Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Maladine, Part 2 of 3
   by Nysidra
   <->
   -_ 3 _-
   Leon scheduled a meeting with his mother and father.  This was to be his
final semester of high scool.  It was coming earlier for him than most.
   "I want to put off going away to college for a year.  With
dual-enrollment, I've earned enough credits that I can go to the local
college here.  It will cost less, and I can be here for Rachel.  I don't
want to leave before she's finished her first year of high school.  That
one will be the most difficult."
   That was only the first part of his plan, the move that had to be made
carefully.  Enough to target both his mother and father.
   "I would appreciate more direct financial help." A smile flickered
across his face.  He paused, appeared to be worrying over his next words.
"I must come to you for expenses for supplies, clothing, food, fees.  I did
not need much, but Rachel deserves more than I wanted for myself.  I would
appreciate a," another pause.  He was confident of his figures, but had to
appear to be psyching himself to deliver the truth.  "an allowance of five
hundred a month."
   "Did he just extort us?" Deidra whispered.
   "I can supplement that with my job, but I'll be working to support my
own expenses as well."
   "While living in my house?"
   Don't answer immediately, and not what he wanted to say.  To answer too
quickly would cause an argument that Leon could not afford.  "I don't want
to move into an apartment when my home is here."
   "Of course not," Deidra said.  "I was just making a joke.  You are
always welcome home."
   "He's right though," Henry said.  "He's a brilliant young man, and he's
going to handle the money as responsibly as he cares for his ...  for
Rachel.  Get me a book of deposit slips and..."
   Leon pulled them from his back pocket and set it on the table.
   "Wow, you were right.  He's got your spirit." Deidra whispered. 
"Through and through."
   Leon looked at her, but she just winked.
   "Good.  Six hundred a month, and I'll get your name on some of the
bills. You can start building a good credit history.  That will be
important where you're headed.  Anything else?"
   "No, sir."
   "Then I have something.  I thought I would have some time to wait until
you got into college.  I may be too late anyway, but college girls, they've
got their heart way over their heads.  These are women with goals, plans.
Don't you yank them too far off course."
   He gave a glance to his mother, but decided she must know as much as his
father about him.  No reason for them to maintain the facade.  "Have you
seen me mistreat any woman, of any type?"
   "No, Leon, but damn it.  Just give it a rest."
   "No, unless you're telling me it will effect Rachel." He held his breath
and waited.
   Henry sighed and shook his head.  "No.  This has nothing to do with
Rachel."
   ***
   Rachel sat straight up in bed.  "What did he say?"
   Leon smirked and looked around the room.  Were there cameras somewhere
in here?
   "I might be away a little more than you're used to, but I'm here until
next summer, for sure."
   Rachel ran to him and threw her arms around him.  "Forever," she
whispered.  "Please."
   "One day at time, Rachel."
   "I know you will.  I get scared."
   "I think our parents know about us," he whispered back, his lips buried
into her hair.
   "Are they mad?"
   "You're too happy for them to be mad.  They're worried."
   "Does that mean I can't celebrate with you right now?" She hooked her
arms around his neck and rolled her hips on his thigh.  The fat buds of her
swelling breasts were in sharp relief against the blue cotton tee.
   Did it?
   "What are we celebrating?"
   "I'm wet," she whispered.
   He no more wanted to be away from her than she wanted to be away from
him.  He wasn't sure how college and high school would affect their
schedules, but they were going to find out in the fall.
   ***
   Leon swam the length of the lake with Rachel alongside him.  The sun was
hot today, its beams keeping them warm.  Off to the side a mix of their
friends partied and danced while music poured from the radio.
   It appeared an outrage on its face, but the impressionable young girls
could not be in better hands.  Leon only made friends he would trust with
Rachel as a way to get her used to flirting and talking to others.
   She greeted them, played the perfect hostess, then paid attention to
Leon.  No sense in wasting the cultivation of respectful young men.  That's
why he had Rachel bring her friends to the lake.
   They had a move they had developed together, the dolphin.  With their
arms out front they dolphin kicked along the lake in close synchrony.
   Beyond the rush of water, he heard their yelling and excited screaming.
That was common, louder when they invited new people out.  Seeing Leon and
Rachel swim together was a rare sight, as they refused to perform on
demand.
   They called it a moment when two people behaved like a true bonded pair,
like twins, though they were almost three years apart.
   ***
   Oliver Lure had owned and operated his small construction company for
twenty years.  He had brown hair and lighter highlights, probably to cover
the gray.  He had an modest round belly, healthy skin.  He assessed Leon
with shrew eyes and looked back to the resume on his desk.  "Is this a
joke? I don't have time for pranks."
   "I'm here to make you more money than I'm asking to be paid.  My
credentials are not false."
   "Ah, I was going to ask about the lack of dates.  Okay, Mister Maladine,
let's get on with this."
   Oliver narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.  That was an overload of
self-confidence and swagger for a kid.  His inner voice urged him to take a
chance.  Even if the boy was full of it, it wouldn't cost him much.
   "Probationary contract, two months, with a four month renewal."
   The young man flashed a smile and extended his hand.
   ***
   The kid never gave Oliver reason to worry.  He took to his training with
zeal and had the internship in hand within weeks.
   Oliver kept a close eyes on him, eager to put him to better use.  That
winning smile knew how to attract the women!  They clung to him like cat
hair.
   He had a solid game with them.  The sex appeal made his customer account
responsibilities a hell of a lot better.
   "I see you were right, Leon.  I'll have an 'I told you so' bonus added
to your salary."
   Leon smirked.  "Appreciate it."
   ***
   Cheryl bumped into him at a customer appreciation event held by the
construction company.  Usually they had some coffee and bagels, but Leon
convinced Oliver to do more.  So, they rented out the event center and
hosted a party.  Free admittance for any customer plus one guest.
   Cheryl's severe heavy metal style had grown up with her.  She had a
corseted black top with black leggings, flat boots.  Instead of heavy
make-up, she looked more natural, and the gage of her nose ring had been
increased.
   She had been dancing just off stage for a while, but once she saw him,
she couldn't peel her eyes away.  Was that really her baby brother running
around, telling people what to do?
   After the party wound down she managed to pull the owner aside and talk
to him.
   "He's only sixteen," she said.
   He grinned and nodded.  "I'm well aware.  That can work in our favor if
he acted more like it.  I'm not sure he's had a childhood, and I don't
think he cares."
   "But how does he even learn what do to?"
   "The same way anyone else does, I train him.  I've seen him pouring over
manuals and reading documents when others would be playing games and
slack-jawing by the break room.  He's got focus.  Can't teach that."
   ***
   When visiting potential sites, Leon did not hide his age or change his
style.  He wore relaxed fit jeans, but it didn't hide much.  One of the
women tapped her friend on the shoulder and whispered, then pointed.  His
hair had grown a little long.  A lock would slip forward and have to be
combed back into place.
   He was a natural with others.  He would look across the room, make eye
contact with someone and flash a smile, as if he were focused right on that
person.
   Oliver went from a lower end repair and fix-it outfit, to snagging
ground breaking contracts.
   ***
   Cheryl stopped by to ask, "How's it going with my baby brother?  Has his
adolescent ways kicked in yet?"
   "He's magnificent."
   She frowned.
   "You don't know?  He is a machine, measured, competent.  Never
overreaches."
   "I didn't know.  I'm nine years older than him.  I can barely remember
seeing him though we were often at home alone.  We called him and his
sister the unwanted twins.  Our parents were checked out after we lost
Brook.  His hair grew long and wild.  He stole things from our rooms, so we
had this kind of pact to keep things that he might need.
   "Leon never asked for help, he demanded it, but only when it was beyond
his ability to help himself.  He lived in that house like a ghost, there
one minute, gone the next.  If you wanted to see Leon, you had to find
Rachel, then look at the room with new eyes."
   "But someone taught him construction?  You?"
   Cheryl laughed.  "Maybe.  He liked to watch, like a cat perched on a
high place.  I'd find him watching me, but he watched everything like a
bird of prey.  Tell you the truth, he would get so intense that it scared
me.
   "Anyway, one day I caught him making a pull cart and encouraged him to
do more.  To really hone his skill, do you know what he said?"
   She pantomimed his even-tone voice, "I need to make this for Rachel.  I
don't have time for anything that takes my attention away from her."
   "I guess he found time."
   Cheryl shook her head.  "I think if he's here, making your company
profitable, it's because of Rachel.  If Leon truly followed his calling,
he'd be miles from this place and never look back."
   "I can't believe it, but I have to agree.  I've got people coming up to
me asking if he's some kind of rock star or celebrity."
   "What do you say?" Cheryl laughed.
   "He's got what rock stars and celebrities wish they had.  The cock of
kings, and the swagger to carry it."
   She coughed and turned deep red.
   "Yeah, your baby brother's destination miles away?  Porn.  Good thing
he's got an anchor."
   "I need to bleach my brain now," she said with a laugh.
   ***
   Leon lay under the open window, sunlight beaming on his back while he
read to Rachel.  He thought going to school and working wouldn't effect him
much, but he came home exhausted more than less.  Sometimes he was barely
asleep before he had to get up again.  Classes, work sites, studying.
   Then sex.  Between campus, work, going out, and Rachel at him, he pushed
the edge of his endurance.  Before now, Leon had thought his energy
limitless.  It was the first time he had to think about cutting something
away, but he wasn't sure what needed to go.
   People on campus could be helpful with classes, politics, and the best
place to party.  Work had its own rewards, teaching him practical skills,
helping him meet people decades older that wouldn't give have him the time
of day if not for Oliver's representation.  Being social in the evenings
taught him critical information about people, their motivations and
weaknesses.
   How could he turn down a woman who told him in great detail what she
wanted and what she was willing to do to show her gratitude?
   Rachel and him tended to spend more of their time in the new treehouse
than back at the house or in the cabin.  He'd used his skills to make it
sturdier, upgrade the paneling and add some insulation to extend its
usefulness into the early spring and late fall.
   Nights when he could barely remain conscious longer than it took to get
a shower and fall into bed, Rachel would climb onto his back and massage
him, making his last seconds of consciousness pure bliss.
   The best thing about both worlds was the diversity.  A new woman, a new
way to make her happy, the expansive variety of bodily shapes: small,
large, thin, muscled.  Body and mind, and infinite amount of combinations
to learn and understand.
   ***
   Rachel wasn't happy about the turn of events, but it was better than
having him gone.  She felt like a kitten, hanging on to his coattails with
her tiny claws, mewing in his wake.
   She had to grow up.  They weren't children anymore.  She repeated this
to herself several times a day, but it hurt.
   Leon had classes and a job.  Some nights he didn't come home until after
her bed time.  When he was home it was to study, clean up, or run errands.
He took her to his job site once.  It was nice, but he had to work instead
of talk to her.
   She went to party with him once and hated it.  A group of girls would
surround her and talk to her, but not because they cared about her or
wanted to know her.  They wanted Leon, and were desperate for some way to
'settle him down.'
   Only Rachel could do it, if she dared.  That's what she told herself,
but a flutter of fear would wrestle in her chest.  Could she?  Or would he
treat her like any woman who demanded more than he wanted to give: abandon
her.
   Those women flocked to her to get closer to Leon, and it worked, much to
Rachel's increasing ire.  He would stop and check on her and they flirted
with him, spoke to him, sucked his attention away.
   One woman went as far as to rub his crotch while he was sitting beside
her.  Leon didn't mind, he even sat back and spread his legs as if nothing
unusual were happening.
   But it wasn't like that all the time, just more than she liked.  Too
rarely, Leon would come home and announce they were going out.  They'd
spend a day on the town, taking in a show, going to a restaurant, then the
mall.
   Rachel couldn't even be sure if her high school friends were hers, or
hoping to get closer to Leon.  All the things that Leon warned her about:
bullying, teasing, mean girls, hurtful boys.  School was the least of her
problems.  People liked her, treated her with respect, or never paid her
attention.
   The closest Rachel had to heaven were the hours at night they spent in
each other's arms.  He caressed her as he slept, kissing her neck.  Rachel
would turn around and put him inside her, just for that moment, the one
that made her adored above all others.
   "Rachel," he'd mumble in his sleep and it was like a pill of instant
happiness.  If Leon ever called another woman's name, she never heard it.
   Was he doing this to her on purpose?  Keeping so distant, putting such a
mountain of women between their time together?  He kept telling her that
she needed to be ready to care for herself, to live her life without him.
   Each time he said that, it was like he stabbed her through with a
dagger. Leon had no idea how lonesome, frightening, and stressful it was in
the house alone.  She thought of it as small when she was a girl.  But when
it was empty of life, the sheer number of empty rooms, and the expanse of
land that had to be cared for made it vast and quiet as a graveyard.
   Her parents hired a cleaning and lawn service to keep things up for her,
but other than that, it was much of the same.
   She tried to make more than a friendship with a male.  Would she kiss
that guy?  Did she want to see him naked?  The answer was no, always no. 
Her body was tuned to one station: Leon Maladine.
   ***
   He was in public.
   Woman in her early forties with a slight flame, but wide bottom.  She
filled out her clothing nicely.  He would make an offer if his plate wasn't
so full.  The last thing he needed was another woman right now.
   She walked over.  "Are you Leon Maladine?"
   "Yes."
   Her smile broadened.  "I'm Justine's mother, Emma Waters."
   Justine.  Rachel and Justine had become good friends recently.  He
picked up on the people she was close to by listening for their names. 
"Justine said to me, Justine and I ...  One thing he remembered about
Justine was her piece of gossip.  "Justine's mother told us that men cared
about getting off and that's all."
   She became a challenge, more than an ordinary playmate.  He would have
to approach this one carefully.  Breaking down the barriers between an
older woman, a mother, and his age took time.
   So he kept their conversation light.  They talked about the girls and
how they were doing in school.  The next time he saw her, he waved, but
didn't initiate a conversation.  He refocused his attention on the task at
hand.
   She asked him how he was doing the day after and he spoke with her
longer, extending their chat over a cup of coffee.
   "You know a lot about parenting for a sixteen year old."
   "I'm not sure if you heard, but Rachel and I are ninth and tenth in a
long line of Maladines.  Siblings take care of each other in a large
family, but I did more than most people find normal.  Guess you could say
I've been a father for most of my life."
   "That explains the maturity.  You don't regret it?"
   "Do you regret the sacrifices you make for Justine?"
   "No!"
   He shrugged as if that answered everything.
   "If you ever need a day off, Rachel is always welcome over to my house.
She's been a great friend to Justine."
   "Likewise."
   "Us single parents have to look out for one another," she only grinned
at her joke, but Leon laughed, encouraging her to chuckle.  "Her father
left a few years ago," she said by way of explanation.
   Now that she saw him less of a child and more of a young man with the
weight of a shared responsibility, she came to him more often.
   They openly discussed the trials of raising a teenage girl, dealing with
their emotions and myopic view of the world.
   After a month, she had become comfortable enough with him to open up
about her personal life.  They had ordered lunch and ate it at the park. 
She had been trying to tackle dating.
   "Don't suppose you've got a way to balance dating, school, work, and
Rachel?"
   "Dating isn't on the scale."
   She frowned, then laughed to herself.  "I guess you're a bit young to be
looking for a wife, but you can't tell me you don't have offers."
   Leon smiled and nodded.  "I wouldn't call what I do dating."
   "Oh."
   That caused a prompt change in subject, and a shift in her behavior. 
Emma became more flirtatious, her laughter sounded more effortless and
calm. She sat closer to him, found more excuses to lean into him when she
talked.
   "How was your date?"
   She rolled her eyes.  "All that work for a half-assed pay off.  You've
got the right idea, Leon.  Must be nice."
   He looked at the clock.  "Want to go for a drive?"
   Her face looked poised for mock outrage, but she looked around the
office.  No one paid them attention.  "Where?"
   He shrugged.  "Just a drive.  I prefer the hills, less traffic.  I enjoy
talking with you, you're great company.  And yeah, I like looking at you
too."
   She gave him a doubtful expression.
   "Whenever you're ready, I'll bring you back."
   "You swear?"
   "I do."
   The night was a bit balmy, but the sky was clear, full of stars.  Once
they were on the open road with the windows down the breeze cooled the
night.  He drove out to one of his favorite spots, great view of the city,
secluded, and close to the road.
   They sat on the grass, he always kept a blanket in his trunk, and
talked. He didn't make a move on her until the very end, when he put his
hand behind her neck, leaned over and kissed her.  Not a long one, not
pushy, but not a mistake or a nervous attempt.
   She opened up to him, kissed him back, but he pulled away before she
did.
   Emma put her finger to his lips.  "I should head back now."
   Two weeks after that day he didn't mention the kiss, didn't make any
overtures.
   "It's one night, not a relationship or an obligation."
   "It's illegal," she whispered.
   "For you to take advantage of me, yes, quite.  Do you think I'd be the
victim?"
   She snorted.  "Okay, yeah, that's funny, but still.  No one could ever
find out."
   "Text your room number to me."
   "If you get cold feet, don't stand me up.  A call will suffice."
   "I'm going to be there."
   ***
   He was, and she wasn't fooling around with cold feet.  Emma had spent
the whole day thinking about the kind of therapy a sixteen year old could
provide.
   She almost didn't recognize him as he walked into the room with a paper
bag tucked in one arm, a gym bag slung over his shoulder.  He looked every
bit the man on a mission.
   The smell of hot food filled the room.
   Emma watched him with a thumb in her mouth.  She was the one who felt
like an innocent girl, unsure of what would happen next.  Food?  What was
in the bag?  She didn't have much experience with one night stands, but she
hadn't heard of anything like this happening.
   "There's some salmon caesar and some mozzarella sticks over here."
   Her eyes lit up and she hurried over to the table.  She hummed over the
treat and grinned at him.
   "There's no need for you to be nervous," he said.
   That he said it meant she was doing a terrible job of calming down.  "I
know, and yet ...  I."
   "What do you like?"
   Her eyes widened.  "Um," she grinned around another mozzarella stick. 
"I want to have a lot of fun," she whispered.
   He undressed by the dresser.  Shoes and socks, then his shirt and pants.
Damn, his underwear looked crowded.  His hard body and lean muscles.  What
was she doing with him?
   "Look at me, Emma." He smiled when he did, he had a smile like a ray of
sunshine.  It was one of her favorite things about him.  "I certainly like
seeing you."
   He walked over and kissed her forehead and then her cheeks.
   She put her hand on his abdomen, fingered the lean muscle.
   "Take your clothes off so that I can see you." Leon got on the bed and
waited.
   Following his example, she took her clothing off and set it on the
dresser, then joined him on the bed and put her hands on his shoulders.
   "Lie back.  I'll take this round.  You can get more involved later."
   Her head spun, as he kissed his way down her belly toward her inner
thighs, leaving wet kisses in his wake.  His tongue would flicker, lick,
and stab her flesh, building a strong preview for what was to come.
   He opened her thighs wide and looked at her, kissed, investigated her as
if learning how she worked, and learning quickly.  He lingered, massaged,
no rush or impatience about him.
   "Leon, oh, Leon," she panted as her orgasm woke from its slumber. 
"Don't stop.  Please, don't stop!"
   He didn't until her trembling hand rested on his shoulder.
   He straddled her and leaned down and kissed her.  Pressed his lips to
hers, kissed his way down her neck, sucked on his nipples, caressed her
body with as much reverence as possible.
   Taking the plunge, she took hold of his cock, long, thick like the kind
of rod seen in graphic magazines.
   "I want you inside me," she whispered, running her leg up and down his
side.
   He mounted her and slid inside her, then moved in and out with slow,
smooth strokes.  "There's no hurry," he said, "Take all the time you need.
I'm not going anywhere ahead of you."
   Her breath quickened and she clutched his back.  This young man put even
her best toys to shame.  She wrapped her legs and arms around his back.
   "You feel so good," he moaned in her ear.  "I've wanted to be inside you
since the first day I met you.  I like the way you enjoy me."
   He wanted to see enjoyment?  Emma let herself go, truly allowed herself
to do just that, enjoy this young stallion and his fat cock inside her. 
Her back arched and muscles tensed as her orgasm washed over her.  Pure
satisfaction and joy exploded inside her.
   "That was so good," she sighed.  She lay for a moment without moving,
luxuriating in the hard body stretched out beside her.
   "One more time before I leave?"
   "Let me visit the bathroom."
   He smiled.  "I won't go anywhere."
   She urinated, freshened up, and returned to see him on his back,
stroking his cock.  "Ride me."
   Emma smiled and shook her head.  "I'm not that kind of person.  I'm
battling my self-consciousness having you look at me naked."
   "I want to see you, naked, riding me.  I want to see your face while you
have an orgasm.  You don't have to do anything.  Give me a few minutes, if
you still don't like it, we'll switch."
   She crawled up and eased down onto him.  She eased down until he filled
her up.
   "Just sit still.  Feel me inside you, how hard I am."
   She could feel him throbbing, or maybe it was her, squeezing the large
object lodged inside her.  Desire overcame her nervousness.  She closed her
eyes and rocked her hips back and forth, not rising, just gyrating over
him. Then she leaned forward, rose, and lowered.  Small waves of pleasure
urged her forward.
   "Fuck me, Emma.  Get off on my cock." His hands settled on her hips and
he helped her get the right rhythm.
   She panted, moaning low in her throat.  She rode him harder and faster,
the waves expanded, swelled, lifting her higher.  Delirium took hold of her
mind, for several seconds she was suspended.  When her climax ended, she
collapsed on his chest.
   "You're like a half gallon of double fudge ice cream," she whispered. 
"I know I couldn't eat this every day."
   "But you should at least have a taste," he grinned and kissed her on the
cheek, then crawled out the bed, grabbed his clothes and his gym bag.
   "How do you keep women from falling in love with you?"
   "I don't.  There shouldn't be a limit to love, but only one woman in my
life holds me back." He grinned and looked her over with as much lust as he
had from the start.
   "You won't have to worry about that, Leon.  I know what this is."
   "That's what I like about you."
   ***
   "Mom," said Justine.  "What did you do for Leon that he'd thank you
for?"
   "What do you mean?"
   "I found this in your desk.  That's Leon's signature.  Rachel knows it
by heart."
   "Why would Rachel know his signature?"
   "In case she needed to get something signed.  Don't worry, she always
tells him if she does it." She held the card up.
   "We talked for awhile about his situation with Rachel and his parents. I
was a sympathetic ear and I was touched that he sent me a card."
   "What situation with her parents?"
   "That was a private conversation, and don't you ask her about it
either."
   "I won't.  I know it's not great.  She spends a lot of time alone.  She
told me if it wasn't for her brother, she didn't know if anyone would care
about her."
   "He's a very dedicated caretaker."
   Justine set the card down, but instead of leaving she said.  "Do you
think he's hot?"
   "Who?"
   Justine rolled her eyes.  "Leon."
   "Yes, but why are you asking?" Emma turned and shuffled the items on her
counter around.  Hopefully it would be enough to hide her blushing.
   "We had this poll at school.  He was voted the hottest boy - and he
graduated!" She sighed.  "Do you think he'd ever go with someone like me?"
   "No.  You're too young."
   "I'm going to be fifteen in a couple months, and he's only seventeen. 
My dad was like six years older than you."
   "I'm sorry.  I mean I don't think he'd be interested in a freshman in
high school when he's in college." Emma turned and looked at him.  "You
haven't ...  you don't personally know him, do you?"
   Justine laughed.  "You want to know if I've slept with Leon Maladine?"
   "Now, I..."
   "Mom.  It's okay.  All the girls at school know Leon is only good for
one thing.  Even Rachel knows it."
   "What's that?"
   "He's the biggest, scariest ride at the fair.  You can only ride it once
or twice, but if you do, then everything else is easier, less scary."
Justine shrugged a little.
   "Not boyfriend material?"
   She shook her head.  "It's not the same."
   Emma nodded with a sigh of relief.  Better she not learn the hard way.
   Justine went back to her room, a secret smile on her face, and promised.
"One day, I'm going get a ticket to that ride though."
   ***
   Rachel disembarked from her ride and stretched out on his chest.  "Have
you ever cried, Leon?"
   "Yes, why?"
   She shrugged.  "I've never seen you sad.  Even when you hurt yourself,
you don't cry."
   He smiled and kissed her on the head.  "I cry, Rachel.  I cried a lot
more when I was little, but I learned that it wasn't going to do me any
good."
   ***
   All the Maladine children came home for winter break.  Deidra sent out
all the invitations, prepared the rooms.  The walls and figures gleamed. 
Fragrant wreaths hung in the hallways.
   Winter was the one time of year Rachel and Leon saw their entire family
in the house.  When they were children, they spent the morning singing,
playing games, holding competitions, then ate dinner together.
   As they (Eric) got older, they ate, partied, and watched television,
then talked until late into the night.  Now they got together and shared a
large dinner, then most of the Maladines went to visit with friends.
   Rachel and Leon knew this time of year as the noisiest and busiest. 
They would find a spot and listen to the stories.
   They parked on the second floor behind the bannister as the others
arrived.  The driveway overflowed with cars, most of them were lined up in
the yard, which no longer grew the fresh vegetables and herbs from their
youth.
   Rayden was now thirty-six and came with his wife Sasha and their two
children.  They still lived on the ranch, and were widely known for their
prize horses.  Not a surprise that they arrived first as they were a
fifteen minute drive away.
   Forest Ranger Nigel arrived with a beard that became the focus of much
touching and attention.  He brought a petite woman named Yvonne, his
girlfriend.  She worked for the wildlife conversation group and met him on
the trails.
   Ellen arrived with her husband, Mister Jake Washington.  They way Ellen
made him sound, he was super important and rich, which surprised none of
the Maladines.  Ellen had a strong taste and refined palette for wealth. 
Only a man like him could make her happy.  Jake was a great man, personable
and never had to say a thing about himself.  Ellen never let the family
forget.  They had two children, both boys, that made their presence known
with much screaming and stomping.
   Dawn, twenty-nine, had flown in with his partner, Victor.  Victor was a
new face, but a familiar name.  They had bought a condo together and
operated a shelter for youngsters who did not have the supportive and
loving family Dawn had been blessed with.
   Cheryl worked as a manager in a real estate office, though no one
believed it 'with all those tattoos,' but Cheryl never paid any mind to the
quips of her siblings.  She had no husband, but her son was due in another
month or two.
   Brandy and Brittany arrived with the hottest gossip.  They had found
love on the stage with a pair of dark, deep voiced males.  Eric stood over
six feet, but Carl was heavier set and lighter toned.  They were all in the
same theatre troupe and talked about the quad courtship for over an hour.
   Their brother, Eric, the youngest 'wanted Maladine' at twenty-three was
working on his degree in engineering.  He brought a girlfriend home last
year, but there wasn't a girl on his arm now, and he didn't say why.
   Rachel enjoyed seeing her family, listening to their stories.  Picking
out the one-upping and snide side comments that came with them.  The house
was filled with noise, the floors groaned with the constant traveling up
and down the stairs, opening and closing doors, pipes rattling, and
doorbell ringing.
   She got to her feet and went to see everyone after Eric arrived.  It was
easier to get the greetings done in one pass.
   "Hey Rachel!"
   All eyes roamed in her wake, around the room.  Leon counted the seconds,
but it was Cheryl who had to point out that he wasn't a new addition.
   "Want some fudge, Leon?" She said with a smirk.
   "No thank you."
   A quiet came over the room and they turned.
   "Shit," one of them whispered.
   "Wow."
   "What are you doing now, Leon?" said Nigel.
   "I'm have an internship in construction management."
   Eric frowned.  "Internship.  You meant a part-time job.  That's for
college."
   "Leon is getting his associate's degree in spring," said Rachel.
   "The only college here is the one for drop-outs and unfortunates," said
Ellen.
   Rachel hated their judgement and whispers.  It was only because of her
that he didn't leave.  It was because of her that he never joined the track
and field team or swim team.  It was her fault he...
   Leon stared at her and shook his head, it was a tiny amount, anyone else
might have thought he was only looking around, but she knew that signal. 
Keep herself together in front of others.
   "I can't believe they let you get away with that.  We all had to go to
college and you're slacking off here at home."
   Leon's stormy eyes captured Eric's and he said.  "Rachel completed her
first year of high school.  She's on track to complete her studies a year
early."
   "A year early.  Must be those new standards."
   That set off a conversation about classes, teachers, and how easy or
hard their studies had been.
   Rachel made her way out the common room and up the stairs, slow, no
stomping or running like the others.  She entered her room, locked the door
behind her, went through the bathroom and crawled into Leon's bed.
   She didn't hear him enter the room, but she felt his warmth, smelled the
subtle aroma of his aftershave.  He rubbed her back, but said nothing.
   "I hate them," she whispered.
   "You have me."
   "Forever," she shifted on the bed and wrapped her arms around his
midsection.
   "Even if we're apart for a year?"
   She groaned.  "Please, I want to stop crying, not cry harder!"
   He chuckled kissed her on the shoulder.  "It's once a year, Rachel. 
We'll get through it."
   "Racheleon!" Came the boom chorus from downstairs, followed by laughter.
   With a shared groan, they came out the room.
   "I'll make it quick, promise." Deidra smiled up at Leon and Rachel.  It
was a brief flash of a smile, almost with a hint of sympathy for her
youngest pair of children.  "I sold the co-operative to Natural Foods." She
held her held up to quell the gasps and whispers.  "Yes, I know, but it was
for a very handsome sum.  Henry and I have retired."
   Thunderous applause and cheers.  Ellen shouted her question four times
before Deidra answered, "Plenty, Ellen."
   Rachel looked at Leon, but his keen eye remained on the spectacle below.
   The Maladines had never been a rich family.  They had always done well
because they valued efficiency over luxury, and they, well, they had ten
children.
   ***
   At the end of the week, everyone else gathered up their kids, their
clothes, piled out of rooms where they slept two to four people deep and
drove away.  Henry and Deidra pulled away with them, packed for their trip
into the mountains.
   ***
   To Leon and Rachel, it seemed they had their home back.  Rachel worked
on the laptop, typing up her report while Leon watched the game on
television.
   She finished up and closed her laptop.  She crawled onto the couch with
Leon and massaged his skull, working his way down to his neck and
shoulders.
   "More on my neck," he mumbled.  "Guess what?"
   "What?"
   He picked up the remote and muted the television.
   "Oliver is going to talk to a potential client next week.  They are
going to be at a resort, sun, food, and entertainment.  He wants me to come
with him.  He said he would work it out with my instructors."
   Rachel stared at the television.  Lights and bizarre scenes flashed on
the screen during the advertisement.  "That sounds like a wonderful
opportunity.  How long will you be gone?"
   "I won't be."
   "What?"
   "I quit my internship.  I've learned enough from them already, and I
don't want to miss spending a week with the person I adore most in the
world, screwing her brains out until she can't pee without screaming."
   Rachel pulled her shirt off and lay over his back.  "Fuck me now. 
Please."
   He rolled onto his back.  "Sit on my face." She stepped out of her
shorts and straddled his chest.  With her bottom in his hands, his tongue
flicked and swirled, arousing her, but not touching her clitoris.
   Her thighs trembled.  She whimpered.  The small sounds rose in pitch
until he got her right where he wanted her.
   ***
   Rachel turned in the mirror while cupping her breasts.  "Do you think
they'll be as big as Ellen's?"
   "Only if you buy them."
   Rachel frowned.
   "Those aren't her real breasts."
   "Really?!  Implants?"
   "Yup." He came up behind her.  "Not happy with a B cup?"
   "It's okay, but a C would be better."
   "You've got time for a C, maybe even a D."
   "What do you want?"
   "Just you, Rachel.  You've always been perfect."
   Rachel sighed and smiled.
   ***
   While waiting for their casserole to finish baking they would recite
their favorite poems to each other, prancing through the kitchen trying to
outdo each other with the perfect amount of drama and inflection.
   Once dinner had been prepared they sat side by side and ate.
   Rachel's thoughts strayed to earlier that morning when he took her from
behind.  She was on her hands and knees.  He breathed along her back, each
puff of breath followed by the touch of his lips or the flick of his
tongue.
   More than her orgasms, Rachel loved the sound of Leon when he was inside
her.  His hands wrapped around her body.  He trembled and tensed.  His
urgency had her stomach doing somersaults.
   He would groan and whisper, urging her to squeeze and rock back on him.
"That's it Rachel.  Make me feel good." In those moments she reached her
capacity for joy.
   "I'll do whatever it takes." She whispered over her food.
   Leon arched his brow in question.
   "For us to be together."
   He laughed.  "You would give up your whole life just to be with me?"
   "My whole life is you.  I know you don't want me to be your whole life
anymore, but--" His hand went to her thigh.
   "Have faith in me."
   She gave him a small smile, and it grew into a large grin.
   ***
   That faith had never really been tested, but Rachel thought it would be
today.
   Rachel took her bike to Rayden's place.  The stable hands were out, but
Sasha said she was free to take Sugar Plum whenever she wanted.
   Sugar Plum and Specter had side-by-side paddocks.  For a while she stood
there staring at Specter, his gleaming coat, each movement majestic.
   Leon rode Specter with such ease and effortless grace.  He could go
tearing across the field, clearing the obstacles, or prance and gallop like
a foal.  Rachel had been riding as early as she could remember, leaning on
Leon's chest, taking in the beauty of their home.
   Riding Specter would be like being with him.  Had he ever told her not
to?  She knew others weren't allowed to ride him.  Leon had taken
possession of the gorgeous stallion much in the same way he claimed her.
   The chocolate black stallion bucked her the moment she cleared the
ranch. He was still out there, saddled, with his reins hanging down. 
Rachel had tried to get him back, and in addition to her throbbing jaw,
aching hip and ankle, she had a wrist that was swelling to twice its size.
   She rode her bike home with her left hand tucked to her belly, each push
of her pedal made her hip scream.  Her head and heart pounded as she caught
sight of his coal gray car parked in front of the house.
   He came out the door looking pretty happy, but that wasn't going to last
long.
   Two seconds.
   He caught sight of her and the smile dropped.  Rachel couldn't keep her
delicate balance with him watching.  The front tire wobbled.  She leaned
for the grass, a third fall was going to put more scratches on her legs.
   "Let go," said Leon.  He'd run all that way before she could fall.  He
lifted her into his arms, her blood stained his crisp white shirt.
   "I tried to take Specter out," she said in a rush.
   "Continue." He spoke just above a whisper, calm, quiet.  That voice
frightened Rachel to her marrow.
   "Everything was all right till I cleared the ranch.  His head came up
and hit me in the face.  I leaned over and he bucked me and I fell.  I went
to catch him, but he pushed me over." She lifted her wrist.
   "Does Rayden know?"
   "He wasn't home, and Sasha is alone with the children."
   Leon turned and carried her inside and set her on the toilet in the
bathroom.  "Don't move from this room until I return."
   He shut the door and left.
   In the other room she heard him on the phone.  "Yes, he's out there, but
Rachel's hurt.  Great.  That's good.  Sounds right.  No, we're fine here.
Just a bruise and a few scrapes."
   Rachel looked down at herself.
   Silence.
   The door opened and he had her coat and was dressed in his.  "We have to
go to the hospital." His voice had been conversational when he called
Rayden's, but now it was back to its whisper.  Rachel supposed he spoke
that way when he wanted to yell and scream, but because he didn't want
anyone to hear him chastising her, he only whispered.
   It hurt so much.  Rachel wished he would yell.
   She tried not to scream as her wrist went into the hole of her jacket,
but he noticed and let her tuck her hand to her belly.
   He went eighty miles an hour whenever there was a straight stretch of
road, sometimes higher until his tires squealed into the hospital lot.
   No words.  Rachel leaned her head back into the seat, trembling.  She
hadn't wanted this to happen.  Doctors and nurses took her away.  She lay
on a table while they ran tests.  Cool liquid entered her veins that made
the pain go away.
   They got home late.  The full moon was high in the sky, but blurred by
thin cloud cover.  He walked her into the house and they kept going until
they were upstairs, in their room, behind a locked door.
   "I never told you not to ride Specter," he said, but it was still a
quiet tone.
   A bit of her anxiety lessened, but she was sure there would be more. 
She wiped her eyes and nose and waited for the rest.
   "I never thought you would do something so stupid."
   Why couldn't Leon be like other parents?  Hit her or yell or punish her?
This hurt so much worse.  It was like he was ripping her apart from the
inside.
   "I am furious with you Rachel.  Why do you think I give you rules?"
   "T-t-to protect me."
   "What if you fell and broke your neck?  Henry and Deidra are going to
get the medical bills for this.  You were injured when I should have been
watching you.  I thought you were old enough." He lowered his head and
sighed.
   "I am.  Please.  I'm so sorry.  I--"
   He held his hand up to stop her then lay on his back on the bed, staring
at the ceiling.  "You'll have a tough time dressing and washing with one
hand, probably several other things.  Don't come to me for assistance.  You
figure it out alone.  Go to your room and..."
   Why didn't he just kill her?  Sorrow and rage had her trembling and
there was no pill that could numb the pain.  She eased to the edge of the
chair, steeled herself for exile.
   "Why did you take Specter out?" He turned on his side.
   "I missed you." She said around her open sobs.  "I wanted to be
connected to you.  We both, Specter and I, belong to you.  I thought I
could do it if I went slow."
   "Don't leave your room until I say you can.  Go."
   Rachel cried herself to sleep.  She woke when she heard the shower
running.  It was light outside.  Everything hurt, but her heart most of
all.
   Leon had been right.  Taking care of herself with one arm hurt.  She
fumbled with her shirt, and a bra seemed impossible.  Getting out of her
jeans left her panting and throbbing.
   When she heard him leave the bathroom she went in, washed and cleaned up
as best as she could.  Rachel didn't bother with clothes.  The pain only
got worse, but she was afraid to ask for her prescription.
   He entered her room dressed for the day.  "Take one every four hours."
He counted out five from the bottle.
   "Can I go to the kitchen for water?"
   "There's water in the bathroom."
   He left and shut the door behind him.
   The crying began again.  "Food?" She whispered to herself.
   ***
   He leaned on his door and took a deep breath.  He was upset, but not as
angry as he let on.  He had to make her think long and hard before ever
doing something like this again.  The lesson had to burn into her brain if
he was ever going to be able to depend on her.
   She wasn't old enough to be left alone.  That had been a mistake on his
part.  His parents would use this against him somehow, but he'd be ready.
   She was his, spirited, bratty, gorgeous.
   Leon smiled.  She thought it was Specter he prized.  Specter was great
to ride, but he would slit that horse's throat to protect Rachel.
   She entered the bathroom, still crying and moaning, but the water ran in
the sink and she took her medication.
   "He loves me," she whispered.
   He listened closer.
   "He doesn't hate me.  He loves me.  He'll forgive me.  He won't starve
me.  Leon Maladine is my god and he would never forsake me." She giggled,
then groaned, then the crying started again.
   He'd read the phrase 'my god loves me and would never forsake me' in her
journals and thought it was the beginning of some kind of religion, but
until that moment, he never knew this deity's name.
   ***
   When her bathroom door opened, she had been staring blankly out the
window.  She didn't move because she assumed it was Leon's door.
   It shut, and Rachel was sure it was her door that time.  She turned over
and spied the tray of food on her desk.
   When it was too chilly to remain naked in her bed, she pulled on her
robe and busied herself with reading.  Her body throbbed with pain, but
also missing her other half.
   He came into her room while she was sleep and carried her away.
   "Please, I promise.  I'm sorry.  I can't take you being upset with me.
I'll be good.  Perfect, promise." Rachel hoped with all her heart that it
was Leon holding her.  She was so sleepy, half out of it, but the warm body
next to hers.
   "I adore you, and I don't mean to be cruel, but you deserve discipline
and punishment as much as you deserve love and attention."
   "I know.  I messed up.  I wanted to be closer to you, and," she hummed
as he kissed her.
   "You fucked that up, but you will learn from your mistakes."
   "Yes."
   "You've been crying half the day, Rachel.  You need to rest and heal
before classes start again.  Think you can sleep beside me tonight?"
   "Do I have to sleep, Leon?" She blindly caressed his ears and neck,
rubbed her face into his chest.
   "You want something else first?"
   "You."
   "Tell me exactly what you want."
   "Inside me, Leon.  Please.  Fuck me.  I need you."
   ***
   Rachel sat beside him and waited until he looked at her.  "Cameron
Birchwood asked me to the spring formal."
   "And you said?"
   "Yes, but I have a condition."
   "You have my attention, Rachel."
   "I know," she sighed.  "Well, I don't want to be alone.  You told me I
should ...  be more social with other boys."
   "I don't want you to limit yourself because of me."
   She grinned and shook her head.  "It's not that.  There's a signup for
adult volunteers to supervise.  I know they mean parents, but you're
eighteen.  Can I fill it out for you?"
   Leon burst into full-bodied laughter.  It went on far longer than his
sedated chuckle or brief smile.  "Yes, Rachel.  Do it."
   "I don't care that the other teachers won't like it.  The girls will
love it, and I will feel better."
   "Sounds like a fun night.  Have I met him, Birchwood?"
   Rachel shrugged her shoulder.  "He's a senior, so maybe."
   "A senior, look at you."
   Rachel leveled her eyes at him.  "He asked me."
   "Just teasing.  Have you kissed him?"
   Rachel nodded.  "On the lips."
   "Show me."
   She leaned forward and touched her pursed lips to his then pulled away
with a feigned blush.
   Leon grinned.  "Well done." He put his hand on her thigh, moved it a bit
higher.  "Did he do this?"
   Rachel drew a breath and pretended to look elsewhere.  "He's never done
that."
   "But what if he did?"
   Her face turned dark red.  "I ...  it depends.  I don't think about it."
   "Think about it, Rachel.  Know what you want before someone decides for
you.  If he does, or anything else, he wants to gauge your reaction, your
interest.  Whether you answer or pull away is your choice."
   "But then I'm only supposed to do a little and wait for him.  Like," she
took his hand.  "If I wanted him, I'd let him get closer, but not too
much."
   "What would you want?  A little, for him to finger you, to take your
panties off and fuck you?"
   "Whoa!  He just asked me to the dance!"
   "This isn't about Cameron.  Any man, any time in the future.  It's a
matter of graduation.  He might be headed for sticking himself inside you
when you only wanted to be touched.  You set that pace."
   She nodded.
   "It's a dance, one that could be easily ended with words, but most
people do not know what they want, don't respond well to confrontation. 
That will not be you, Rachel."
   She groaned.  "This boy stuff is stupid."
   "It's a challenge, but not one you're going to fail." Leon edged closer
and lay his head in her lap.  "Know what you want first; don't let someone
else decide."
   "I will.  Promise."
   ***
   Leon was accepted as a chaperone, but not without controversy.  The new
counselor didn't know his reputation, only that he was a Maladine, and that
name carried weight in this city.  If any of the faculty had known about
his application in advance, it would have been shredded.
   Alas, they didn't know until the night Miss Oak grabbed Mister Brooks'
arm and growled.  "Tell me that isn't who I think it is?"
   "Is he here with a date?"
   Leon used his car to bring Rachel and Cameron to the dance.  Rachel
looked gorgeous.  He had taken her shopping and helped her select the baby
blue silk gown.
   Cameron looked handsome.  He seemed intelligent, not much of a
sportsman. They had talked the whole way about advancements in gaming
systems.
   Walking in with them made him feel proud and a bit older.
   Leon had a suit tailored to fit him in dark gray with maroon accents. 
In the two years since he received his diploma, he had put on more weight
and muscle, even an inch or two.
   He developed a crowd in short order.  He had left the school something
of a legend, brilliant, calculating, handsome, and charming.
   "The little shit knows how to make an entrance," Miss Oak fumed in
disgust.  "You'd think a prince entered the room."
   Once Leon made his rounds, he went over to the chaperone table, filled
mostly with teachers, but a few parents as well.  He smiled at their
shocked faces.  "Miss Oak, Mistress Peridot, Mister Brooks, Miss Ballinger,
Mister Campbell.  Doesn't look as if I was expected."
   "No," said Mister Campbell, "but you're welcome to have a seat."
   All eyes turned to the instructor, but quickly found something else to
look at.
   "How have you been, Miss Oak?" said Leon.  "Do you even remember me?  I
was in your second grade class." He knew she remembered him.  More than one
person confided that Alison hated him with devoted passion.
   Did her fervor stem from the way he opened her daughter?  She was a
quick study, eager and fun.  She blossomed like a flower despite her
mother's repression.
   She wagged her finger and looked away.  "Don't.  I will not forget what
you did."
   "Answers that question." Combined with his smile, the others laughed and
looked favorably on him.
   His duties as a chaperone were effortless.  They looked over the others.
Occasionally, one of them would need to get up and put some space between
an amorous couple.
   Though they had moved on to other topics, an hour had passed, but Alison
refused to move forward.
   "So, why are you still here?  I thought you graduated early for
college?"
   "I continued taking classes at the community college.  I had an
internship.  I will be gone next year."
   Another woman said, "Yes, I read that article about you 'A lure for
Lure.'" She grinned at him.  He wasn't sure if she was a teacher or a
parent, but she had a gleam in her eye.
   "I gained a lot of practical experience there."
   "With that kind of ambition, I'm sure you're going to be a very
successful young man." This time there was no mistaking the look in her
eyes, that roving motion.
   Alison watched their exchange with a sneer.
   A slow song played through the speakers.  Rachel and Cameron were deep
in conversation, their feet gliding along the floor.
   "I don't believe we've met," said Leon.
   "Oh, no, you wouldn't know me.  I'm Lydia Irvin, Patrick's mother."
   Patrick Irvin had been a good friend of Leon's, and the subject of
Rachel's challenge.  The young man had professed to love him, but in the
process, he had been so kind, so honest, that Leon had to let him down
gently, even played into his affections until they naturally drifted apart.
   "Would you like to dance, Mistress?"
   She stood up, then reached over to empty her wine glass.  "Just Lydia is
fine.  You're not a student here anymore."
   They stood a respectable distance during their dance.
   "I take it Patrick mentioned me?"
   She chuckled.  "Did he.  He's here tonight with his girlfriend.  He lost
fifty pounds, shot up, but he said he never felt real until he met you. 
Oh, and that you made him think he was homosexual.  All he ever said was,
'I was wrong, ma.  It was just him.'"
   "And ...  you're curious why?"
   Her blush answered him in full.
   When Leon brought Lydia back to the table she had a flush to her face
and stars in her eyes.
   "Another tragedy," Alison muttered.
   "She's an adult and so is he," said Mistress Peridot.  "Good thing he's
not looking at any of the girls."
   Leon asked another woman to dance, one of Rachel's teachers, but it was
a faster melody.  When he returned he extended his offer to Mistress
Peridot.
   "No, thank you, young man."
   "Please?" This time his smile seemed to plea with her, as if he wanted
to be anywhere but at a table where Alison was giving him the evil eye all
night.
   "All right." She had to admit the young man was a wonderful dancer.  He
held her just the right distance, led her smoothly along the floor.
   "Don't worry, Mistress.  I'm not here to cause trouble tonight."
   "Not here, not tonight, Leon, but you're going to have Lydia in tears
before long."
   His dark eyes caught hers and he nodded.  "Good tears," he said.
   After that dance he worked his way through the girls pouting at their
table.  Their dates were either in a group talking or sitting at the table
with them.  He offered them a dance, and didn't return a single young woman
without a broad smile.
   Heather was one of those girls.  She went to her table of friends and
gushed.  "He feels so good!"
   "Wow," said another girl, "Rachel is so lucky to be his sister."
   "No way," said Justine.  "She can't dream of sleeping with him like we
do."
   ***
   Mistress Peridot held Lydia back before she collected her son.  "I would
be a terrible person if I didn't warn you about Leon Maladine.  He has a
scandalous reputation."
   Lydia smiled and pat her on the shoulder.  "That's why I'm so glad I
volunteered to be here.  I sought him out based just on that."
   "Rather forward of you."
   "He's the most exciting male in this city and he's about to leave.  I
need to know for myself."
   "Good luck to you then."
   ***
   Leon had dropped Cameron off and they were on the way home.  "Did you
enjoy yourself?"
   "Yes!  I had so much fun."
   "Starting to believe that there are men other than me in the world?"
   Like the wind going out of her sail, her shoulders sagged forward.  "I
always knew that, Leon.  I choose you over them."
   "Okay, you can stop.  I won't encourage you to date others." He smirked
as he read her expression in the rearview mirror.  She hadn't meant for him
to take it that far.  "Did you kiss back there?"
   "Yes, and I touched him."
   "Did you?  Tell me about it."
   "I wanted to see what would happen.  I put my hand on him, just let it
sit there, and he didn't swat it away.  The next thing I did was rub him a
little, not too hard, like I didn't know what I was doing.  When he
readjusted on the seat, he spread his legs.  Then I stopped, because we
were at his house."
   "And that's where you wanted to stop."
   "Yes!" She giggled.  "That's what boys do, isn't it?"
   "Boys, girls.  The person who is driving can decide when to stop.  Then
the next person might take over."
   "A dance-off.  In a dance, there's always one lead."
   "I like your description better.  Yes, flirting is a dance-off."
   "So," she leaned forward between the seats.  "You and Mistress Irvin?"
   "In time."
   ***
   Lydia had an end game in mind.  Once she got a taste of Leon Maladine,
she devised a plan to make her summer profitable.
   "You tell me when you have time, and I'll set up the rest."
   "I do believe this is called prostitution."
   "Yes, if I paid you."
   He grinned at her.
   "I'm collecting money and arranging a meeting.  They expect to fuck you,
you want to fuck them."
   "Can I approve this person ahead of time?"
   "Sure, build your own roster." She reached over and poured a drink.  The
small robe hung open revealing her dark nipples, the triangle of dark hair
between her legs.
   It would be pleasant to have a regular rotation of women and always know
where his entertainment would come from without having to be on the prowl
and courting for most of the time.
   Was that enough for him to allow her to make money off him?  This was
going to be his last summer with Rachel for at least a year, maybe two, if
she changed her mind about graduating early.
   He'd already decided on a less time intensive job.  "If I send a name
your way, collect your fee.  I'm sure you'll figure a way to word it."
   "Is that a yes?!" Her eyes went wide.
   He nodded.
   "And ...  ahem." She tapped her chest.  "Okay, what about men?"
   "No."
   "Okay.  Just wanted to be sure." She smirked.  "He said he was an
experiment for you too."
   Lydia gave him a phone and a key to the room she set up for him.  Every
night she provided a service, the room, food and drink.  Leon had been
impressed by her entrepreneurial spirit.
   He never asked how much she made, but judging by the slow change in the
affluence of the women, she had raised her prices.  It was a disturbing
trend that seemed like a small problem at first, but worsened as time went
on.
   "You understand that what you're selling has to want to be here, right?"
Leon said after she'd seen his latest tryst out.
   "They are gorgeous.  Besides, you're fucking.  What else do you need?"
   Leon tossed his key on the table.  "Not you."
   ***
   She got looks from some of the faculty, people who had warned her about
getting involved with Leon Maladine.  The sympathy in their eyes meant
nothing.  They didn't understand.
   He just walked away!  She had been just about ready to get him on
camera. They could have made millions.
   Those women were going to be pissed.  She had to do something to get
their drug back.
   She was selling pussy.  What was he talking about?  What 18 year old
male turned that down?
   When she finally got him on the phone, she had to make it quick. 
"Listen, we'll do some normal girls half the time, then you do what I want
with the girls I provide."
   "At the spring formal, you remember?"
   Lydia frowned.  "Yes.  What about it?"
   "Mistress Peridot asked you to wait as we were leaving.  She warned you?
Or was it Miss Oak?  They tend to be very thorough, but they can't stop me.
Which one of them warned you?"
   "Gina, but that was about getting attached.  I--"
   He chuckled on the other end.  "You should have listened." He
disconnected the call.
   Frustrated tears streamed down her cheeks.  She wasn't attached to him!
   ***
   "He said I should have listened to you." Lydia shook her head and
frowned.
   "What?  You told me you wanted the one-night stand."
   "For me, yeah."
   "You didn't?" Mistress Gina Peridot hissed.  "If anyone found out."
   "I wasn't paying him.  He got nothing."
   "He did it for free?  One of his, your clients?"
   "I was finding him the most beautiful and gorgeous girls of wealth he'd
ever meet.  I was helping him."
   She chuckled.
   "What?"
   "He told you to stop; you said no.  You went to find him and he tore you
down." Gina nodded.  "Yeah, that's Leon Maladine.  That boy could have the
entire swimsuit issue calendar spread eagle and begging.  Leon Maladine
would turn his back."
   "Bullshit."
   "Alison thinks he's a sociopath.  She's the earliest one of us that
taught him.  If it weren't for his interest in pussy, I'd agree.  Thing is.
He's not, maybe a percentage point or two away, but not enough.  No one is
going to catch him."
   -_ 4 _-
   Leon belonged to Rachel.  He had been missing a lot in the first two
months, but after that, he was always with her.  They went riding for
hours, hiking.  He took her up into the mountains camping for the weekend.
They went fishing and had a trapping competition.  Nights at home they
would bake and recite poetry.
   It was every wonderful moment she'd ever had with him jammed into a
whirlwind of activity.  Every day, Leon woke with a plan.  He drove her to
the mall with her friends, hosted a pool party with them.  He supervised
their late-night lakeside jamboree.  For years, that night would be known
as the greatest summer party in history.
   He took her out on dates, challenged her to react to various situations.
(What to do if she finds herself alone with a person who makes her
fearful.)
   They still slept in the same bed together, her head on his chest, or her
leg over his thigh.  Nights when her uterus was being mean, he spooned with
her on the inside, and pressed his hand to her tummy, like her living water
bottle.
   She hadn't had this much time with him since before kindergarten, when
they ate the same foods, breathed the same air, read the same books.
   "I love you," she whispered.
   "Love you," he murmured.
   ***
   Henry had a sit down with both Leon and Rachel, but one at a time.
   First, his youngest son.  He'd been a quiet infant, those dark eyes
focusing days before the books said was average.  He used them to watch his
siblings like a hawk.  When he did cry, it was like a bird's screech.  One,
then another.  Thank goodness it was rare.
   Then his baby girl, the one pregnancy that would have taken Deidra to
her grave.  The hawk swooped in and whisked her away.
   "Sit down, Leon."
   He brought the guest chair beside his desk, like he would do when he was
a child, using the side of the desk and the back of his arm to keep Rachel
upright beside him.
   As always, his eyes went to their family photo.  It was taken while she
was pregnant with Brook.  Deidra had promised the photographer she'd return
in a year, after Brook was born.
   "This is my last child, promise."
   That anniversary came and went.  Deidra shrugged and turned away from
Henry when he brought up taking another photo.  From there, the matter had
been forgotten.
   "A university is a different world from a community college or even a
workplace.  You're there.  You can't leave.  You eat, sleep, and compete
with those people.
   "I'm not worried.  You'll adapt and thrive.  Dorm life might test you,
though, but you'll need to learn that too."
   He barely moved, perhaps it was just the contraction of his iris.
   Henry sighed.  "What?"
   "I'll have an apartment before the end of my first semester or soon
after if I don't find anything suitable for Rachel."
   "No.  You're smart enough to get an advanced degree.  Focus on that. 
Your sister can choose her own path."
   He nodded.  "Yes, sir."
   "Dismissed."
   ***
   Then Rachel, a gorgeous young woman.  His daughter, but an empty word.
No memories of her came to mind associated with that.  He had been her 'in
case of emergency' contact, and little else.
   Her effervescent expressions, and bright personality were missing today.
She had dark circles under her eyes, and a slouch to her posture.
   "You look like your puppy died.  I know he's been the center of your
life, but that's because he ...  he didn't give us a choice.  I would have
raised you on my own if I had to."
   "You were too busy with our mother.  You loved her more." Rachel pulled
at the end of her dress.  "It's okay.  I'm okay.  I'm going to miss him. 
That's all."
   "It will be good to relax for a while.  You don't have to do all your
own cooking and cleaning.  That's what a parent is for, and you're still a
child."
   "No thank you.  I prefer my independence."
   That's not what Henry thought she had at all.  She was a pull toy at the
end of Leon's leash, but he couldn't make her see that on her own.
   "Until you're an adult, you need to learn to be my daughter."
   "Yes, sir." An echo of Leon's tone, which meant she had told him to fuck
off.
   As with all things, Henry understood then.  Leon Maladine had a plan,
and all he had to do was wait for it to fall in place.
   He waved her away.  Henry was proud of his son.  He had raised a
gorgeous young woman, but he had also stolen that child from his arms with
a look of hatred in his eyes.
   At the time, Deidra had laughed, the first one he heard in years. 
"That's so cute.  Like twins."
   ***
   To 'LMaladine@hdm.com' (Leon) From 'RMaladine@hdm.com' (Rachel)
   Hi Leon,
   Miss you much.  Henry is a cow patty.  He wants me to ask him for
permission to do stuff.  I don't think the teachers would even know he was
my dad!  Other than the name, you know?
   Anyway, I'm going on a date next week.  Fun!  Plot twist.  It's a super
sexy girl.  So, nobody thinks it's a date, but she asked me and said it
was.
   I hope you like it there.  Boring here without you.
   ***
   Rachel,
   It's only been a week.  Pace yourself.  Respect him as an authority
figure.  That's your challenge from me.  Everyone knows him, especially
now.
   Remember what I've taught you.  It applies to anyone.  Enjoy yourself.
   Boring?  I should be so lucky.  It's like being at home for winter break
trapped with screaming inmates.
   Could be fun to be like that for a while.  I'm bored without you.
   ***
   Leon,
   These challenges can be kind of useful.  I've got Henry where I want him
- leaving me alone - as long as I depend on him.  Now should be a good time
to mention an allowance.
   Second date with Anna this weekend.  We hang out a bunch in normal ways
too.  She's become my new best friend to other people.  She says this one
is a date, but it's going to take place at her house.  Would you mind
saying hello to her for me?
   I'm back into painting again.  Helps me pass the time when I'm not at
school or hanging out.  I think I'm going to try and sell a few pieces at
the harvest festival.
   ***
   Rachel,
   It was great getting to talk to you and your new best friend.  I think
she's a good fit for you.
   Don't ask for an allowance, come him per thing you need.  It's as good
as asking for his permission and will give him some of the control he
wants.
   Classes have been easy.  I thought a university was supposed to teach
harder stuff.  I'm glad I got all these electives out the way early.
   ***
   They started out writing to each other every day.  Then it scaled back
to two or three times a week, with a weekend phone call for things neither
one of them dared to write down.  Leon had taught her early that she should
never record what she didn't want discovered.
   ***
   "Hey," said Leon as he cradled the phone to his ear.
   "Hey.  Is it snowing there yet?"
   "A little bit last week, but it's much warmer now.  How are you and
Anna?"
   "Cool.  I think she likes me a lot more.  She invited Travis to hang out
with us this weekend."
   "Who is he?"
   "This guy I told her was handsome.  I don't have any idea where we could
go though and not have it look weird."
   "Weird how?"
   "Well, Anna and I both think he's hot, but we can't flirt with him in
public."
   "Go to the cabin, every Maladine uses it.  Have you been to the clinic?"
   "Yes, and the doctor was flirting with me!"
   "How did that go?"
   "I was mature and didn't act stunned by his attention," said Rachel. 
"But yeah, I got them.  No babies for me."
   "Use protection anyway, okay?"
   "I know," she drawled.  "Anyway, about the cabin?  Every Maladine?! 
Even Dawn and Ellen?"
   "Yeah, but Ellen held out for the highest bidder, so I think she went
there once or twice.  It's got the new stove in there, so it's good if you
all want to make a dinner."
   "I'll make you proud.  Promise."
   "I know."
   "Tell me about you.  Any girlfriends?  What are your dorm mates like?"
   "Not as annoying now that I've known them a while.  It's not as bad as
high school, better." He chuckled.  "No parents in the equation."
   "You're coming home for winter break?"
   "Yes, then I was thinking you can come up in March for spring break. 
I'll tell Henry about it when I get home.  All right?"
   "Yes!"
   ***
   "Good afternoon, Carter."
   "Henry, how is life out to pasture?"
   Henry Maladine laughed.  "Damn good.  How's my son?"
   Carter Gilchrist had been the president of the state university for the
past ten years.  Carter and Henry had been friends since attending the same
college.  They stayed in touch over the years.  Even when Carter worked in
administration, he took a personal interest in Henry's children and
provided regular reports on their progress.
   Little did any of the Maladine children know, Henry spent a majority of
his time speaking to faculty, coaches, and other contacts about his
children.  Henry was an intensely social man, so his children never thought
twice when he was on the phone or at an event with an adult they knew.
   "You know I had planned to quit this place by now."
   "I appreciate you sticking around.  Seems like they know it too.  I've
been trying to tell Rachel to slow down, but she's applied for entrance
exams and tested out of two more classes." The line was silent for a while,
but Henry was familiar with this part, the reluctance to speak of Leon.
   "You know, Henry, I have always considered you a champion father.  If
there was any couple capable of rearing ten children, it was you and
Deidra. They applied themselves and excelled in their chosen fields.  None
of them gave us a day of trouble.  They were popular with their teachers
and other students."
   "Until Leon."
   "Yeah."
   "You're not wrong.  I was father to the others, but Leon raised himself
and his younger sister.  Deidra and I didn't fight him on it, thinking it
was a phase or that he'd move on.  Give it to me straight, Carter.  That's
why I call."
   "Unlike the others, I don't have to go asking after him.  Information
comes to me.  First from the faculty.  He's acing all of his classes, but
as if he's bored with the subject.  Like Professor Andrea Valentine.  She
has been teaching advanced calculus for twenty years.  She loves to break
down know-it-alls on the first day with her day one exam.  They fail it and
settle in to learn.  She has produced lovers of the subject with her class.
   "According to her, Leon looked at the test, flipped through the pages
for the first fifteen minutes, as if it were a book, not an exam.  Then he
went back to the first page and filled out each page.  Andrea thought he
was writing jokes or drawing, but it was a perfect score.
   "He brought the exam up to her desk and said, 'If this is what you're
teaching.  I request my end of term score now.' She came to me for
permission.  'I have nothing to teach this man.  He doesn't need my class.'
She even asked how he learned it, and he said he studied the subject over
the summer."
   "Typical of him." Henry grinned.  "And I know you wished that was all."
   "Yeah, don't I.  He only dabbles in athletics, pick up games,
skirmishes. We do it as a recruiting tactic, but it's got the coach of
every sport in a fit.  He won't join any of the teams.  If we could just
get him in a sport then it would occupy more of his time.  Classes don't."
   "Give it up.  Leon spent a year working, taking classes, helping Rachel,
and it never kept him distracted from other women."
   Carter laughed.  "You're not helping, damn it.  You should have warned
me.  He's burned through our female population.  Faculty, staff, students,
locals.  Maladines are great stock.  All of them are healthy and beautiful,
but this one has some kind of primal pheromone.  It should pass when he
gets a steady girlfriend."
   "Here's my warning Carter.  Don't count on that happening."
   "Well, in addition to the sports, he hasn't joined a single club.  We've
got everything from games, to art, to photography and LGBT, history.  If
more than two students are interested, our policy is that they can register
as an official campus club.  Leon is a true neutral, but I'm looking at a
'Leon Maladine fan club' petition with one hundred signatures.  Not all of
them are female, Henry."
   Henry couldn't contain his laughter.  He laughed until tears leaked from
the corners of his eyes.
   "Yeah, thanks for him.  At least he knows how to keep from planting
fertile seeds, if you know what I mean.  I'm glad he's only here two years.
Is Rachel like this?  I need to be ready this time."
   "Rachel will do just enough to cast off suspicion.  You'll barely hear
about her unless you ask.  Leon isn't going to settle down because he spent
his childhood raising Rachel."
   "Thank goodness for that."
   "Carter, I know he's a challenge, but hang in there."
   ***
   Leon,
   Mister Shaw says that I have a real talent for painting and that I
should consider putting more of my stuff in a gallery.  I like painting,
but it's not what I want to do for money.
   I was home with the flu for a few days.  Missed you the most, every time
the door opened I thought it was you, but it was just Henry.  I guess he
did all right.  The best part of being sick was that Travis and Anna came
by to see me and catch me up on school.
   ***
   Rachel,
   I'm glad you have a good support system while I'm gone.  I'm focusing on
the credits I need for my masters.  Most of the girls here are just looking
for a little recreational fun, so that's nice.
   Call me this weekend.  I know someone that would take your paintings off
schedule.  You won't need dad's money if you make your own.
   Get well.  I'm going to be home soon.  Can't wait to meet your friends.
   ***
   Leon,
   Counting the days.  Finals are killing me though, so I mostly study all
day, catching up on what I missed.  All these women come up to me asking
how you are, if you're coming home.  Lame.
   I know it's only been a few months, but it feels like I haven't seen you
in years.
   ***
   Leon lay in bed reading while the woman next to him snored lightly.  She
had auburn hair with lighter brown roots.  They had a final exam in the
same class tomorrow.
   Adjusting to dorm life had been hard, just like his father said, but he
acclimated.
   His tiny room was neater than most others.  His books were organized and
stacked on his desk.  The rest of the space was bare save for his laptop
and a box that contained his writing utensils.
   He only had one photo on his wall, one of the first paintings Rachel had
ever given him.  It was her rendering of the treehouse.  Beside his door
was a large calendar on which he kept his schedule neatly scribbled on the
squares.
   Unlike the other students, he didn't hoard food in his room.  No snacks,
no fridge, or modified cupboard.  If he needed anything more than water, he
went to get it from the lounge or another room.
   Dirty clothes were in his laundry bag and the clean ones put away.
   He didn't have to work so hard to impress college girls.  Most of them
he could be completely honest with and save himself a lot of time.  In
ways, being at the university was a slice of paradise.
   Plenty of people wanted to be closer to him, married to him, find some
way to have power or influence.  It made him grin when he could see a
person like that coming.  He had been told enough that he was charming,
attractive, and charismatic.
   He had become so good at getting people comfortable with him that it
became a mixed blessing.  People wanted more from him than he had to give:
attention, affection, relationships.  Men could be just as bad as women. 
The more he pulled away, the closer they wanted to get.
   Teachers all wanted him to specialize in their subject, go into
academia, or get a doctorate.  He had to push further away from these
people before they ripped him to pieces.
   ***
   "I've spoken with his father," Carter told some of the faculty who
attended a social dinner in his home.  "He claims the boy raised himself."
   "That does not seem normal.  Who was there when he was ill, injured?"
   "Someone must have been, but he's the odd-duck in the Maladine brood."
   "He doesn't seem to get any pleasure from his studies," one of the male
professors said.
   That set off a round of chuckles and furtive smiles.
   "What?"
   Carter shook his head.
   "The conversation was bound to go this direction the moment we mentioned
his name." She turned to the male professor.  "His pleasure is the
interpersonal kind."
   "Interpersonal my ass," said Professor Barnes.  She taught a course in
women's studies.  "He is on a mission to collect as many women as he can."
   "How do you know that?  Has he ever said a word about anyone he's ever
been with?  The only way we know is because they brag about it.  There's a
damn club in his honor."
   "That club," Professor Barnes rolled her eyes.
   "You can't blame him.  He's not a member.  He has nothing to do with it
or any other of the hundreds of student organizations that make up our
institution.  That group assembled itself."
   "With any luck he'll be out next year."
   ***
   Leon found the envelop under his door as he came in from class.  He
opened it while sitting on his bed.
   'The members of the Leon Maladine fan club recognize that finals can be
a very hectic time.  If you ever need company, feel free to depend on us.'
   He stared at the cover letter a long time, reading the brief message
again.  Then he reviewed the following pages.  Names, phone numbers, and a
brief message about their interests.
   He set the packet aside and focused on his work for the night, but the
next day, he pulled it back over and looked through it.  Was it a joke? 
Surely enough, on the university website was a listing for the 'LM Fan
Club' - established last week.
   He dialed one of the numbers and waited.  If it was a prank, it was too
well set up not to see this one through.
   "Hello?" Music played in the background, other voices seemed to be in
the midst of a discussion.
   "This is Leon."
   The conversation and music faded.  A door closed.  "Hi.  How ...  um,
what do you need?"
   "I want to go for a drive.  Bring a light coat, wear a skirt.  I'll pick
you up in front of the student center in twenty minutes."
   "I'll be there."
   ***
   Aisha had joined the club for a laugh.  She heard of Leon, the transfer
with the golden touch, but she never thought she was his type.
   "Leon only has one type: new.  Think of me as a spokesperson for the
experience of every woman's lifetime.  Have you ever wanted a guaranteed
awesome night of sex?"
   Right.  A man with no physical preference who is magically awesome to
every woman's taste.  This had to be madness.
   She signed up to be a member, gave her phone number and a couple
sentences about herself.  The only rules were that they were to never
bother him, protect his privacy, and whatever he wanted, they had to do
their best to provide it.
   So, Aisha put on her knee length dress, a light coat, flats, and stood
in front of the student center trembling with nerves.
   She checked over her shoulders as the dark luxury sedan pulled forward.
It had been parked a block up the street just a moment ago.
   He got out the car, held the door open for her, then they took off.  "We
don't need to talk," he said.  "I just want to drive." He took her hand and
kissed the back.
   She was nervous for the first half hour.  Riding off with a strange man,
who didn't seem a day over eighteen rattled her.
   He turned off into a neighborhood and pulled up to a house then into the
driveway.
   No explanation as to where they were, who the house belonged to.  As
soon as they were inside, he drew her to him, kissing her as he reached
under her dress to caress her ass.
   They didn't fall asleep until the early morning hours.  Aisha never knew
there were so many ways to make a woman orgasm, but he taught her each one.
   When he dropped her off, Aisha felt both proud and saddened that she was
the first.  The other club rule: Once he picks you, you're off the list -
now applied to her.
   She was no longer a junior member.  She would be one for life.
   The life-time 'LM Club' members got to be a status symbol complete with
pendants and rings to commemorate being picked.  They would never get to be
with him again, but they had been there once.  On this, they built a
sorority.
   -_ 5 _-
   Rachel bounded down the stairs and out the door and kept running until
she reached Leon's sedan.
   He opened the door and pulled her into his lap, but her butt hit the
steering wheel.
   "Give me a second to get inside, Rachel." He said over the blaring horn.
   "I've missed you so much!" When he stood up she wrapped both her arms
around him.  Her face buried in his chest.  She'd grown a little more,
taller, heavier.
   "I miss you too.  Help me get my bag upstairs?"
   She took both the bags and ran back to the house.
   When he got up to the room she was back on him, both her arms clamped
around his body.  He bent to kiss her, caressed her ass and tugged her
tight to his waist.
   "I was wondering if you wanted to talk first, guess this is my answer,"
he said as they peeled out of their clothes.
   "Henry left to pick Deidra up from the airport then they're going
shopping."
   They tumbled in his bed for an hour, chatting between rounds.
   "I'm so happy to see you, Leon."
   "You're looking gorgeous, Rachel.  Damn."
   She rolled onto her back and squished her tits together.  "Do you see
that they're bigger?"
   "I notice everything.  Including the scar on your back.  What happened?"
   "Volleyball.  There was a piece of glass in the sand where we were
playing.  It wasn't that bad, just a cut.  It should heal completely."
   "Are you putting salve on it?"
   She nodded.  "Anna helps me."
   "Yes, Anna.  Let's get up and get something to eat.  I'm going to need
fuel if you want another round tonight."
   "If?" She hopped up.  "Are you getting old?"
   "Woman, I've had a six hour drive.  Do not test me."
   She giggled as she wiggled into her dress.  "Burgers?"
   "Takes too long."
   "No.  I make patties on the weekend.  I've got them in the fridge."
   "Burgers it is."
   Rachel pulled out two patties, defrosted and cooked them.  Leon slid the
hash into the oven.
   "You said you had something you didn't want to talk about over the
phone?"
   "Yeah.  Anna and Travis." She huffed.  "We're both, all, really good
friends, but we also do stuff together."
   "Stuff?"
   "I'll jack Travis, or he'll go down on Anna.  Travis has only penetrated
our mouths.  He believes that vaginal sex is for a committed relationship."
   "Anal?"
   "I haven't mentioned it.  I'm scared another guy won't be as gentle as
you."
   Leon nodded.  "Sounds like you've got two great friends with benefits."
   "I do!"
   "But?"
   "We've been keeping it a secret, not on purpose.  It's just hard to
explain, but ...  I think we're all boyfriend-girlfriend, together, but
also friends."
   "That doesn't sound like a bad thing."
   Her shoulders sagged and she smiled.  "Thank you."
   "Oh?  That's what you want, my approval?"
   "Of course."
   "I think it sounds great, Rachel.  They sound like great friends."
   "I still want you to meet them." She picked up the spatula and flipped
the patties.  "I'm still on my pills, just in case, so, if, you know, you'd
like to..."
   He kissed her on the shoulder.  "You want my naked cock inside you?"
   She giggled.  "Please."
   "Sounds good to me.  Does Travis prefer one of you over the other?"
   "I don't think so, but I think he likes me more than Anna, not so much
that he wants her to go away.  I think..." She prepared the buns.  "I'm not
sure.  Do you think it's possible for us to continue like this?"
   "You're a group of teenagers exploring your sexuality.  For Anna and
Travis, they may be a lot newer on this journey than you.  For any of it to
work, you need to talk - communicate openly about what you want and what
you're feeling.  This is true of any relationship, doubly so when there are
more than two people involved."
   "You've had a relationship with more than two people?"
   "I've had a weekend, but the rules still apply."
   She nodded and fixed their burgers, served up the hash browns.  "Do you
love me, Leon?"
   "Yes.  I love you, Rachel.  I have never loved anyone else, but I love
you.  You are my home.  No matter who I have in bed with me when I sleep, I
never sleep as well as I do by your side.  Even still, I can't focus on you
alone when there is so much more I want to experience."
   Rachel smiled as she chewed her burger, her eyes seemed sedate and
happy.
   "You will always be mine, always be loyal to me?"
   "Forever."
   ***
   Rachel woke next to Leon and pure joy swept through her.  He was her
source of euphoria, a drug that she never wanted to give up.  This year,
this one year they had to be apart, but only for a few more months.
   Leon moaned low in his throat.  "You're so big now, so fucking
luscious."
   She sat up and straddled him.
   He pulled her forward and whispered.  "I'm happy, you know.  I've fucked
plenty of women, but no one satisfies me like you.  I can't say I'm upset
to hear that you still look to me for the same."
   "I belong to you.  Of course I'm the best."
   He laughed.  "Damn, right.  No matter what, no matter how many people we
fuck.  Even if you decide to get married one day.  You are mine."
   "I can never get married, silly."
   "Why is that?"
   "No one comes before you, and legally, a spouse would.  Not ever, Leon."
   "Damn, woman, I love you."
   ***
   The silence in the house was short lived.  One by one, cars pulled up,
the rooms gained occupants.  Sleeping bags filled the rooms downstairs.
   "You know I'm on the alumni committee," said Rayden to Leon.  "I stay in
touch with what's going on.  I thought about trying to meet up for dinner,
but you never answered my calls." It was said with some edge, as if Rayden
was too busy to bother with his little brother.
   "I tend to keep my cell turned off.  While you were out eating dinner, I
was probably eating pussy." His smile lingered, but darkened as a result.
   The room had gone quiet, his siblings and their guests were too shocked
to even gasp.
   "He got a 100 on the calculus opener and never had to go to class again
the next day." Sasha, Rayden's wife, gave him a sympathetic smile.
   "Fuck that.  He cheated."
   "I figured college would be a distant memory for a man pushing forty. 
Guess that depends on whether it was the greatest moment of your life or
not."
   This time there was a ruckus, with the others piling on Rayden.  As Leon
was known to do, he disappeared from the crowd without notice.
   Rachel held her hand up with a broad smile.  Her challenge to him was to
fight back for once and not let his siblings demean him.
   ***
   Leon took Rachel, Travis, and Anna out to dinner.  They shared a full
meal and went for a walk after.
   "She won't tell me anything about you." Anna leaned on Leon's shoulder
and whispered.  "But I've heard plenty from others."
   "You're looking out for Rachel, aren't you?"
   "I am; I love her.  You know, more than a friend."
   "Rachel won't be your friend anymore if you sleep with me.  She'd never
say it, but trust me.  I've seen plenty of so-called best friends
disappear."
   Anna smirked then looked at Rachel.  "You were right."
   Rachel smiled and looked to him.  "She'll be different."
   "Why is that?"
   "I'll be there too."
   Leon stopped walking and turned to look at her.  The one person who
appeared to be surprised by this exchange was him.  He looked her over,
checked their guests again.  A car passed before Leon turned and extended
his arm to Anna.
   He leaned down and whispered.  "Tell me what she was talking about."
   Anna smiled.  "Rachel confessed that you were really good in bed. 
Something I knew, but she said how she always wanted to know why.  How come
every girl gets to know but her.  She wants to watch you, that's all."
   Leon smirked and chuckled softly.  "You are a good friend, indeed.  And
I'll have to watch Travis with her?"
   "Not all the way, but he has good technique," said Anna.  "You might
learn something."
   That had him laughing again.
   Afterward Leon dropped them off and couldn't wait to get Rachel to
himself in the treehouse.
   Leon pulled Rachel into his lap and whispered in her ear.  "You scared
me."
   She shook her head and grinned.  "I never asked for it, because after
Specter, I had to earn it back."
   "Earn what?"
   "Faith in me." Rachel kissed down his neck.  "I want to see you fuck
another woman, yes, but I wanted to share them with you.  I know you like
something different.  Fucking my friend will give you something you've
never had."
   He nodded and rubbed her wet slit.
   "I'll always protect you." She found his erection and slid down onto
him. "For you, I would do anything."
   Leon took hold of her hips and thrust into her.  "Yes, you have my
faith, Rachel.  Fuck.  Anything you want tonight.  Tell me what you want."
   "I want you to fuck me in the ass.  It's been a while," she pulled off
him and went to her chest.  She came back with a tube of lubricant.  "I
want to feel you there."
   "I'm a lot bigger than I was then."
   Rachel rolled onto her back and laughed.  "I'm bigger too.  You can fuck
me harder."
   Leon covered his fingers in the slippery lubricant.  He grinned along
with her as he slid them inside.  "Think this tree is going to hold us?"
   "Yes, it's plenty sturdy."
   "Put it through the paces, have you?"
   "Oh yes.  This is a tree made for primal lusts."
   ***
   They snuck into their rooms and rejoined in the bath.
   "It's going to sting." Rachel frowned at the steaming bath.
   "Get in here." Leon helped her in and settled her until she was facing
him.
   "I used to think this tub was huge." She chuckled as she adjusted her
legs around his waist.
   "I've been in a tiny tub.  You'd be lucky to fit one person in it, never
mind two."
   He tugged on her back and she leaned forward and kissed him.  They were
tired and sore from their adventures, so this kiss was slow, broken by
heavy breathing.
   From downstairs, shouting and laughter regarding the comedian on
television.
   ***
   Leon settled back into school.  He had a long list of classes he needed
to test out of before it became sane.  He managed two by the time Rachel
visited.
   He took her for walks along the campus and drew a fair amount of
attention.  Him, in public, with a woman under his arm.
   Knowing as many women as Leon had come to know - there was no one like
Rachel in bed.  Perhaps she had focused for so long on pleasing him that no
woman had a chance.  Rachel was a scholar.
   Some nights, like the first night of her visit, she would dance on his
cock like a snake charmer.  She would roll her hips and massage his cock.
It was a bit like the dance that a stripper might do, except this was
controlled, passionate, focused on their pleasure.
   After the first couple days, Rachel's visit took a turn towards the
serious.  They visited apartments together, viewed neighborhoods around
campus.
   "One or two bedrooms?" He asked.
   "Two," said Rachel.  "We need a place to bring guests."
   "Will there be extra money?" He waggled his brows at her.
   "Henry says I shouldn't live off campus with you.  That I should get the
dorm experience." Rachel put her hand up.  "I don't want to.  Why do I need
to get to used to living around or with anyone but you?"
   "What about meeting friends?  Being around people who know where the
good parties are?  Think about it, Rachel.  I'll get the apartment and the
guest room can be yours."
   She closed her eyes and swayed her shoulders from side to side.  "Yes.
I, for the first time, have truly thought about this.  I don't want to."
   Leon bowed to her.  "With me then."
   ***
   "Well, Henry.  He's made it a year.  I hear we'll be seeing Rachel
Maladine in the fall."
   "Yes, I did my best to sway her, but she's bullheaded when it comes to
her brother.  She sees his scholarly achievements as a goal to reach."
   "Oh, I don't doubt this was a plan."
   Henry frowned.  "Why do you say that?"
   "She applied with thirty-one credits.  Enough to disqualify her as a
freshman.  Yes, she lost some of her scholarships.  Then she followed her
acceptance letter with a off-campus enrollment form."
   Henry's fist tightened, but he didn't let his friend hear his
frustration.  Not even the distance of three years was enough to put a
wedge between them.  He had to give his son credit, he always planned long.
"What else?  That club fizzle out now that he's left?"
   "Are you kidding?  I've seen teachers wearing those damn pins."
   "Pins?"
   "The LM Fan Club.  A constant rotation of new membership, but there's a
level where you get a pin that says 'LM' and that person is never on the
membership list."
   "Stay strong, Carter."
   "Oh, the boy's got no trouble from me.  Our women's studies professor is
obsessed with him.  She thinks he's the biggest sleaze ever born.  The way
we think the club works is that he gets a list of the members, picks one,
and they go out.  Now, what they do, no one knows, but that's how you
graduate from this club.  The man uses a rotating harem that he didn't
create."
   "No one can prove he created it."
   "No.  No one can.  His hands are clean."
   <->
Written: December 2014
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
Maladine_02