Chapter 17: Ups and Downs

January, 1985, Chicago, Illinois

Elyse took charge and led me to bed, her soft words and every touch, every caress, had one purpose — loving me and helping me relax. I smiled at the role-reversal — Elyse was focused purely on me, on what I needed, constantly reminding me to just let her love me. When we finished, we spooned, but rather than me behind her, she was behind me, holding me in her arms and comforting me.

As I lay there trying to fall asleep, I decided that Elyse was right. I was under a lot of stress, and I did need to find a way to reduce it. If the lawsuit went away, that would be a big load off my mind. I was concerned about Bethany, and didn't want to do anything that would interfere with her recovery, but the travel was going to wear me thin, even if I hadn't realized it until Elyse pointed it out.

In the morning, Elyse showered with me and helped me dress for work. She reminded me again just to relax and take things easy.

"Tonight, don't cook. Take Wen out to dinner, then bring her back here and have fun. I'll take care of everything else at home tonight."

"Thanks for everything," I said. "I mean that."

"I know. I love you, Steve. Someday, we'll show each other how much by having a kid together. Or two."

I pulled her to me and gave her a soft kiss.

"I'm looking forward to it," I said.

We went downstairs and fixed breakfast together, and then I left for IIT to pick up Dave and head to Nuvatec. The talk with Elyse had helped quite a bit, but I was still struggling to make sense of everything that had happened. And I was worried about Penny. And I was worried about myself. I liked Penny a lot. I liked being with her. I liked working with her. I hoped somehow that could be continued, even if the physical side of our relationship was over.

"What's bugging you?" Dave asked as we passed Harlem Avenue on the Eisenhower Expressway.

"That traffic sucks here because of the stupid left-hand exits and entrances at Austin and Harlem," I said.

Dave laughed, "Bullshit. You were moody when you picked me up at the house this morning."

"No, Moody is a Bible college on the North Side," I chuckled.

"Hardy har har," he replied sarcastically. "What's really bugging you?"

"Just all the shit that's gone down. Everyone seems to be coming through it OK, but it's a ton of stress. I talked to Elyse about it last night and she's helping me. I just need to find some time to relax and take it easy."

"You are going at 100% all the time right now, between school, work, Bethany, the business, your occasional consulting work, and all the crap at school with Callie."

"Add in Penny's mom and you have the whole thing."

"Uh oh. How bad is that?"

"I don't know right now. I talked to Alice last night, and she sent me home. She didn't seem angry, so I guess there's that to be thankful for."

"That's a risky proposition, given how freaked-out adults are about teenagers having sex."

I sighed, "And it's only going to get worse."

At the end of I-290, I took the left-handed ramp to the East-West Tollway, heading for Highland Avenue.

"It's why we kept it a secret from our parents when we lived at home," Dave said. "They couldn't deal with it. In a way, they still can't. My mom is pretty sure that Julia and I are sleeping together and she's made it clear that she doesn't approve."

"Wait, so what happens at your house?" I asked.

Dave laughed, "Julia sleeps in the guest room. Isn't that what you had to do when you visited Stephie?"

"Yes. But Stephie had a barn we could go to where we could be together," I grinned.

"And my older brother has an apartment!" Dave laughed. "We can't sleep there, but at least we can get our quality time in."

"How's the wedding planning going?" I asked.

"Well, if things work out the way you think they will, probably August. Did Julia tell you it was going to be at Holy Trinity on Winton Road?"

"She did. Kurt and Kathy are getting married in Milford in June, though I don't know the date yet. Bethany is Kathy's maid of honor, which is no surprise to anyone. Kurt asked me to be Best Man."

"That's going to be what, three?" Dave laughed.

I stopped at the light on Highland to make the left turn onto Butterfield.

"Pete, Mikael, and Kurt. And I already gave away my first bride," I chuckled.

"What?!"

"Elyse's aunt, Jenny. Her dad had died, and she didn't have a brother. She didn't like her mom's brother, so she asked me. I was sixteen. My mom had a conniption."

"What was your relationship with that woman? You met Elyse at the wedding, if I recall correctly."

"She went to the same Roman Catholic church that I did. I worked in her yard."

Dave laughed, "I bet you did! How old were you?"

I laughed with him as I turned right onto Finley Road.

"Fourteen."

"You did get an early start. I was seventeen. I told you about Hannah, right?"

"The Jewish girl? Yeah. I suspect the pressure from her family was similar to what I got from Kara's dad."

"It was pretty crazy," Dave said. "If they had found out we had fooled around, they'd have gone nuts."

I turned onto Eisenhower Lane.

"My mom did go nuts," I chuckled. "She was sure I was having sex with Elyse's aunt, but she couldn't prove it. She had a hissy fit about me and Birgit, too, though she only found out about that after Birgit died. I will never treat my kids that way. I hope you won't, either."

"Julia and I have talked about that. We're pretty much on the same page as you and the rest of our mutual friends. We have to let our kids make their own decisions once they're old enough. Around fifteen or sixteen, I guess."

"That was our consensus a couple of years ago, if you remember."

"Speaking of that. Can I ask you a question?" Dave said as I pulled into our usual parking spot.

"Sure."

"Julia said that she was twenty. She didn't date at all at IIT before I asked her out. Was it you?"

"That's a question for your fiancée, Sir," I said.

"I figured that's what you would say. But you answered my question. I'm not pissed; she wasn't my girlfriend at the time. Did you send her my way?"

"If I answer that, I'm answering your first question," I grinned.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' as well. I owe you, big time. Thanks."

"Assuming what you believe to be true is true, I'll say that you're welcome."

Dave laughed, "I dated Cindi, so obviously it's not an issue for me. Cindi is, well, crazy. She might even be crazier than you are, though that's a pretty high bar!"

"Let's go to work, Dave!" I said with a laugh, and got out of the car.

Dave got out and put out his hand, and I shook it vigorously. We both looked sheepishly at each other, then hugged.

"I hope we stay friends for a long time," Dave said.

"I'm sure that we will," I said.

It ended up being a very good day at work. Having a project to work on kept my mind off everything else, and I actually felt pretty good at the end of the day. On the drive home, Dave and I talked about the future. The conversation steered clear of relationships and focused on business. We also talked about living arrangements and Dave said that he and Julia had talked about living in the house, at least at first, to save money so we could keep our 'run rate' as Elyse called it, as low as possible.

When we arrived at IIT, I dropped Dave at the Sig Ep house, and then drove over to the undergrad dorms. I walked over to the building Wen lived in, and found her waiting in the lobby with an overnight bag. She hugged me and I kissed her, and we walked briskly to my car in the cold evening air. We drove to Hyde Park, though I didn't head for my house, but rather for Medici, a coffee house that was working to turn itself into a restaurant. We were quickly seated, and the waitress brought us menus and took our drink order, which was a Coke for me and a 7-Up for Wen.

"Thanks for taking me to dinner. Do you know I've never been on a real date before?"

"No, I didn't. Have you not found any guys at IIT that you like?"

She laughed, "Besides you? No. And I didn't mean it like it might have sounded. I like you, but you aren't going to marry me, even if that's what I wanted. I need to marry a Chinese guy, or my parents will have a fit. I don't want to upset them by marrying someone who is not Chinese."

"That sounds like my friend, Anala. She's from India and had the same issue with her parents. She ended up using a matchmaker to find an Indian guy."

"No way!" Wen said. "I'm involved with the Chinese community in Chicago. There are lots of guys, but I was waiting until I graduated before I got serious with anyone. Well, you know, serious dating. I guess what we did could be considered serious!"

I chuckled, "True. Most people would get serious the other way first, though."

"Yes, but I couldn't wait. When we danced so close, my body felt like it was on fire and I just had to know what it was like. And it was amazing."

"I think so too!" I said.

The waitress came back, took our orders and then Wen and I talked about school while waiting for our food to be brought out. Both of us enjoyed our meals, though we opted to skip dessert. I paid the check, left a generous tip, and we headed to my car for the short drive home. I parked in the driveway next to the coach house and we walked in the back door, then up to my room.

I hadn't recalled leaving the door shut when I left in the morning. I opened it and smiled. Elyse had said she'd take care of everything. The bed was turned down, a dozen candles were burning, and the room smelled of jasmine. Soft instrumental music was playing on my boombox. I led Wen into the room and shut the door.

"Wow," Wen said. "It's so romantic!"

"You can thank Elyse. I'm pretty sure that she set this up," I said.

I helped Wen take off her coat and put it on the chair in the corner with mine. I took her in my arms and kissed her softly.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, breaking the kiss.

"Make love to me, please," she said.

We carefully undressed each other, and I gently pushed Wen onto the bed and knelt between her legs. I leaned forward and pressed my tongue between the soft folds of her labia. She moaned softly as I pleasured her with my lips and tongue, and sucked gently on her clit. It didn't take very long before she had her first orgasm, and I gave her two more before I moved to sit cross-legged on the bed and help her into my lap.

Wen grasped me and quickly impaled herself, sinking down until our pubic hair meshed. She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around me and began slowly moving back and forth and up and down, her rock-hard nipples threatening to bore holes in my chest. She tilted her head back, and I lowered my lips to hers. Our tongues met and danced around each other as our mutual pleasure built.

Wen's orgasm shook her entire body and left her gasping for air. She simply held on tight until it passed, then began moving just as she had before. We kissed again, and I felt her tense as another orgasm built. I ran my hands up and down her back and over her butt cheeks, dragging my finger over her rear entrance just as her orgasm crashed over her. This time, rather than stop, she humped harder and squeezed her muscles tight around my shaft. I let the pleasure build and before her orgasm ended, I blasted cum deep into her spasming pussy.

When both our orgasms passed, Wen leaned against me and hugged me tightly. I held her in my arms until my dick deflated and slipped from her slick tunnel.

"Now we can sleep together?" she asked.

"Or do this again, if you wish."

"Again?" she said, looking up.

"Sure. I can go again in twenty minutes or less."

"How many times?" she asked.

"Three or four more, if you want."

"Yes!" she giggled.

We ended up repeating our motions another three times. I thought about switching to my preferred position, but Wen was so small and light that I was afraid I might crush her beneath me. I wasn't a large, muscular guy, but compared to Wen, I was a big guy. After our fourth time, we cuddled together, and I pulled the duvet over us. Wen put her head on my chest and was quickly asleep. I fell asleep shortly afterwards.

In the morning, Wen and I showered together, and then went down for breakfast, where we were joined by Kara and Elyse. Wen thanked Elyse for setting up the room and Elyse just smiled. Kara smirked and rolled her eyes. When we finished eating, we gathered our things and Kara, Wen, and I headed to IIT. At her request, I dropped Wen at her dorm, and then drove to park in the usual lot.

"Have fun last night, Snuggle Bear?" Kara asked.

I smiled, "Don't I always? Whoever set up my room last night, that was a nice touch."

"I helped Elyse. She told me about your conversation on Monday night. Are you doing OK?"

"Better, I guess. And thanks for helping make Wen's night special."

"You're welcome. Is this a one-time thing?"

"I'm pretty sure, yes. I mean, there's nothing long-term between us. She wants to marry a Chinese guy. And I think last night she got what she needed. She might ask again, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I met whatever need she had."

"Are you asking Sofia to spend tonight with you?"

"Yes. I've been neglecting her, much like I did Karin. And look where that led. I need to learn to think things through before I act."