Chapter 4

"Men!" I said, "and their fascination with tits and asses" as I closed the shower stall.

By the time I got out of the shower Bill was dressed and ready.

"Oooo, you smell good. I might pick you up tonight," I said as I passed by.

I was still in underwear and searching for a blouse I had bought today. Bill went to the window and said he saw the Six Flags bus pull in the lot. Kim and Brad would be on time.

At nine thirty Bill and I stepped out of the elevator right beside the restaurant in the hotel. Kim and Brad were just walking in. They were fried from the day at the amusement park.

"You missed nothing today, Carree. It was hot as hell and the lines were unbelievable. You guys look fresh and ready to go out," Kim said.

"I hate places like that Kim. We had a nice time, went shopping and even took a dip in the pool," I said.

Brad had a disgusted look on his face saying, "I bet that's all you did," with a snicker.

Dinner was nice and by the time we were looking at the dessert menu, we were the only 4 left in the place.

Our waiter came over and asked if we wanted anything else, and we asked if they were closing.

"Well, not really. The bar area is attached and we were just going to close the entrance to the bar. I'm assuming you are all underage for the bar, so I was going to tell you that you could stay here and talk for a while, as long as you settle up and have everything you're going to need. Once the Chef has the kitchen closed and cleaned I call the manager who takes care of closing up. He can let you out. Plus you could get out through the bar"

"That sounds nice," Bill said as he gave his room key to put it on our tab. "Leave a pitcher of ice water and we are all set.

Thanks for the consideration."

"Bill, I can't let you pay for all of this," Brad said.

"You settle up with cash with me now and I'll pay for the whole thing when we check out, OK?" Bill said.

Brad reached in his wallet and gave Bill cash to take care of things and the tip. The waiter brought the check and the water.

Bill signed the tab and suddenly we were alone.

"It's eleven," Brad said. "What time do they make bed checks?"

Kim perked up from her doldrums "They gave no specific time. I left a note for Heidi just saying I was with Brad and NOT in either hotel. That will have to be good enough for her."

"If she and Mr. Fuller compare notes, I think they will give you some slack," I added. "So, ummm, have you guys worked out your little spat on the way down here today? It's bad to argue about sex. It's supposed to be something that draws you together, not make you fight."

Kim was first to answer. "I can't believe you want to dole out sex advice, Care."

"I,... WE just hated to see you fight and be so combative, over sex!!" I said. "Just think about the fun you two have together as a couple and the future you might have, but those possibilities can't be explored because you have put this wall in between you.

And, what is the wall made of? Resentment about sex! Sex, the one communication line that needs no words. The one line of give and take that communicates, your spirits, your beings, your feelings, to each other.

Kim, there is a lot of give and take with sex, especially when you don't want to have ANY risk if pregnancy or disease.

Brad, "getting laid" is not making love. You could walk over to the bar there and find a mate for the night right now. But, tomorrow morning all you will have is a wet spot on your mattress. You say you love Kim and the only proof of that is to have her consent to intercourse. Would you really enjoy it, knowing she didn't want to do it?

Kim, I know we have talked about sex, girl talk. I know you are reluctant to open up. You may have to rethink that, or reevaluate how you feel about Brad. If you don't want to open up and advance the relationship, maybe Brad is a convenience to you.

Brad, this same thing applies to you. If you are willing to accept nothing short of "getting laid", maybe you ought to revalue the situation. Maybe Kim is your convenience.

I know you are both, probably, mad at me for shooting from the hip. You may also think I am meddling. But Kim is my friend. We have had private girl talk moments since the eighth grade and we know each other pretty well. I hate to see her hurt or taken advantage of. With College coming on, and I hate to say this, we may never see each other again. If I didn't say this, I would always wonder how things would have turned out if I did. Sorry for being so frank. Brad, I love Kim and don't want to see her hurt. Be fair with her."

I was sorry that I rambled on so and lectured my own friend. But, once I got started I really let my feelings out. I know that Kim really loves Brad, but his caveman act about sex was pushing her away. Kim was not without fault either. She would neck and kiss with him for hours with Brad rustling in her pants to get her off. She talked about how he could make her so hot and have orgasms. When he wanted reciprocal action, she would do little more than rub him through his pants. She had yet to show him her naked form, and she wouldn't let him take it out. It got boring fast with them. Brad hung in there thinking he was always close, plus they went so well together. Now, his frustration was showing. Kim really had to commit something to the relationship sexually.

Kim looked at Brad and then at me and Bill. "I don't know what to say. You really summed it up. A lot of things, I am embarrassed to talk about, afraid to talk about. I mean; I really want to do it, and do it with Brad (she reached for his hand). I love him.

But I want it to be special, not just my legs up in the back seat of a car. I also want to be ready for pregnancy if we take that risk. I don't mean condoms or the pill, I mean marriage and emotional stability. So, how do you guys do it. Shacking up for a couple days, and you can tell me you're not screwing. I know you're engaged but..."

Bill was totally embarrassed at this point; he thought I was going to lay it all out. I wasn't.

"Kim, and Brad, when you are alone together, you have to use your imaginations a little, like we do. You have to open yourselves up, yet keep your promise to each other that you won't fall to temptation for intercourse.

Brad, I might tell you that the stories you might hear your friends tell about their conquests, are, 9 in 10, just that, stories. Don't think you are missing something that everyone else is doing. There are many ways you can show each other how much you care for each other."

At that point the evening drinks had worked their magic, I had to pee. I got up and excused myself, and of course, Kim joined me.

Brad said, "Hey, no fair ganging up on me in the ladies room."

I turned and said to Brad so Kim couldn't hear "Easy Brad, I'm more on your side than you think, on this."

As soon as the ladies room door closed Kim smiled and said, "So what do you two do all day in that room? You say you're not screwing, but you must do something?"

"Kim, tell me, if you and Brad had a room alone, together, would you strip your clothes off and walk around au natural' for Brad.

Would you be disgusted if he did?"

"Walk around naked? No, he's never seen me naked. Why would I do that?" Kim railed.

"Because it's giving to the one you love. If you truly love him would you love him any less if he saw you nude, or you saw him nude?" I asked.

"I don't want to see any naked man running round in front of me"

Kim protested.

"Well then, maybe this conversation on this subject is over. If you truly loved Brad, it seems to me that you would want to share as much as you could with him, and want him to share with you.

Your body is all you come into the world with, you have nothing else to share." I said as I closed a stall door and sat to pee.

"But, he might try to fuck me", Kim defended.

"Gee Kim, I would kind of hope he might want to make love to you, if he saw how beautiful the woman he loves looked unclothed.

If the only thing you think two people can do in the nude is screw, you have to look at things a little differently. If you are both satisfied, and both know the score with each other, you won't have him acting like a caveman and having to worry he would throw you down and rape you if he saw you nude. If you starve a person for 3 days and put a steak in from of him and tell him not to eat it, what do you think happens? As much as YOU want sexual satisfaction from the relationship, remember he does too. After a night out, do you go home and a... take care of business? I assume you do. Don't you think he's doing the same thing? If you both truly care about each other, what sense does that make?"

"I AM still a virgin. Yet, I rarely even wear panties when I go out with Bill. If we have any alone moments, we are nude. You were the one who convinced me to shave myself, that makes me feel more open and free with my body. Yet it's only for Bill. The moment we walk into our suite upstairs the first thing we do is strip." I confessed.

"Suite, you have a suite?" Kim asked.

"Ummm Hmmmm We do. It has a living room, a kitchen, even a pool, and a whirlpool and a waterbed, plus a big round bed with a mirror over it. It says sex, and we walk around, and swim in the nude. Yet, amazingly, I'm still a virgin. Kim, you are going to lose that guy if you don't wake up. If you truly cannot bring yourself to be more open about sex with him, maybe you aren't in love with him. Have you thought about that?"

"Yes, that has crossed my mind too. Maybe he is a convenience, my Saturday night date." Kim admitted.

"You better decide if you're fooling yourself with this or not.

You're my friend and I love you Kim, and I think Brad is a pretty nice guy. I am not going to encourage you to do anything that you don't want to do. But, if you really love him, it seems to me at least, you might really want to please him, and that he would want please you.

Come on, Brad knows we're talking about him already, so lets not make him paranoid", I said as I finish my lecture.

Without any real pre-planning I found out later that Bill and Brad had about the same conversation. It started with Brad telling Bill what a lucky man he was, Lucky, because I was so good looking. Bill asked if he didn't think Kim was as pretty, and he thought she was. But then Bill started about how looks were a big plus, but being happy and confident in your relationship was a lot more important, the trust, the same whole deal Kim and I talked about. In the end, Brad was sure that Kim was not just a Saturday night guarantee for a date. He really cared for her, but was frustrated in her reluctance to seek mutual satisfaction. He felt he was always trying to find the point of making her happy mentally, so the physical stuff would happen. Now, he just was frustrated and wanted to end it all rather than have to keep himself out of circulation at college.

He saw no reason why he should worry bout being true to Kim, if she made no commitments to the relationship. The anger he showed in the car was pure frustration. Bill related a lot of the things I did, that intercourse didn't have to be the only way to make love.

As soon as we got back to the table Brad stood up, on Bills cue, when the 2 ladies got to the table.