Chapter 29: Rule number nine, teetering

With only two months remaining in the school year, I was pressed for time. In addition to my class work, designing a nursing home for my architectural class and heading the ABT group project, the Florida house was beginning to take shape. We received word that the homeowners' association had approved our membership.

Although time consuming, the above projects paled in comparison to my major project. Adeline's nightly telephone calls were the highlight of my day. They didn't take very much time, but they required a high level of concentration because I was always listening for any hint about her family or her past. I was making notes every time we talked, and piecing the bits of information together later.

Only four of Adeline's original rules remained in effect:

1. No questions about family

3. No questions about the past

8. No expensive gifts

9. No cheating

While I was ready to concede the no expensive gifts and the no cheating rules, I was chipping away at finding out about her family and her past. What difference did it make if she preferred to be secretive about her family and her past? I had no compelling reasons for wanting to know more about her. However, she had unknowingly dropped a few hints that made me curious. As her lover, I had the right to know about her past, didn't I?

So far, the hints that I was working with were:

1. She mentioned someone named Joe. Who was Joe?

2. What made her leave me at nine PM both nights? She'd said it was a family obligation.

3. What was the reason she'd pursued me as a lover? She constantly drew the attention of men, and could have had her pick.

4. Eva Patterson, while mildly amused about our May-December relationship, seemed concerned about her friend's judgment. Was Adeline unstable?

Suzanne knew about our affair. She'd even said that I deserved to have some fun. Naturally, I told Marcie about my most recent trip to Florida, but I saw no need to disclose Adeline's age.

"She's older," I said.

"What is it about you and older women, Sammy?"

"Adeline's young at heart," I said, unable to explain my fascination with the shelf where I loved to rest my hand.

Nor could I explain my obsession with the nursing home project. It had become more than an assignment to design a building. I kept the appointments with the local directors of nursing homes, and asked them the same questions I used to interview the heads of the Florida nursing homes.

In effect, I was writing a business plan for a nursing home. I resented the ABT group's rejection of my idea. If they would have gone along with my plan it would have saved a lot of the time I was devoting to research.

A package from Mr. Daugherty arrived. In addition to a cover letter stating that he wanted to help with my project, the package contained the research he'd conducted over the last twenty years. I wrote back, thanking him for the materials and assuring him that I would keep him abreast of my progress.

Professor Adler was more excited about the house that my family was building than the nursing home building I was designing for his class. He didn't try to dissuade me from doing the research, but he didn't encourage me either.

Now that the house was a go, Adeline was pressing me to finalize the plans. She was also pressing me to set a date when I'd return to Florida. I kept telling her that I needed to get my parents to sign off on the plan. I was considering a trip home to meet face to face because of all the changes we'd made.

My next trip to Florida became a nightly topic during our telephone conversations. "Sammy, I need a few days notice in order to arrange for a time-share apartment."

"I can always stay in a hotel."

"An apartment has cooking accommodations. We can eat whenever we like."

"Are you embarrassed to be seen in public with me, Adeline?"

She was quick to respond, like she'd rehearsed her answer. "Are you forgetting how I kissed you at the airport, Sammy? I believe I proved that I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you the day I sat on your lap, and let you put your hand under my dress. I even let you put your finger in my pussy with all those people watching."

"You're the one that put my finger in your pussy. I didn't," I said, laughing.

"Let me arrange for a time-share, Sammy. I want to cook for you, and take care of you."

She'd prepared one dinner and one light lunch the first time I'd been there. The other days I'd foraged for myself. "Okay, I'll be there the weekend after next."

"I'll pick you up at the airport," she offered.

"I'll rent a car because I'll be meeting with the builder, and I want to see Eva Patterson again."

Adeline was so happy that I'd set a date to return, that she didn't object to my renting a car. Over the next several nights we reduced the remaining rules to two.

I would never know everything about her family and her past, but I got her to tell me enough that I felt confident she held nothing important back.

Her family commitment at nine PM was simple. Her father was a stroke victim. Two years before, he'd had a massive stroke, followed by a second stroke within twenty-four hours. He required almost round the clock care, and Adeline had pledged an hour and a half of her time to give her mother a break each night.

"She sometimes falls asleep in the bathtub, but when she relieves me she's completely refreshed. The girls help out too, but my mom seldom leaves his side."

"Did you consider putting your father in a nursing home?" I asked.

"Mom won't hear of it. Bob Bergeron built ramps, and Eva supplied hospital equipment. We have a male nurse come in one shift per week. That gives mom time to do her shopping, and get out of the house for a few hours."

"Thanks for telling me the reason you needed to leave at nine," I said.

Another night, I learned that Joe was her ex-husband.

"Was he abusive?"

"What gave you that idea?"

"The night I massaged your thighs you said, "Joe ... Stop!""

"I won't allow you to touch my thighs again. You put me to sleep," she laughed.

"Adeline?"

"Yes, I guess you could say he was abusive."

"I'm sorry, Adeline."

"Thank you, Sammy. I was kidding about not letting you touch my thighs again. In fact, I encourage you to touch my thighs as often as you want."

Another night, she told me the names of her daughters.

"Delores is my baby. She's eighteen. Marilyn is twenty. They see their father periodically, but they don't talk about their meetings with him. They know I'm not interested in hearing about his new family."

"Do they have boyfriends?" I asked, wondering which daughter she'd had in mind for me when we first met.

"Marilyn has a boyfriend. Delores dates different guys," she said, which answered my question.

Still remaining was the question as to why she'd chosen to have an affair with me. I was not only too young for anything serious to develop between us; we lived some distance apart. As far as I was concerned, she was just what I needed right now. Nothing serious was likely to come of it, and we lived far away from each other. Could it be that I was just what she needed right now?

You don't carry on nightly conversations with a sexy female without letting personal information slip out. I never got the impression that Adeline was prying, but I felt compelled to answer her questions.

She wanted names attached to occurrences. "Who's that?" she would ask when I related something that had happened that day. Was she making notes of the names I supplied?

"You mention Marcie more often than your other friends' names. I hear a special inflection in your voice when you say her name."

"You have a good ear. Marcie's my best friend. We talk often. I tell her everything and she tells me everything."

"Have you told her about us?"

"Yes."

"Everything?"

"Ah ... not everything."

"Sammy, you're being evasive. What have you not told her about me?"

"I haven't told her how I'm going to make love to your ear lobe next weekend."

"Is that all?"

"Well, I didn't think Marcie needed to know about my plans to give your clitoris a good workout until after I've actually done it."

"PLEASE ... STOP! You dear, sweet man, I adore the things you say and the way you say them."

I loved her reaction to my teasing. Our nightly phone calls were about the only entertainment I allowed myself to have. I told her about running with George Mercer, and the nursing home correspondence I was regularly receiving from Eva Patterson and Mr. Daugherty.

"Doctor Mercer was my accounting professor two years ago. We run together, and discuss my nursing home project. He's very supportive."

"Is Eva being supportive, too?"

"Absolutely, Eva's going to have lunch with me. It will give me an opportunity to see their dining facility. I'll go from there to Bob Bergeron's office. I hope to finalize the building contract this weekend."

"Are you going to have any time for me?"

"I'll be waiting for you when you get to the time-share. We'll have until you leave at nine," I answered.

"Wrong! I'm staying all night with you. Delores is filling in for me."

"You told her about me?"

"I've been telling everyone I know about you, even my sister. They want to meet you."

"That's ... I'm speechless. I hope you didn't tell them about my fascination with your shelf?"

"Well, no, but I'll tell them if you want me to?"

"They would never believe you."

"I don't believe it myself, but I'm thrilled that you like the way my butt hangs out in the back."

My attempt to tease her failed. She was actually proud that I found her ass alluring.

As I prepared for my next trip to Florida, I realized that I didn't have time to do justice to the business plan I'd been working on for the nursing home. Then I received a note of encouragement from Mr. Daugherty. That's when I decided to call upon Shirley for help. With her varied interests in Business, Economics, and Sociology, she was the perfect candidate. What's more, she was not attending school right now so she would have the time to devote. I sent her a draft of my work to date, asking for her help.

The day before I was to leave, Professor Ramsey called me into her office for consultation. Two of my ABT team members had lodged a complaint against me. They had asserted that I was not interested in the board game project, and that I was not devoting enough time to make it a success.

Naturally, I was bullshit that two members of my team would report my lack of interest in the project to our professor. However, I knew they were right, and admitted my negligence to Professor Ramsey. She said there was plenty of time to make amends, and I agreed to try. I didn't tell her that she was wrong. It would take more than time to save that puppy.

Professor Adler objected when I told him that I was going to cut his class again.

"It's a research trip. I'm meeting with the director of a nursing home," I argued.

"You're overdoing research, Mr. Oldham. I suggest you design the building around the research you've collected."

"I'm also meeting with the contractor. We're going ahead with the house."

"Why didn't you say that in the beginning? Have your friend share his notes and you have a good trip. Please keep me updated on the progress of your family's new home."

"I thanked him, and asked Victor to pay special attention to the next day's lecture."

That evening, I told Adeline I was bringing a certificate proclaiming my clean bill of health.

"What would you like first? I'll suck your cock or you can rest your hand on my shelf?"

"Let me think about it. That's going to be a tough decision," I teased. "What would you like from me?"

"Oh, Honey, what you offered to do to my clitoris sounded outstanding."

We planned every minute of our weekend. Adeline urged me to cut my meeting with the builder as short as possible. She said she'd cleared her afternoon schedule, and would be waiting for me at the apartment. She reminded me that we had all night.

Caroline was happy to take me to the airport. In exchange for her generosity, I gave her a synopsis of what Adeline and I had planned to do to each other.

"I can't imagine you with a forty-two year old woman," she chided me.

"She's a young forty-two year old. You should see her. I'll never understand what she sees in me."

Caroline gave me a long, knowing, look. I smiled at her.

The flight was the same one I'd taken two weeks before. I was surprised when Adeline met it. I welcomed her kisses before reminding her that I'd reserved a car.

"I know, but I had a free hour and couldn't wait to see you."

She made sure I knew how to get to her friend's nursing home, and we parted.

After having lunch with Eva, and bombarding her with questions, I met with Bob Bergeron. I'd been corresponding with him for a few weeks, but this was the first time we'd met in person without my parents being present. After an hour of kicking around various ideas, I was convinced that I could work with him. I double checked the contract to make sure nothing was missing, and we faxed it to the Oldham office to have legal go over it before submitting to Mr. Oldham for his signature. I left Bob's office at three-thirty, and headed for the address Adeline had given me. It was quite different from the other time-share where I'd stayed. Instead of apartments facing the swimming pool, these were townhouses situated next to a pond. The winding streets were confusing. I spotted Adeline's car, and parked next to it.

The front door was ajar. I went inside to find her on her knees, and naked.

"Do you want to see the certificate?" I asked, waving the sheet of paper at her.

"I want to see you getting out of those clothes," she answered, in her sexy southern drawl.

I shucked my clothes, and we proceeded to keep her provocative promise of sucking my cock dry. It didn't take long, not because she was an exceptional cock sucker. It was because I hadn't done anything to rid my balls of the excessive buildup of cum. Caroline had offered to do the no penetration thing. I'd made excuses until she'd stopped asking.

Adeline was pleased when I praised her for her effort. We sat on the living room floor and looked at each other while we recovered. I kissed her and we cuddled before I moved my lips down to her nipples. She gradually reclined until she was on her back. I continued licking and nibbling, down to the junction between her legs. She moaned before I took my first lick of her pussy, and she moaned constantly as I separated the lips with my tongue.

I put my hands under her ass to support it. Adeline didn't hesitate to give me instructions. We were on a shag carpet, and I wondered if it would absorb the juices that were rolling down her ass. Adeline squealed when I fluttered my tongue, but when I took her clit between my lips she howled like a bitch in heat.

Eventfully, she stopped me. I crawled up her body and looked down at her. "Did you orgasm?"

"You know I did. Didn't you count them?"

"No."

"I'm so lucky to have you. Wait until I tell Eva how good you are. She'll be envious. My sister will even be envious, and I don't think she knows what an orgasm is."

"You're going to tell them about this?"

"I'm going to keep track of how many times we make love so I can flaunt my good fortune."

"We'll start here, and move from room to room," I said, getting between her legs.

"No, Sweetheart, let's go upstairs to the bedroom," she said, but I was already making contact with her pussy.

Adeline quickly changed her mind about wanting to go upstairs. "We're one," she said, spreading her legs, and wrapping her arms around me, accepting the intrusion.

I lost track of how many times we fucked that weekend. We talked, too.

Sometime during the night, I awoke to find her nibbling on my ear. I felt her soft breast on my chest.

"Do you want something?" I asked, thinking I knew why she'd wakened me.

"You were talking in your sleep. Who is Ester May?"

I told her about being called on the carpet by Professor Ramsey. "I'm sure it was Angie and Ester May that complained to her about me. They know I was opposed to the board game from the beginning. On Tuesday night I was sitting at one end of the table with Chase. We were talking while four members of the team played the game on a prototype board. The others were making notes about the rules. They've included all the parts of board games they played as kids, and there's a rule for every conceivable set of circumstances that may arise. Anyway, they were getting loud, making me raise my voice in order for Chase to hear me. Angie and Ester May turned their heads to look at me when they heard me say 'bedpans.'"

"You said bedpans?" Adeline asked, in amusement.

"We were talking about marketing the board game, and I got off topic. Angie and Ester May didn't know what I was talking about, but they knew it wasn't their stupid board game."

Adeline kissed me, and told me to go back to sleep. "Dream of bedpans, not Ester May," she advised.

We got up early, and walked a mile to have breakfast at a family-style restaurant. I teased Adeline, asking her if she thought the other customers knew we'd slept together. She said she didn't care what anyone else thought. There was no more talk about Ester May or bedpans.

When we got back to the apartment, she phoned her office. "Bad news," she said. "I've got to go to work, but I'll be back as soon as I can." She then called her house. "Good news, I'll be your bed partner tonight. Don't talk in your sleep, okay?"

I watched her get ready for work. She kissed me goodbye, saying she'd be back as soon as possible. I took a long walk around the pond, and when I returned, I busied myself by proofreading a draft of my nursing home paper. She didn't return until four PM, asking if I'd had something to eat. I had.

"Can you guess what I'd like?" she asked.

"A foot massage?"

"You're close."

"A thigh massage?"

"You're close."

"A pussy massage?"

"Would you mind doing all three?"

"I'll throw in a breast massage if you want."

"Super," she said, already unbuttoning her blouse. "Take your clothes off, too," she said.

We did it on the shag carper, beginning with her feet, and moving up to her thighs, and on up to her breasts. As I attached my lips to her pussy, Adeline spun around and took my cock in her mouth. We worked up a good sweat. She wanted to take a shower, but I wasn't ready. "Get me hard, and I'll fuck you doggie style," I offered.

She did, and I did. Later, in the shower, she complained. "It's a good thing you only come to town every other week. My poor pussy couldn't take the abuse more often."

We cooked dinner outside on a grill, and after eating we struck up a conversation with the next door neighbors. They were a young couple from Minnesota. This was their first time to vacation in a timeshare. We told them this was only our second time to take advantage of a timeshare. I'm sure they could tell that Adeline was from the area, and that I was from the north, but they didn't ask.

Later, in bed, Adeline wanted to talk about how we'd escaped telling our life history. "I knew there would be questions. What do you think they're talking about right now? She's probably saying that I'm old enough to be your mother."

"He's saying that I'm a lucky guy."

My little joke didn't provoke the response I was hoping for. Adeline didn't laugh. "She's saying I should stop robbing the cradle."

"He's asking her if she got a look at your shelf."

"Will you please stop talking about my shelf and your toys?"

I pulled her to me. "Adeline, I don't know why you let me get close to you. I've decided you were just what I need, and I got the impression that I was what you needed. I never meant for you to get hurt."

"I don't know why I let you get close to me either, but you have. I don't want you to get hurt, either."

"Come on, you must know. You're not the kind of lady that acts before she thinks. You were very thorough about the rules and making sure I was safe."

She giggled. "Yeah, a lot of good it did me to get you to agree to ten rules. We whittled them down to two in two weeks."

"Do I meet your expectations, Adeline? Am I too aggressive sexually? Would you prefer that I back off, and let you decide when we have sex? Do I amuse you?"

"NO! I mean yes, you meet my expectations, and you amuse me. I didn't mean it when I said my pussy couldn't take you more often. You're not too aggressive sexually. Don't back off. My poor pussy isn't used to you yet, but she'll adjust in time. I love what you do to me."

That was the only serious talk we had that weekend. Adeline was more likely to divulge things about herself, and ask me probing questions during her nightly telephone calls. I did back off, and let her decide when we would have sex. This made her more aggressive. Why didn't I think of doing that sooner?