JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 07
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

The poolroom was quiet for a change when Ed, restless and 
anxious, stepped into the room. The lights were turned low giving 
it the sense of being larger than it really was. He stripped and 
entered the pool, enjoying the coolness of the water as it flowed 
over his body. It was the first time during the entire day that he 
was able to relax. The two new hires had moved into their rooms 
and Dan had returned home. Even Betsy had gone to bed early 
after meeting Lucy.

For some reason, the pool wasn't helping him calm down and his 
restlessness increased. In order to work out some of the energy, he 
broke out into the breaststroke intending to make fifty laps. After 
the first five laps, he picked up the pace trying to work some of the 
tension from his body. He had only done fifteen laps when he 
stopped and stood up in the pool. His medallion was giving forth a 
feeling of warmth that demanded his attention. He climbed out of 
the pool and dried himself before putting on his robe.

Moving towards the front of the house, he ran into Claire. She was 
checking the front door to make sure that it was locked. Seeing her 
nervousness, he asked, "What's up?"

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling," replied the black woman as 
she looked around the house. She wasn't sure if it was first night 
jitters in a new place or an intuition about something real. There 
was one thing that she trusted above what her eyes told her and 
that was her intuition. 

She was telling the truth about having a bad feeling. Concerned 
that his unease was justified, Ed led Claire up to the security 
center. They found Walt at the console scanning the surroundings 
with intense scrutiny. Noticing the tension in Walt's posture, Ed 
asked, "What's up?"

"One of the neighbors called and said there's a strange car parked 
down the block. It's an older model BMW."

"Has anyone gotten out of it?" asked Claire as she looked around 
the security center. It was the first time for her to visit the room 
and she was amazed at the sophistication of the equipment that 
filled it. This was a very expensive setup that rivaled anything she 
had ever seen.

"I didn't notice the car until after it had been there for a while. I'm 
reviewing the tapes to find when it arrived," answered Walt as he 
pointed to another monitor that was showing the same scene 
moving in fast motion. It was a few minutes before it showed the 
car. He stopped the tape and backed it up a little. They watched as 
the car pulled up and a man got out. The man grabbed something 
and moved between the houses where he was lost from view. Walt 
commented, "He's definitely acting suspiciously."

"I agree," answered Ed. Claire was nodding her head amazed at the 
business-like attitude of Ed and Walt. This was a first class 
operation and she knew that she could contribute.

Walt stopped the tape and pointed to the figure getting out of the 
car. He asked, "Do you recognize him?"

Ed examined the picture carefully, but could not make out the 
individual with sufficient detail to identify him. Shaking his head, 
he said, "No, I don't. Where's George?"

"I already called him to come up here and get armed," replied 
Walt.

The door opened behind Ed and Claire as George entered the 
room. Giving a short nod in the direction of the other three, he 
walked over to the gun cabinet and opened it. Taking out a couple 
of pistols, he took one and handed the other to Walt. After glancing 
at Claire, he asked, "Do you have a valid permit?"

"Yes," replied Claire. It wasn't necessary for her to have it on her 
at the moment, but her concealed weapon permit from her last job 
was still valid.

Ed nodded to let George know that she was telling the truth. 
George handed a pistol to her, but she looked at the pistol and then 
at the cabinet. Spotting a sniper rifle, she said, "Give me the rifle 
and I'll go up on the roof."

"The sniper rifle?"

"Yes, I'm a trained sharpshooter."

"It's sighted in at a hundred yards." George took back the pistol 
and handed her the rifle. He also handed her a radio with an 
earpiece and microphone. He said, "We use channel 8. The local 
police monitor that channel as well."

Claire checked out the rifle making sure that it was loaded and then 
slipped out of the room. It was a top of the line rifle with a special 
air-cooled barrel to prevent warping the barrel due to uneven 
cooling. She could fire several shots in quick succession without 
losing accuracy. 

Walt turned on the radio that was built into the console while 
George attached his radio to his belt and fixed the earpiece in 
place. A moment later, Walt said, "We have penetration at the 
Southwest Corner of the property. He's carrying a gym bag and 
moving fast to towards the back of the house."

"Sound the internal alarm," ordered Ed wanting to get everyone 
into safe locations. Since the kids had been born, two rooms had 
been turned into safe rooms. John had spared no expense and Ling 
had designed them to incorporate top of the line equipment. Once 
Ed had joked that the safe rooms could resist a direct hit by a 
nuclear bomb, but Ling had just winked in reply. It had made him 
wonder.

The activation of the internal alarm started the recorders attached 
to the internal cameras. Ed watched the internal monitors to make 
sure that everyone was responding to the alarm. Kelly was headed 
to the infirmary. Leroy had grabbed Betsy and was heading to the 
safe room with Ling. The staff was collecting in the hallway to 
head to the other safe room. 

It was with some relief that he saw Bob standing in front of the 
door waiting for Mary to come out with Lucy. Mary came out of 
the room wearing a rather simple nightgown looking confused at 
what was going on. After exchanging a few words with Bob, she 
ran back into the room and emerged a minute later with a sleeping 
child in her arms. He led her to the safe room and made sure she 
entered it.

Once that was done Bob turned back to head to Claire's room. Ed 
went to the intercom and said, "Bob, Claire is already in the 
security center."

Turning to the camera, Bob gave a thumbs-up sign and returned to 
the safe room. The door closed behind him. Ed breathed a sigh of 
relief when he saw on the other monitor that Ling, Leroy, and 
Betsy had closed the door of their safe room. He had been afraid 
that Ling would slip out at the last minute.

There was silence in the control room as everyone watched the 
monitor aimed at the back of the house to see what the intruder 
was doing. George said, "I'm going to the back of the house to 
watch the rear doors."

"Go," replied Walt. He watched the monitor carefully trying to 
figure out what the man was intending to do. The man had set the 
bag on the ground and knelt next to it. Turning to the microphone, 
Walt said, "He's at the backdoor and is opening the gym bag."

Claire's voice, in a whisper that wouldn't carry, came over the 
speaker of the radio. "I'm in position and can see the individual." 

Chuckling at what he was watching on the screen, Walt reported, 
"He's spray painting the fake cameras. Our guy has watched one 
too many movies and none of the right ones."

A half a minute later, George said, "I'm in position at the back 
door. Let me know when it is a go."

"Oh, shit." Walt's smile disappeared as he saw what the man pulled 
out of the gym bag. He tried to decide who should act to subdue 
the man. Coming to a decision, he spoke into the microphone, 
"Claire, are you in a position where can you take him out? He's got 
explosives."

"Yes," whispered Claire.

"Do it."

Three seconds later there was the telltale crack of a high power 
rifle being fired over the speaker. The figure in the monitor 
collapsed onto the ground, the package in his hand rolling away 
from him. Seeing that, Walt felt that it was safe for George to go 
outside and grab the man before he had a chance to recover. Walt 
said, "Get him, George."

They watched as George opened the door and grabbed the man on 
the ground. He pulled him several feet away from the door and 
searched him for a weapon. A gun was tossed over to the side. The 
entire capture was over in just a few seconds. Satisfied that George 
had the situation under control, Ed said, "Watch the monitors while 
I go down and find out who he is."

"Sure thing," replied Walt. After glancing at the monitors, he 
added, "The police have just shown up at the front of the house."

"Send them around to the back," replied Ed as he opened the door 
and rushed towards the back of the house. 

Stepping out the door at the back of the house, Ed looked at the 
man on the ground. It was hard to make out his features in the 
dark. He knelt down to get a better look at the man. A broken end 
of his collarbone was showing through the dark shirt that he was 
wearing. Blood had soaked the shirt, but it was hard to see it in the 
dark. The man glared at Ed as he accused, "It's all your fault."

It took Ed a minute to recognize the man as Howard Hardgrove, 
the former CEO of the airline company that Ed had revamped. 
They had finally gotten rid of him last year without having to pay 
the golden parachute for his departure. Rather than the executive 
appearance that he had in the past, he looked almost like a 
homeless man. He needed a shave and his color was poor. Shocked 
at the appearance of the man, Ed asked, "What's all my fault?"

"You screwed up my life when I had everything all set up for the 
future, you bastard," replied the man as though he was a victim of 
the fact that Ed had completely revamped the airline and turned it 
into a profitable company. Rather than recognizing the wisdom of 
what Ed did, he had fought it to the end. He had even gone so far 
as making an attempt on Ling's life.  

The Sheriff came around to the back of the house and took control 
of the man on the ground. His deputy went over to the gym bag 
and examined the contents. He whistled and said, "He's got enough 
explosives here to take out the back of the house."

Claire showed up at the back door. George noticed her arrival and 
the easy way that she held the rifle. Impressed by her shooting, he 
said, "Good shot. Right off the collarbone."

She went over to the prisoner and examined the wound. It was 
exactly where she had expected to hit him. Satisfied that she hadn't 
severely injured him, she replied, "I'm happy with it."

The Sheriff looked at Claire wondering who she was. It was clear 
that she wasn't a danger or George would have taken her out. He 
stepped away from the prisoner as he asked, "Who's this?"

Realizing that the Sheriff hadn't had a chance to meet her, Ed 
answered, "This is Claire. She's the newest member of our security 
team. Actually, she starts tomorrow."

"Where were you when you shot him?"

Claire pointed over to the top far corner of the building. The 
Sheriff looked up and mentally traced the path the bullet must have 
taken. If it had been off the least little bit, she'd had taken him 
through the brain. He said, "Very impressive shot."

"I was trained for SWAT operations at the police academy," 
replied Claire with a trace of bitterness in her voice. It had made 
being a meter maid an even greater insult.

Amazed at her abilities and qualifications, the Sheriff asked, "Ed, 
where do you find these people?"

Ed chuckled, but didn't answer. He tapped George on the shoulder 
and said, "Have Walt send the all clear."

"Yes, sir," replied George as he reached down to his radio.

The presence of Claire and the other activities going on around 
him had distracted the Sheriff from watching the prisoner. He 
turned his back to the prisoner and asked, "Have you got a tape of 
everything?"

"You bet," replied Ed.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Howard moved 
towards the explosive that he had dropped when shot. He had 
inserted a timer fuse just before he had been shot. He hoped that at 
least he could take Ed out with him by blowing everyone up. 
Before his hand reached the explosive, Claire kicked him in the 
stomach causing him to double over in pain. For a moment, she 
regretted not having taken a more lethal shot when she had the 
chance. 

The Sheriff immediately grabbed the guy and subdued him. Putting 
handcuffs on the man, he said, "This is going to be painful, but you 
asked for it."

Howard screamed as his left arm was twisted behind his back. The 
collarbone stuck out even more. The Sheriff lifted the man off the 
ground and led the prisoner around to the front of the house to put 
him in the police car. As the Sheriff guided him, Howard was 
shouting that he would sue for police brutality. 

The deputy followed behind the Sheriff. He knew that he would be 
the one to drive the man to the hospital. He would have to stay 
there until the hospital decided if they would keep the prisoner or 
release him. No matter what happened, it was going to be a long 
night for him. The Sheriff would perform the rest of the 
investigation and then head back to the office.

It was an hour before things calmed down at the Carter House. 
Once he was sure that the police were gone, Ed wanted to talk to 
the security staff. He went into the security center with George and 
Claire pleased with how well they had handled the situation. When 
he had everyone's attention, he said, "Good job, people. That was a 
great shot Claire."

Claire smiled at the praise and said, "I think I'm going to like this 
job."

"Why?"

She looked at Ed and replied, "Because I was able to use my 
training for the first time in my career. You have a first class 
operation here and I'll be happy to be a part of it."

He heard the ring of truth in her voice. He said, "Ling said that you 
are invited to show up in the playroom at nine for training."

That Ling wanted to train Claire was quite a surprise to the black 
woman. She wondered if there was some hidden meaning behind 
the invitation. Did Ling doubt that Sonny had actually taught her 
the martial arts? He was the best instructor in the state and she 
believed that she could take Ling despite what Sonny had told her. 
Not really wanting to participate, she said, "Okay."

Her hesitation was obvious and Ed tried to reassure her. "Don't 
worry. Betsy will be there for training as well. George and Walt 
attend her training sessions on occasion."

George said, "She's the best instructor that I've ever encountered."

Walt nodded his agreement as he said, "You can say that again."

Now that the excitement had ended and his duties to the staff were 
over, all that Ed wanted to do was to relax. He said, "Well, I'm 
going to go finish my swim now."

Floating on his back in the middle of the pool, Ed was alone at last. 
Staring at the darkened ceiling, he thought about the events of the 
evening. Claire had performed very well and it made him wonder 
how William knew that they should hire her. The boy confused 
him and he didn't know how to support William in becoming the 
best person that he could be. He decided that John would have told 
him that the best thing to do was to get out of his way.

As his mind worked through the problems of the day, he found that 
he was relaxed for the first time since leaving the house after 
breakfast. It was only then that he realized he hadn't even had the 
chance to enjoy his straight-razor shave. In a languid motion, he 
moved his arms a little causing him to move through the water. 
The water flowed over his hips with the effect that it felt like a 
thousand little hands massaging his cock. He smiled enjoying the 
sensation.

From the door, Ling watched Ed relaxing in the water in the dark 
room. It was difficult to see him in the dark, but she could tell that 
he was relaxed by the way that he floated motionless. He had been 
tense since John's death. Although he didn't show it, she believed 
that he had taken John's death harder than anyone else in the 
family did. It was also clear that he had adopted the role of John as 
the stabilizing voice in the family and that had added to his stress.

She had just been up in the security center getting a briefing from 
Walt about the attack. He had told her how well Claire had 
performed. The black woman had been calm, collected, and 
focused. Ling doubted that she could have made a better shot than 
Claire had made that night. The report was clearly positive. The 
news reassured Ling despite the fact that she felt her position as 
protector of the family was slowly getting eroded. 

In the past she would have been upset about running to the safe 
room. However, Ed had convinced her that of everyone in the 
house that required her protection, the safety of the children had to 
come first. They were the most defenseless and, if things really 
turned bad, she would be their last line of protection. It was the 
kind of argument that a person would use on an elderly warrior.

She thought about the guy next door that had faced a life of 
paralysis to save her daughter. It had been her hope to talk with 
him after he woke, but he had snuck out of the house avoiding 
everyone. There had to be some way to thank him, but she had no 
idea what to do. 

She leaned against the doorframe and broke the silence. "I heard 
what Kelly did for Dan after he tried to save Betsy."

Surprised to learn that he wasn't alone, Ed stood up and faced 
Ling. She was naked and leaning against the doorframe looking 
sexy as always. He didn't know if other men could look at the same 
women for years and still find her sexy, but his wives had that 
effect on him every time. Ed replied, "She was embarrassed about 
having to use her gift in public, but it was necessary."

"I'd like to do something to thank him," said Ling, "but I don't 
know what I can do."

"There's not much that you can do. He's terrified of women," 
replied Ed recalling his discussion with Dan.

Ling was silent for a while and then asked, "Are you sure that he's 
afraid of women or is he afraid of his reaction to women?"

"Same thing, isn't it?"

They were not the same. Smiling, Ling said, "Let me handle it."

Ed was about to warn her off, but decided that he wasn't going to 
be able to change her mind. Instead, he chose to warn her to be 
careful. Playing with people's fears was not something to be 
undertaken lightly since great and lasting harm could result. He 
said, "If it harms none, then do it."

"I know," replied Ling. "I'm going to bed now."

"Goodnight, Ling. I love you," replied Ed knowing that she wasn't 
suggesting that they sleep together that night. 

"I love you. I'll see you in the morning," replied Ling. She 
hesitated and then returned to her room. Looking at the bed, she 
watched as Betsy slept. The little girl slept completely motionless 
in contrast to her continuous motion exhibited while awake. She 
was spending the night in Ling's room because of the excitement of 
the evening. It was a shame, since Ling would have enjoyed 
having Ed in her bed that night.

Ed moved to the edge of the pool and climbed out. After drying 
off, he went to the refrigerator and poured a glass of iced tea. The 
light from the refrigerator almost blinded him. After pausing a 
moment to recover his vision, he sat down in one of the pool chairs 
and took a sip of his drink. It was getting very late, but he wasn't 
ready to get to bed. 

He had almost finished his iced tea when a noise at the door caught 
his attention. He looked over at the door thinking that Ling had 
returned to invite him to bed. Instead, Mary, wearing a bathrobe, 
crept into the room. It was clear that she thought that she was 
alone. She looked around as if to make sure that she was alone and 
started to untie the belt of her robe. 

Ed frowned at the realization that she had come down for a private 
swim. From the way she was acting, he suspected that she was 
naked under the robe. He cleared his throat to let her know that he 
was there before she had a chance to disrobe. She jumped two feet 
in the air and spun around to face him. In a strangled voice, she 
cried, "Who is it?"

He said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but I thought I 
should let you know I was here."

Mary retied the belt of the robe, her fingers fumbling in her 
nervousness. She appreciated that he warned her before she had 
jumped into the water. Not knowing what else to do, she said, "I 
thought I would be alone. I'm sorry for intruding."

"Don't worry about it. I was just thinking about the events of the 
evening," replied Ed amazed at the effect that her voice had on 
him. No matter how many times he heard her talk, it still struck 
him as being incredibly sexy. He wondered how ugly of a subject 
she had to talk about before it stopped being sexy.

Approaching him, Mary asked, "Are things like that around here 
all the time?"

"No. This is the first time in years that we have been attacked 
here," answered Ed. He laughed and then added, "Just this morning 
I was teasing the Sheriff about the low crime rate."

Mary glanced down at Ed now that she had moved closer and 
could make him out in the dark room. She was shocked that he was 
naked. The sight of his huge cock literally took her breath away. 
She had assumed that he would wear a swimming suit in the 
swimming pool even if he were naked elsewhere. Looking away so 
that he wouldn't think she was staring at his cock, she asked, "Why 
would people attack you?"

Ed answered, "I've helped put a lot of people in jail as a result of 
my service to the Two-Sided One. That guy lost his job because I 
caught him abusing the power of his position as CEO of an airline. 
When you are a family that controls over a billion dollars, you tend 
to attract people that want to do you harm."

His comment caught her attention and reminded her that she was 
dealing with a very important man. The fact that he was naked 
gave the entire conversation a surreal feeling. She asked, "Am I 
safe here?"

"Safe? Yes, you are pretty safe here. You saw the safe room."

She had seen the safe room and had been impressed by it. Bob had 
pointed out how well provisioned the room was and how they 
could survive a fire that brought down the rest of the house. 
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "I guess I'm just not used to 
thinking of things like that happening around me."

"No one is used to thinking about things like that," replied Ed. He 
looked over at Mary trying to get an insight into what she was 
thinking. He pointed to one of the chairs and said, "Have a seat."

Without thinking about it, Mary took a seat next to Ed. She was 
silent as she thought about her day. It had been a day full of 
conflicting emotions and she felt a need to express them, but didn't 
feel like she could talk to Ed about it. Her eyes glided down to his 
cock and she realized that it wasn't even erect. It reminded her of a 
question that she had during the interview. She asked, "Was there 
really a job available at the school for the deaf?"

"Yes, there is really a job there," replied Ed curious about the 
question. In an understanding tone of voice, he asked, "Thinking of 
quitting?"

Mary smiled and shook her head. She answered, "No. I was just 
curious."

"No problem," replied Ed. He stood and said, "I'm going to bed 
now. Why don't you take your swim?"

"Okay," replied Mary as she watched him leave. He stopped and 
picked up his robe at the door. It wasn't until he reached the light 
from outside the door that she could see his scars. Once he was 
gone, she shed her robe revealing a bathing suit and went for a 
swim. As she moved through the water, she wondered what it 
would be like to swim naked.

Ed finished a late breakfast prepared by Mona and eaten under her 
watchful eye. There wasn't much that you could do wrong with 
scrambled eggs, but she showed that desire for each meal to be the 
best that she could make. She understood the pursuit of excellence 
over the pursuit of perfection. This was her last meal of the tryout 
and she apologized for having run away the first night.

The woman's small size was a source of amusement for Ed and one 
that he would never mention aloud. She was so small that he felt 
she could give him a blowjob without having to bend down. When 
he stood, her head barely came to his chest. If he had an erection, 
the head of his cock would be about mouth level on her. 

He was then introduced to the next candidate, a young man of 
Italian descent by the name of Paul. He explained that his specialty 
was Italian food. He hoped that Marguerite would be able to 
expand his repertoire, as it would make him more marketable. Ed 
didn't care for his attitude, which seemed to be more career-
oriented than a drive towards excellence.

Ed left the dining room and started to pass by the playroom. Much 
to his shock, he heard Ling talking in a very authoritative voice 
ordering someone around in a dictatorial manner. He listened as 
she ordered, "Stand up straighter. Position your body just like 
Claire. Look at her. How can you stand like her if you don't look at 
her? That's better."

Ed peeked in the room. Shocked, he saw that Ling, Claire, Betsy, 
and Dan were practicing Tai Chi in the nude. Dan, a bright red 
blush covering his entire body, looked like he wanted to die. Every 
time it looked like he was about to flee, Ling would step in front of 
him and direct him on his posture. She would reach out and adjust 
his position with firm movements while telling him to look at 
Claire and copy her position.

It was easy to see that Claire was enjoying the situation far more 
than Ed expected. Betsy thought his behavior was funny and kept 
giggling, but Ling was relentless in her push to get him to move in 
the manner she wanted. He slipped away wondering if Dan was 
going to sue for sexual harassment. There was no way he was 
going to interfere, particularly when he understood what Ling was 
doing. She was making him concentrate on his body and on the 
bodies of the women around him, divorcing it from sex. 

There wasn't much to do that day, so he decided to spend a little 
time in the informal living room watching a movie. He missed 
watching movies with the kids as they approached them with the 
same enthusiasm as him. Looking through the DVDs, he found one 
that he hadn't watched in ages. It was an old John Wayne film, one 
of the few in which he died. He inserted the DVD in the player and 
stretched out on the couch with the remote. Before he had a chance 
to start it, Kelly and Leroy came into the room. 

Kelly asked, "What are you doing?"

"About to watch a movie. Want to join me?"

Leroy asked, "What movie?"

"The Shootist."

"John Wayne, great," replied Leroy as he joined Ed on the couch. 
Leroy was as much a fan of the movie as Ed. 

"Let me get in-between you two," said Kelly. It wasn't that she 
enjoyed the movie or the actor, but she did enjoyed the time spent 
with the two men on the couch. Sitting between her two husbands 
was a great way to relax.

In the playroom, Dan was still trying to learn the first movement of 
Tai Chi. It was a series of moves with unusual names that he was 
sure he would forget as soon as he left the house. It started with 
moving into the beginning form of Taijiquan and then performing 
movements with names like Raise Hands, Strum the Lute, Grasp 
the Bird's Tail, and Single Whip. He didn't know if the names had 
any real significance, but it was obvious that Claire and Betsy 
knew them.

He had gone through it a least fifty times, but the naked little 
monster in front of him was relentless in making him get it perfect. 
She was forcing him to look at a naked woman, but was keeping 
him from reacting to her body by switching his attention back to 
his body. The fact that he had a raging erection was totally ignored 
by everyone in the room except him.  

He finally gave up thinking and obeyed her commands without 
worrying about how she viewed his erection, his blush, and his 
discomfort. He watched as Claire went through the movement and 
did his best to copy her exactly. The corrections were more minor 
and delivered in a more gentle fashion. It amazed him when he 
finally got it correct and she actually praised him for having 
achieved a level of control over his body. 

Although he had hoped that the lesson was over, she had him 
repeat the movement several more times telling him to mirror what 
Claire did. It was strange, but he actually watched her arms, legs, 
and body in an abstract non-sexual fashion copying her movements 
as accurately as he could. She stopped being a woman, but a 
pattern that he was trying to follow. 

Ling finally called a halt to the exercise and Dan relaxed. He was 
surprised at how tired he was from such simple motions performed 
in a slow fashion. Muscles that he didn't know existed were sore. 
Bent over with his hands on his knees, he said, "Wow. That's a 
workout."

Smiling at him, Ling said, "Watch us."

He looked over and saw that Ling, Betsy, and Claire were standing 
in a line. As one, they started practicing Tai Chi. It was a beautiful 
sight as their strong bodies went through dance-like movements 
that demonstrated suppleness, balance, and control. He realized 
that what he was watching went beyond sexuality and sensuality to 
a total fusion of body, mind, and soul. It took his breath away. 

When they completed all 108 movements, the three of them 
stopped and looked at Dan. Awestruck with what he had watched, 
he said, "That was the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. 
Will you teach me all of it?"

"Yes, but not today. You need to allow your muscles to relax," 
replied Ling as she stretched. 

"Okay," replied Dan.

"Let's hit the hot tub. It will help you relax," suggested Ling.

Jumping up and down in excitement, Betsy asked, "Me too?"

"You too," answered Ling.

Claire grabbed Dan by the arm and led him over to the poolroom. 
The experience in the other room still fresh in his mind. For the 
moment, he didn't realize that he was walking arm in arm with a 
naked woman. By the time he did realize it, it was too late to do 
anything except acknowledge that it had happened.
