Chapter 18: The second cookie

It had to stop; we both knew it. What had begun as a favor to a friend, being a companion, a listener, a protectorate, had escalated from a casual crumb to famishing desire.

Megan's boyfriend was half a continent away. She needed companionship; help with schoolwork, and shielding from a multitude of horny admirers. Kelley was three hundred miles away. I needed to feel needed.

We made rules: the attraction we felt for each other would be kept submerged. There would be no kissing, no sexual activity, and touching only when it was absolutely necessary.

We made excuses: Charlie and Debra needed privacy; therefore, it would be necessary for Megan to stay in my apartment. Megan was afraid to stay alone in their house; therefore, it was imperative that she come to my apartment for the night. It seemed perfectly reasonable that she stay in my hotel room the night after the wedding, because I was going to take her to the airport the next day. And after we came back from the Thanksgiving holiday, Megan needed to be consoled because of the way Mel had treated her. It was crucial that she stay with me for two nights in a row. And after my nightmare, it seemed prudent that she stay a third night, just in case I had another bad dream.

We rationalized: I happened to mention to Skip that our show of affection was a charade. We held hands and ate lunch together to make her potential suitors think Megan and I were involved romantically. Skip mentioned it to Kent, and he told Amy, who must have told her friends. At noontime on Tuesday, I witnessed four young men approach Megan to request dates with her. I don't know how many more she had to turn down when I wasn't with her. Since I had been responsible for spreading the news that our act was a sham, I felt obliged to correct the vulnerable position I'd put her in. I could see that the attention she was receiving was making Megan uncomfortable. She was carrying a heavy school load and didn't have time for a social life. Besides, she had a boyfriend.

Debra was concerned for her friend. She asked me what I was going to do to stem the tide. Charlie reminded me that desperate situations call for desperate measures. I suggested that a public display of affection was in order. Megan was apprehensive, saying that she wouldn't think of kissing me without first getting Kelley's approval. I said we needed to take immediate action. I guess we both rationalized that an innocent kiss would not break the rules. It was decided that we would put on a show for the other ten members of my study group.

My signal to Megan was to ask her to bare her belly. I had the tape measure Aunt Olivia had given me, but I wanted to make our little show of affection believable. Megan must have had the same thought. She stood before me, passively gazing into my eyes, like she would submit to anything I wanted. I reached behind her head, and untied the ribbon that was holding her ponytail in place. In my opinion, there is nothing more sensual than a blonde woman's hair tumbling to her shoulders. If the guys around the table were anything like me, they got immediate erections.

I held the ribbon up for everyone to see, wondering if it was long enough to fit around her tummy. I got down on my knees. Megan raised her sweater to show three inches of her belly. I put my arms around her waist to transfer one end of the ribbon to my other hand. My face was so near her tummy that I could see the delicate folds inside her belly button. I looked up at her face as the ends of the ribbon met. She smiled, and I smiled up at her, fondly.

Right then, it was no longer an act. I kissed her tummy because I couldn't resist the temptation. There were sighs from the girls in my study group as my lips sucked the soft surface of Megan's stomach into my mouth.

As far as I was concerned, kissing her stomach was the public display of affection that we had talked about. I sat back down in my chair and saw that Megan had other ideas. She swung one leg over my legs and took a seat in my lap, facing me.

"Would you like a cookie?" she asked. I must have said yes, because the next thing I knew, Megan was holding a chocolate chip cookie between her lips, and offering me a bite. I opened my mouth to accept the cookie, and was surprised when she pushed it into my mouth.

Everything happened at the same time. She scooted her ass forward, my arms automatically surrounded her, our tongues fought the cookie, and it lost the battle. We continued to kiss long after the cookie disintegrated into crumbs. It was the natural thing to do, we rationalized.

News of the cookie incident at my apartment spread quickly. The following day, we took satisfaction in knowing that our little ploy had worked. Megan was permitted to move around the campus, unencumbered. Everyone knew that Megan Freeman was Oldham's girl. By noon, when we met to have lunch together, the account of Megan sharing the cookie with me had been embellished beyond our imagination. We gave up denying that we'd had sex in front of ten onlookers, eleven really, counting Kalian, who had been overlooked by the person who was giving the third-hand account.

Lunch that day and the next two days, were the only times I saw Megan until Saturday morning. She stopped coming to the apartment.

I was busy, but I still missed Megan. Chase and I wrote the paper for Applied Business Theories class, and then we continued to work together getting the hip hugger business off the ground. We tried to distribute the work among the group, but really, we carried most of the load ourselves. Professor Ramsey embraced the business plan. She arranged for state officials to meet with us to expedite temporary corporate accreditation. Well, I think they came to the school because they wanted to make sure we were aware that we were to collect state sales tax on every sale.

Professor Ramsey also helped us establish a checking account in a local bank. We deposited the capital investment funds and ordered three hip hugger bracelets. Laura said she trusted us, and shipped six bracelets via Federal Express.

Chase hounded me every day about the photo session. He already had a caption for the flyer: How to measure your girlfriend for a hip hugger. He promised to only show Megan's tummy and my hands in the photo.

"On second thought, we should show the left side of your face in the photo. Everyone will recognize your scar and they'll know its Megan's tummy," he said.

I told him I hadn't cleared it with Megan yet, but I would talk to her about it.

Megan didn't show up for my Friday night pizza party, but she sent word that she would take me to the airport the next morning. "She wants to talk to you about the second cookie," Debra said.

"She told you about that?"

Debra nodded, and I saw the worried look in her eyes. "She feels terrible. Please assure her that you don't blame her, Sammy."

"It was as much my fault as it was hers," I said.

My guests must have known that I was hurting. They didn't ask why Megan was missing, but I'm sure they had heard various versions of what had taken place on Tuesday night. They left early, saying they knew I had to get up early the next morning.

You don't sleep in the same bed with a member of the opposite sex without learning things about them that you didn't know before. When you sleep in the same bed with someone three nights in a row, there are bound to be accidents. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to keep from touching her private places. I woke up more than once with one of her breasts in my hand. One night, I woke to find her hand on my cock, outside my shorts of course.

Megan arrived early on Saturday morning. She was driving Charlie's car. I got in and looked at her. I knew immediately that she'd had a sleepless night.

"I hope you don't mind my being here. I had to see you," she began.

"I'm glad you came. I've wanted to see you, too."

Megan started the car and put the transmission in gear. "It has to stop."

"I know."

"Did you tell Kelley what we did?"

"Yes, I told her."

"Do you want me to talk to her? I'll tell her it was my fault."

"It's not necessary. She's upset with me, but there's no reason for you to talk to her."

"I hope you told her that I was to blame. I should talk to her. I'll tell her how strong you were. You're the one that stopped me from going too far."

"I didn't exactly tell her about the second cookie."

Shock came to Megan's face. "Sammy, you should have told her. It was all my doing. I'll take the blame."

"It wasn't your fault. I kissed you back. The second cookie was more delicious than the first one."

"This must stop," she said, sounding determined.

"I know."

"What time will you be back? Would you mind if I meet your flight? It will be the last time. I promise."

"I'd like that. I'll call you when I know my time of arrival."

She drove in silence for several minutes. "I want to see you one last time. I need to pick up my bag from your apartment. That will be the end. You have to tell Kelley about the second cookie."

"It won't be the last time. We're going to the movie tonight."

"That's not a good idea, Sammy. We've got to stop seeing each other away from school."

I didn't argue with her. She came into the terminal with me and waited until my flight was announced. "Do you think there is anyone here from the school?" she asked.

I hadn't seen anyone we knew, but I caught on to what she was thinking. We should kiss for appearance sake. It would look strange if we didn't.

I dropped my briefcase and took her into my arms. To the casual observer, it would appear that I was going to be gone a week, not just a few hours. She pressed her body to mine, and returned my kiss like we were lovers, not pretenders.

"Get some sleep," I ordered as I released her.

"Have a good trip. I'll be here when you come back," she said as I walked away.

"We'll have dinner at Stella's" I yelled, and watched her frown of disapproval.

My flight to Omaha took forever. I had plenty of time to contemplate my plight.

I'd talked to Kelley on Wednesday afternoon. At first, she was sympathetic. The picture I painted of Megan being inundated by would-be sexual partners caused Kelley to agree that a show of affection had been necessary. I told her about the meeting of my study group and how it was a perfect time to show my feelings for Megan. Kelley even complimented me on the way we had made the girls sigh when I kissed Megan's tummy.

I was pleased with the way Kelley was showing her trust in me. She said she felt for Megan. "Being attractive can be a detriment. I know what Megan's going through. You've done a noble thing, Sammy. I hope it works," Kelley said.

"Megan wanted to talk to you before we went through with it, but I told her it had to be last night to take advantage my study group being the perfect audience. I also told her that you're an understanding person."

"I'm glad you did it for her, but there's something bothering me. If you have the entire student body believing Megan is your girlfriend, what will we tell them when I come there for a visit?"

I had to admit that I hadn't thought that far ahead. "We needed to act quickly to put the wolves at bay. I guess we'll have to play it by ear when you come."

"Are you sure your kiss on her tummy was convincing? That hardly qualifies as a full-scale love affair," Kelley argued.

"Megan must have agreed with you. She proceeded to put on a demonstration that left no doubt that we are lovers. There were more than sighs from our audience. I'm not sure, but I may have heard applause."

"Sammy, I don't want to hear any more."

"Okay," I said, telling her that I would call her later that night.

Ten minutes later my telephone rang. "What did she do?"

"She kissed me."

"Passionately?"

"Kelley, it was nothing compared with the way you kiss me."

"You're hiding something from me. It had to be special if it drew applause."

"There may have been applause," I said.

"You don't know if you heard applause because you were too consumed by the kiss to hear anything. Tell me what she did to you. I want to know every detail."

"Okay, I suppose it could be considered passionate by some observers. I haven't talked to her, so I don't know where she got the idea. Let's just say that it involved a cookie being shoved into my mouth by her tongue until the cookie dissolved."

Kelley was silent for thirty seconds. "What you're telling me is that the kiss lasted a long time."

"I suppose you could say that," I responded, not liking the way Kelley was making me uncomfortable.

"Did you kiss her back?"

"Not at all, I was too busy pushing the cookie back into her mouth to kiss."

"Sammy, you just admitted that it went on for a long time, and now you're saying she disguised a long French kiss with a cookie. Did you put your arms around her?

"Well, yeah, I was mindful of our audience," I said. Didn't she understand that we were acting?

"Did she have her arms around you?"

"Yes, I believe she did, but like you said, it needed to be convincing. The important thing is that we made believers out of everyone. Guys aren't pestering Megan for dates. They're treating her with the respect she deserves."

"I'm coming there next weekend, and I won't play the role of the other woman. I don't care what you have to do, but I want you to find a way to let everyone know that I'm your real girlfriend."

"Megan is backing off. She didn't come here tonight. We'll only see each other at school, but it is crucial that we make everyone believe that we're a couple. Otherwise, the act we put on will go for naught."

"Do you want me to come there or not? Are you asking me to sacrifice seeing you for Megan's protection?"

"I want you to come," I said.

That was Wednesday. We talked again on Thursday and Friday. At one point Kelley made the suggestion that Megan obtain an engagement ring and declare that Mel had proposed marriage. I told her that I would mention it to Megan.

I couldn't bring myself to tell Kelley about the second cookie. There was no logical explanation for the way Megan had come to bed on Tuesday night, straddled me, and shoved the cookie into my mouth. She later took all the blame, but really, I was at blame too. I should have stopped her the second I felt the cookie enter my mouth.

I didn't stop her. I battled her tongue until the cookie was gone, and then we continued to kiss. I even rolled her over, and was on top of her when it struck me that it was wrong. We were not in public; we didn't have an audience.

Megan was embarrassed, saying she didn't know what had come over her. She vowed to keep her distance from me. I reminded her that we needed to keep up appearances at school, and that is how we left it. We would be doting lovers while in public, and strangers in private.

We ate lunch together, looked lovingly into each other's eyes, and touched frequently. I never had a chance to pass on Kelley's advice that Megan declare that she was now engaged, making me history.

I put off telling Kelley about the second cookie.

Mr. Oldham, Neill, and Wanda met my flight, and we drove directly to the building where a realtor was waiting.

Neill gave us a tour of the building, pointing out where refurbishment would be necessary. Wanda checked her notes to make sure she had his estimate for each job.

I fell behind, and was staring out a window when Mr. Oldham joined me. The realtor hung back too, until he saw that we were having a private conversation.

"What's got your attention, Sam?" he asked.

"Nothing, really," I answered, amused that I'd been caught day-dreaming.

"You're not keen on this idea, are you?"

"I believe the idea is sound. It's this building and this location that I can't warm up to."

"Neill seems excited about the building, and Wanda's numbers are encouraging," he said, obviously wanting to change my opinion.

"I agree that Wanda's numbers are sound. Neill may be swayed by self-interests. The R & D building is close to being fully occupied. His family likes it here. He may see this building as an opportunity to stay put for another year."

"You don't think he would scale back on his estimates in order to make the project to our liking, do you?"

"No, Sir, Neill wouldn't do that."

"Then what is it that's making you have reservations?"

"I don't know, Sir," I said, and I was being truthful. I couldn't put my finger on what was giving me a bad feeling about this particular building.

We caught up with Neill and Wanda. Mr. Oldham waited until we were seated at lunch to announce that we would keep the Omaha building on the back burner for the time being. I could tell that Neill and Wanda were disappointed, but they didn't voice their opinion. The realtor, who must have thought he had a sale, suddenly said he wasn't hungry and left. Wanda excused herself, saying that she would make arrangements for our flights.

Neill drove us to the airport. Mr. Oldham sat in the front with Neill. Wanda and I sat in the back.

"Kelley's beside herself. Are you and Megan really playing house?" she asked in a muffled whisper.

"Is that what Kelley thinks?" I asked, amazed that Kelley would confide her concerns to Wanda.

"She doesn't believe you've been totally honest with her. Have you?" she asked, still whispering.

"Did Kelley ask you to interrogate me?"

"No, and you know me well enough to know that I would never divulge anything you told me unless you wanted me to."

"I didn't tell her everything, but I intend to when she comes to Pontiac next weekend."

"This must be serious. It's not like you to hold back." Wanda said, looking to see my expression.

"It was nothing like what you're trying to make it. We didn't fuck if that's what you're intimating."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. Megan's a beautiful girl, and she's obviously attracted to you."

"Can't two people occupy the same bed without succumbing to salacious instincts?"

Wanda reached for my hand. "You don't have to prove anything to me, Sammy. I've been there. It's Kelley that you have to convince."

"Are you suggesting that I should sleep with Kelley without having sex?"

"It might work," Wanda said, pressing the back of my hand to her breast before releasing it.

"It could backfire, too. She might think I don't desire her because of my involvement with Megan."

Wanda was looking out the car window. "I'm glad it's your problem," she said.

We dropped Mr. Oldham and Wanda off at their terminal. I got out of the car to say goodbye to them.

"When are you getting your car back, Sam?" Mr. Oldham asked as we shook hands.

"I don't know, Sir."

"Do you have a rental?"

"No, Sir."

Mr. Oldham looked at me and then at Wanda, astonished.

"Sharon will make arrangements for a car," Wanda offered, and Mr. Oldham nodded his approval.

They headed for the terminal door, and I got into the car with Neill.

"Neill, I got a feeling about that building. I don't know what it is yet, but it will come to me. I wanted you to know that it was my idea to take a wait-and-see attitude, not my dad's."

Neill nodded, like he understood my reasoning, but I was certain that he had other thoughts in mind. He was a valuable employee, and I knew that I would need to keep him informed as my hunch about the building developed. He dropped me off at my terminal, shook my hand, and roared away. At that moment, I didn't want to know what he was thinking about me.