be needing that, but thanks for the offer,” Tina said. Her eyes were twinkling.

I was beginning to get uncomfortable listening in, even if Tina didn’t seem to mind. I got up and went over to the stove and started throwing ingredients in the pot. By focusing on the task, I only heard every other word. Well, two out of three.

Tina and Sharon talked for about two more minutes and then Tina passed me the phone.

“She’s great!” Sharon told me.

“I agree,” I said. “Tina is definitely an incredible woman.” I smiled at Tina as I spoke and she blushed at the compliment.

“I look forward to meeting her,” Sharon said.

“I definitely need to introduce you two sometime,” I said. I looked at Tina. Her eyebrows went up, but then she nodded.

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt you any further,” Sharon said. “Call me tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“Sure,” I said. We said our goodbyes and hung up.

“I think I’d like to meet Sharon,” Tina said as we resumed preparing dinner.

“I hope it wasn’t too strange talking to her on the phone,” I said.

“No. Well, a little. But she made it okay. She said she’d heard a lot about me.”

“She has,” I said. “Just like you’ve heard about her.”

“Which is part of why I want to meet her,” Tina said. “The other part is because she’s your best friend and I want to get to know your friends.”

“That makes sense,” I said as we plated the food. “I should probably meet Marcy and some of your friends too.”

“Well, first you need to meet my family,” Tina said. I swallowed my first bite of food a little harder than I’d expected.

“Okay,” I said. “What have you told them about me?” I asked.

“Well, during our last family phone call, my younger sister asked what I’d done for Valentine’s Day. I told her I’d had a date and after she got done shrieking and teasing me, my dad came on the line. So I told him I’d had a very nice dinner with you. I mentioned that you were smart, very nice, and a gentleman.”

“You didn’t tell him about after dinner?” I asked. Tina frowned at me.

“Do you think I’m crazy, Joe?” she asked. “Dad knows he can’t watch my every move now that I’m in college, but there’s no reason for me to unnecessarily antagonize him.”

“It’s just going to be a little nerve-wracking,” I said. Tina smiled and set her fork down.

“He’ll like you, Joe. He may be incredibly over-protective, but he knows I’ve got to grow up sometime. He’ll be happy to see I’m dating you instead of some of the guys from my high school.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t reassured.

“So, when do you think I should meet your family?” I asked. Tina paused.

“Let me talk to my mother,” she said. “We’ll probably want to drive over on a Sunday after church, but I’ll check.”

“Church?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Dad’s usually in the best mood Sunday when the family gets home from services. But I’ll check with Mom.”

I nodded but didn’t add anything. Instead, I asked her about growing up Catholic and Tina told me about her experiences. My family had been a “Christmas and Easter” kind of Christian, but I’d never felt like I’d missed much. Tina had liked the high Latin mass, though the much more casual service at the youth center next to campus was also nice.

After dinner, we cleared the table and studied longer than I’d wanted. I kept glancing at Tina, wondering if she’d be interested in fooling around once we were done. Finally, she closed her notebook and set her pencil down with a satisfied sigh.

“All done?” I asked.

“Yes, thankfully.”

“So . . . what would you like to do now?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

“Well, what did you have in mind?” Tina asked.

“Dessert?” I suggested. “In the bedroom?” Tina laughed.

“That’s a great idea!” she said, grinning.

I stood up and took Tina’s hand. We walked to the bedroom and stood, kissing, near the foot of the bed. I started undressing Tina, removing her blouse and then her bra. I tossed her bra into a corner and déjà vu hit.

I’d done this with Alicia, standing in this same spot.

Before I could be completely knocked for a loop, Tina stepped back and shucked her shorts and panties and then lay back on the bed. She grinned and parted her legs. That was enough to bring me back to the present moment. I tore my clothes off and then knelt between Tina’s thighs.

Tina let out an “mmmm” as I kissed her clit. I began licking and suckling in the ways I knew she liked. Tina moaned and, after about five minutes, stiffened and gasped as her orgasm hit. I backed off, pleased. I’d gotten very good at going down on her these past few weeks and she seemed to still enjoy it.

When Tina had caught her breath, she looked at me.

“What would you like?” she asked.

“I thought I’d get a condom,” I replied. Tina nodded, so I found the box and ripped open a foil package. It only took a few strokes to get me stiff again and, with the condom in place, I moved on top of Tina.

“Guide me in,” I reminded her. Tina nodded and grasped my cock, moving it slightly. I thrust forward, slowly sinking into her.

Tina let out a hiss of breath once I’d settled fully inside of her. I began thrusting and she began gasping and moaning almost immediately. We kissed, but then Tina wrapped her arms and legs around me and buried her head in my shoulder.

I thrust as hard and as quickly as I could. I realized I wasn’t going to last very long, but it didn’t matter. Neither was Tina. Just before my thighs started screaming from exertion, Tina started to convulse and let out a loud cry. I thrust two more times and my own orgasm followed. Tina was still gasping when I pulled out and flopped next to her.

“Yup,” I said. “You’re definitely taking to sex like a fish to water.” Tina giggled and cuddled into my side.

“I have a great teacher,” Tina said. I snorted, but didn’t say anything. We cuddled for a while longer, but then I noticed it was getting late and we both had class in the morning. With mock protests from Tina, we got up, got dressed, and I drove her back to her dorm.

I called Sharon the next night as promised.

“Hey,” I said. “Sorry about not being able to talk at our usual time. Tina and I switched our cooking lesson night.”

“I don’t mind, Joe. I was glad to be able to talk to her.”

“You two really should meet,” I said, recalling the conversation.

“I agree,” Sharon replied. “When?”

“I don’t know.”

“How about Spring Break? You and I were going to get together in Albuquerque. How about if you bring her along?”

“Hmm.” I mulled the idea over. The road trip might be fun and we could possibly stop and see Allen on the way back, since Las Cruces was only about two hours out of the way.

“C’mon,” Sharon said. “It’ll be fun. My parents have a queen-sized bed in the guest room. It won’t be any harder to have two of you in there than one of you. I’d love to show you the town and maybe Santa Fe too.”

“Okay,” I said, thinking of the bed, which would sure beat the air mattress. “I’ll ask Tina.”

“Good. So how was the rest of your week?”

Sharon and I exchanged our usual news. She was glad to hear about the flowers I’d bought Tina on Saturday and that Tina wanted me to meet her family. Sharon told me about her classes, but didn’t have any non-routine news so we ended our conversation fairly quickly.

I raised the idea of going to Albuquerque with Tina the next night over dinner before we started in with our usual movies.

“That sounds fun,” she said. “Though we’ll have to ask my dad.”

“Ask?” I said. “You’re eighteen. Do you still need his permission?”

“Okay, tell,” Tina said. “If we don’t, my parents will be expecting me to come home for a couple of days.”

“We’ll only be gone a couple of days,” I said. “Our Spring Break is the week after Sharon’s, so it’s not a perfect overlap.”

“We still need to tell my parents.”

“Okay,” I conceded.

“We can talk about it with them on Sunday,” Tina said next.

“Sunday?” I asked.

“Yes. Mom said this Sunday would be a good time to visit.”

I took a deep breath.

“I suppose Sunday is as good as anytime.”

“Good,” Tina said.

She’d only brought one movie that night, The Big Easy, with Ellen Barkin. Afterwards we had sex until Tina said she was sated. Tina slept well but I was restless. In two days we were going to Tempe to meet the man who’d always sent a chaperone along with his eldest daughter.

* * *

“So why were you so afraid?” Sherri asked.

“Of Tina’s dad?” I asked. “I was sleeping with his daughter! He’d have killed me if he found out.”

“How do you know?” Sherri asked.

“Well . . .” I stopped. By now I’d met the man twice and he’d never actually threatened me.

“I guess it’s from the stories Tina told and my impressions of him.”

“Did Tina say he’d kill you?”

“No.”

“So what were your impressions?” Sherri asked.

“Well, he may not have threatened me, but he certainly scared me when I met him the first time . . .”

* * *

We pulled up in front of the house. Tina got out while I paused to catch my breath. This couldn’t be that hard, I reminded myself. Tina’s father was a man just like any other man. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and got out of the car.

As I was standing up, the front door of the house opened. A tiny dark woman walked out on the porch and waved. Then a much larger man filled the doorway.

Much larger. Oh god. It had to be that he was standing next to his much smaller wife. Just an optical illusion, because no one could be that big.

The couple moved down the walk and embraced Tina while I came around the car. I paused two feet away until Tina gestured me over.

“Joe, these are my parents,” she said. “Mom and Dad, this is Joe.”

“Good to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Delgado,” I said, extending my hand. Tina’s dad took it and gave me a firm shake, squeezing tightly but not hard enough to hurt. Close up, I realized he wasn’t any more a giant than your average football linebacker.

“Nice to meet the man who’s captured my daughter’s heart,” Mr. Delgado said. His eyes traveled up my body and then met my eyes. He was definitely sizing me up. He also wasn’t smiling.

“Aw, Dad,” Tina called.

Mr. Delgado gave his daughter a curt nod and let go of my hand. I turned to Tina’s mom and extended my hand to her.

“Very good to meet you, Joe,” Mrs. Delgado said, smiling, as she took my hand.

“Likewise,” I said.

“Your brothers and sisters are around back,” Mrs. Delgado said to Tina, “along with your cousins.”

“You invited Aunt Mary and Uncle John?” Tina asked as we began walking toward the side of the house.

“Oh yes,” her mom replied. “Plus Aunt Rose and Uncle Mike. Everyone wants to meet Joe.”

I took a deep breath, which Mr. Delgado noticed, and steeled myself for a crowd.

I’d like to say I was overwhelmed, but that would assume I’d had a chance in the first place. There must have been thirty people in the backyard, not counting the various toddlers and babies crawling around. Names went in one ear and out the other. I did remember that her brothers were the two burly varsity wrestlers. Apparently their father had forgiven them for not following his footsteps into football, I learned later. Not that it mattered. Somehow a game of touch football got organized and I got swept into it. I didn’t embarrass myself, but thankfully the game got called when an aunt announced that the food was ready. When we sat down at the picnic tables, I finally managed to get a chance to talk to Tina, as long as we kept our voices low.

“I can’t believe your family did all this because I was coming,” I whispered, glancing around, as Mr. Delgado pushed a heaping pile of meat off the grill and various relatives dug into a table of Mexican specialties I could barely pronounce.

“This is pretty normal,” Tina replied. “About once a month, Dad’s whole family gets together like this.”

“And you didn’t warn me?” I whispered.

“Why would I have needed to?” Tina asked.

Before I could think of a reply, Tina’s father appeared on my other side, sliding more steak onto my plate.

“That’s my grandfather’s recipe for carne asada, Joe. Eat up.”

“It’s very good sir,” I said. Then I tasted it. I didn’t have to eat my words. The meat was incredible. Juicy and well spiced.

“You don’t have to call me sir, Joe.”

“Yes, Mr. Delgado.” Mr. Delgado nodded and watched me eat a few more bites. I glanced to where Tina sat on my other side, but one of her cousins was animatedly speaking with her.

“So I hear you want to take my daughter to Albuquerque for a couple of days,” Mr. Delgado said. I froze in mid-bite, before realizing that chewing and swallowing bought me some time.

“Yes si—Mr. Delgado,” I answered. “I want her to meet my best friend.” Mr. Delgado nodded, his eyes telling me this was not news. He studied me as he chose his next words.

“I assume you’ll be staying with this friend’s family,” he said. I nodded. “And you’ll give us the name and phone number. In case of emergency, of course.”

“Of course,” I answered, bobbing my head up and down. “Any information you need.”

“Good,” Mr. Delgado replied. “Make sure Tina stays safe during the trip, you understand?”

“Yes sir,” I answered. Mr. Delgado didn’t correct my use of ‘sir.’ Instead he nodded and stood up. I watched him walk over to his sons and utter a few low words. They immediately jumped up and began scooping up garbage and other detritus. I realized the crowd of family was slowly dispersing now that the meal was mostly done and everyone had had a chance to meet me. I listened in on Tina’s conversation with her cousin about life at the University of Arizona while I finished my carne asada.

“You should offer to help clean up,” Tina whispered after her cousin got up from the table. I glanced around and saw that Tina’s brothers were nearly done. I looked back at her for confirmation and she nodded firmly, so I pushed back from the table and headed over to them.

Tina’s brothers refused my assistance, protesting that I was a guest and this was their regular chore. I argued a little bit and then dropped it and returned to Tina.

We spent about half an hour answering questions from her mother and aunts in the house after that. A few of the questions were about Tina’s classes, but most were directed at me. I told stories of growing up in Colorado and managed to get various relatives to talk a little about the family’s heritage in Arizona. But they kept coming back to me. When asked about what I was going to do when I graduated, I finessed it by saying I was much too focused on getting to graduation right now. When Tina’s mom pressed about jobs in astronomy, I babbled about observatories and aerospace companies and generally applicable computer skills. She didn’t seem satisfied, but she didn’t press.

Then Tina announced we had to get going because she had a paper due. She collected hugs all around and I picked up a handful through simple physical proximity. Mr. Delgado appeared near the end and he and his wife walked us down the steps to the car. While Tina hugged her mother, Mr. Delgado extended his hand to me.

“Glad you offered to help clean up, son,” he said. “Now don’t let anything bad happen to my girl.” He squeezed my hand for emphasis.

“Yes, Mr. Delgado,” I said, nodding slowly and firmly. For the first time, I saw the man smile.

On the drive back, Tina turned to me.

“They like you, Joe. Thanks,” she said. I wasn’t sure I’d come to the same conclusion, but I had to trust her since it was her family.

“No problem,” I said. “I enjoyed meeting your relatives.”

“Good!” she said, settling back. We drove in silence for a while.

“And soon I’ll meet Sharon,” Tina said. “The woman who’s closer to you than your family.”

I didn’t say anything. Tina fell back to watching the scenery. Given the silence, I spent the rest of the drive home thinking about what Tina’s family would think if they knew how close Sharon and I really were.

--Fin--

© 2006, all rights reserved.

Read the next chapter in this story: Chapter Fourteen

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