Chapter 13: Bev Newton and Mark Knopf

February 19, 1983, Chicago, Illinois

"I suppose we should have lunch," Bianca sighed as she and Shelly snuggled close after they'd each had a turn with me.

"The bed is warm and comfy," Shelly whined sleepily. "And I'm enjoying snuggle time! Ten minutes more?"

"Fine with me," I said.

"Yes," Bianca purred. "It's not as if I don't like this!"

Lying in bed with the brown-skinned, black-haired Bianca and the very light-skinned, strawberry blonde Shelly, both of whom were drop-dead gorgeous, was extremely enjoyable, though not as enjoyable as what we'd done before what Shelly called 'snuggle time'. A future with them, when the time was right, would be interesting and fun, if unconventional. I couldn't help but laugh at what the guys at Spurgeon might say if I did decide to do what Bianca had suggested.

"What are you laughing at?" Bianca asked.

"The thought of the reaction of the guys at Spurgeon to this as a permanent thing."

"I bet you anything you care to wager that none of them have as much college pussy available as you do!"

I chuckled, "Maybe, though there are rumors about some of the guys and the prodigious number of women they've been with. Beth said the easiest way to get laid on a regular basis is to whip out the Amex card and put it on the bar. Supposedly, it's a chick magnet, and every guy at Spurgeon has an Amex card."

"That's not your best asset!" Bianca teased.

Shelly and I both laughed.

"I think if he puts that on the bar, he'll be arrested!" Shelly exclaimed.

"People just have NO sense of humor!" Bianca declared.

We stayed in bed for another ten minutes, then showered, dressed, and went downstairs. We put on music, and I read the latest edition of Crain's as well as Friday's Journal. The girls arrived just after 5:00pm, including Lucy and Sylvia, who I hadn't spoken to for six months.

"Hey, Stranger!" Lucy exclaimed, then both of them hugged me.

"How's pre-med?" I asked Lucy.

"Almost done! I was accepted at Northwestern for medical school. I start in August."

"Very cool! And nursing school, Sylvia?"

"I'm doing my final practical rotations, and I'll be full-time at the University of Chicago hospital in September."

"That's awesome!" I said.

"How is work?" Lucy asked. "I heard you were promoted."

"I'm an analyst now."

"Congrats!" Lucy exclaimed. "And this is our new friend, Izzy."

A pretty girl with long, black hair who looked Mediterranean stepped over.

"Hi," I said. "Welcome!"

"Hi!" she said. "Nice to meet you!"

"Let's decide on the pizza so we can order," Bianca suggested.

It took five minutes to sort out the order, which actually wasn't bad for eleven people with varying tastes. Bianca called in the order, and then the real challenge began — what movie to rent? I chose to leave it to the girls, as I'd be easily outvoted on any choice, and I fully expected a romantic comedy or something similar.

"We should rent American Gigolo!" Julianne declared. "And as Jonathan isn't seeing Huifen, maybe we can follow my suggested plan!"

"What plan was that?" Lucy asked.

"Jonathan's Stud Service! We charge girls $50, make a ton of money, and Jonathan gets all the pussy he can handle and then some!"

"Bianca's idea included HER being a pimp or madam or whatever," I chuckled. "And keeping most of the money!"

"That is how it works," Sylvia declared. "Except for the really high-priced escorts, the pimp basically makes all the money."

"Julian was a very high-priced escort in the movie," Juliette observed. "And he certainly kept a lot of the money, as evidenced by his lifestyle."

"Is the movie available to rent?" Bianca asked. "I don't remember seeing it at the video store."

"My friend Jeri has it," I said. "But I know she has access to movies that aren't generally available, but I'm not sure how."

"I bet it's screening copies," Juliette said. "They send them to the members of the Academy to watch so they can vote on the awards. Videotape made it a whole lot easier because they don't have to set up special screenings in theatres."

"Well, either way, I'd be VERY happy to take advantage of Jonathan's Stud Service!" Julianne declared.

The other girls all laughed except for Izzy, who looked confused, which indicated to me that she wasn't aware of the situation.

"We've all been with Jonathan at some point," Lucy said to Izzy. "All of us."

"No way!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Better, we've all been with Jonathan in front of other girls!" Julianne added with a smirk. "And I know for three of us, including me, it was our first time!"

"Whoa!" Izzy exclaimed. "You seriously lost your virginity with others watching?"

"Me, too!" Bianca declared.

"You showed off!" Lucy exclaimed. "I called it 'performance art'!"

"Me, too," Shelly added.

"You guys aren't pulling my leg, are you?" Izzy asked.

"It actually happened," Sylvia confirmed. "We're not pulling your leg. One of our friends, who isn't here, set up a game, and it ended with all of us fucking Jonathan and Bianca and Shelly both losing their virginity, all in front of each other. There was a second game, and while I didn't know it then, I know from what she just said Julianne lost hers that time."

"Me, too, but a different group," Juliette added.

"And me," Kasey said, but some time after that.

"And me," Miranda added, "the same day as Kasey and Juliette!"

"I don't believe it!" Izzy protested.

"It's true," Bianca offered. "Except for Sally, Lucy, and Sylvia, all of us lost our virginity to Jonathan in front of other girls!"

"He's really good, too," Sally added. "I mean really good!"

"We could skip the movie and play!" Julianne suggested.

"No pressure," I cautioned.

"We could combine movies and sex!" Juliette declared. "The video store rents cameras!"

"That might be going a bit too far," I counseled. "Could you imagine if a tape like that got out?"

"I bet we could make a fortune!" Juliette exclaimed. "Kind of like Julianne's plan! We could even all wear those masks they wear at masquerade balls to hide who we were! Jonathan and the Co-eds!"

"And, then," Lucy added with a smirk, "Jonathan and the Co-eds II, then III, and so on!"

"Jonathan thinks recording ourselves having sex, even with masks, is a bad idea," I said. "And he thinks the police would frown on Jonathan's Stud Service!"

"Only because they'd be jealous!" Julianne declared.

"I can't do anything illegal," I replied. "It could cost me my securities licenses."

"You're a stockbroker?" Izzy asked.

"I'm an analyst," I replied. "But I have my licenses. The difference is that my main job is research, not actual trading."

"What degree do you have?" Izzy asked.

"I don't. I'm taking classes part-time at Circle, but the only real requirement for my job is strong analytical skills. I did have to learn how the currency, precious metals, and commodity markets work and the rules for trading and advising clients, but those aren't difficult. It's knowing when to buy and sell, which I determine by analysis."

"But don't you need to understand statistics?"

"That would help, yes, but most of what I need to do my job is provided in chart or tabular form. I use computers to do some analysis, but most of it is simply logical thinking and being able to correlate data from many different sources into a coherent trading strategy. What's your major?"

"Finance," she replied. "I intend to get an MBA or a Master's in Public Administration."

"Buzz kill!" Juliette declared.

"Give the girl a chance to get to know him before she decides!" Julianne suggested.

"Sally, Kasey, and Sylvia let's go to the video store," Bianca suggested. "We'll pick something, and if we don't watch it, it's no big deal because our membership includes five videos a month, and we've only rented three this month. And even then, it's only $1.99 for the next three after five."

"Jonathan, do you have cable TV?" Miranda asked after those four left for the video store.

"No. I don't watch enough TV for that to matter. We are getting cable at the office because having CNN Headline News, which used to be CNN2, will be extremely useful in getting breaking news as well as the Financial News Network."

"We have it, and HBO is awesome," Miranda declared. "There are movies on that aren't available on tape, plus some great comedy shows."

"I'll look into it for the new house," I said.

"New house?" Kasey asked.

"I bought a house, and we close in about three weeks."

"WOW!" Sally exclaimed. "You're the same age as the rest of us! Well, give or take a year."

"The American Dream is not dead," I replied. "It is possible to go from rags to riches, but you have to make your opportunity, not wait for it to be handed to you."

"You aren't the son of someone who works there?" Izzy asked.

"No. My uncle, who is in real estate, got me a job in the mailroom, and I worked my way up to supervisor. While I was working, I studied for and earned my securities license, then was offered an analyst position. Well, I asked for each of those things and made it clear that's what I wanted and was working towards, and my hard work and aggressiveness paid off."

"Where are you from?"

"Goshen, Ohio. I'm the son of a single mom who never knew his dad. My uncle is friends with Noel Spurgeon, who runs Spurgeon Capital, and asked him to hire me as a mailroom clerk."

"That sounds like Andrew Carnegie," Izzy observed.

"Exactly," I agreed. "He was the son of a weaver and started working as a telegraph messenger. J. D. Rockefeller was the son of a lumberman and started as a bookkeeper at a small company. I'm not anywhere near them and probably never will be, but it's proof you can do it. You just need the will and a foot in some door somewhere. And from their stories and what's happened with me, you can start anywhere. That's not to say I don't see the value in a college degree because I do; that simply wasn't in the cards for me."

"I should have asked right away, but can I get anyone something to drink?" Shelly inquired. "We have Coke, Sprite, Orange Crush, and Dr Pepper, a pitcher of lemonade, and a fresh pot of coffee. And we should set out plates and stuff on the dining room table because the pizza will be here in about twenty minutes."

Everyone got something to drink, and Shelly and I set out plates, flatware, and napkins. When we finished, we headed back to the front room, and Sally asked to speak privately.

"What's up?"

"I'm not seeing anyone seriously," she said. "And it's not clear how this evening is going to go, but I'm sure Julianne will ask to spend the night with you. If we don't end up playing games, I'd be very happy to dance with you later!"

I recalled her offer when we'd danced at Allyson's party and what had happened afterwards. Sally had, as guys at work said, legs that went 'all the way up' and kept in great shape playing volleyball.

"Lying down with your legs wrapped around me?" I asked with a smile.

"You are really good!"

"And so are you! Let's see how things go, but I'd very much enjoy taking you up on your offer."

Sally smiled, gave me a quick kiss, and we went back to the great room.

"Arranging to have your brains fucked out?" Julianne asked.

Sally laughed, "Of course! I don't want to miss out if we don't play!"

"What games?" Izzy asked.

"Strip 'Spin the Bottle' the first time," Shelly said. "Then basically a contest where we took turns doing stuff with Jonathan and the winner of the last round got to spend the night with him, and then what we called 'baseball' where we follow the bases. In all the games, all the girls had sex with Jonathan, though the winner of the second game chose to collect her prize in private."

"I don't think there were any losers in any of those games!" Lucy declared.

"Not Jonathan, that's for sure!" Juliette declared. "What do you say, Izzy? Want to join our club?"

"I don't know," she replied.

"No pressure, Juliette," I cautioned.

"No pressure," Juliette replied. "I'm sure you'll entertain any of us who ask, in addition to Sally."

"Lucy, could I talk to you?" Izzy asked.

Lucy nodded, and they left the room.

"I think she's going to go for it," Juliette said quietly. "I could tell by the look in her eyes."

"Only if everyone agrees," I replied. "And nobody has a steady boyfriend."

"Isn't it up to each girl to decide how other relationships inform her decision?" Juliette asked.

"Absolutely," I agreed. "Anyone is free to do as they please, but I don't want to help someone cheat. Obviously, I have to take their word for it if I don't know for sure, but I'd be pretty upset if someone lied about that."

"Jonathan doesn't think you're a possession if that's what concerns you," Shelly said. "He just expects everyone to keep their word and keep their commitments. And if you show you can't or won't, then he won't trust you."

"How does trust figure in?" Juliette asked.

"That you're really on the Pill," Sylvia said. "And that you won't bite off his dick if he puts it in your mouth!"

"Who'd want to get pregnant at our age?" Juliette asked.

"You'd be surprised," Sylvia said. "But it can also be that you don't want to use a rubber, so you lie and take the risk."

"Only if you're an idiot!" Juliette retorted.

"Teenage girls are not known for using their heads when boys are involved!" Sylvia replied.

"And teenage boys think with the wrong head where teenage girls are involved!" Juliette declared.

"Not just teenage boys," I chuckled. "I have had one or two illogical or irrational ideas caused by a desire to have sex! And not just boys, because my mom had sex at sixteen without using protection, and I was the result."

"She wouldn't have had access to the Pill back then," Sylvia said. "But it's also the case that some herbal supplements can interfere with the Pill, and so can antibiotics."

"That's how my friend Bev ended up pregnant," I said. "She had a UTI and took antibiotics."

"WHOA!" Kasey gasped. "Nobody warned me about that! I was taking them in November when I was with Jonathan!"

"I don't know the exact mechanism," Sylvia said. "It was something mentioned in my classwork."

"What kind of nurse are you going to be?" Shelly asked.

"OB/GYN," Sylvia said. "I'll work in maternity at UofC."

Lucy and Izzy came back into the room just then but didn't say anything, and thankfully, Juliette didn't press.

"What's everyone doing for Spring Break?" Miranda asked.

"Renovation of the new house," I replied. "We need to strip, sand, and stain the wood floors, paint the walls, and have new appliances delivered."

"I'm helping, and so is Bianca," Shelly said. "And we'll take more help if anyone is around."

"Florida, of course!" Sally declared. "Daytona Beach!"

"I'm working," Sylvia said. "There's no break in our clinical training!"

"Florida for me, too," Kasey said. "But Orlando."

"I'm not doing anything," Miranda said. "I'll be around and can help."

"Just home for the week," Julianne said.

"Same here," Lucy said.

"Visiting a friend in San Diego," Juliette added.

"Just going home," Izzy said.

"Where's home?" I asked.

"Glen Cove, in Nassau County, New York, which borders on Queens, so just outside New York City."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's an architect. What about yours?"

"He was a salesman but died before I was born."

"Oh, wow!"

"It gets even more 'wow'," Shelly said. "He died in a plane that crashed after a bomb exploded on board!"

"No way!" Izzy protested.

"It's true," I said. "We verified it with someone who works for the FAA. Some guy was trying to collect insurance for his wife and kids, so he set off a bomb in the plane."

"That's crazy!"

"Pretty much. Mom held different jobs, but now she's the main secretary at the High School back home."

The doorbell rang, signifying the pizza had arrived, so Shelly and I went to the door to get it. Shelly paid from money she'd collected from the girls while they were deciding on what to order, and I added an additional $10 tip. We carried the pizzas to the dining room, and as we were opening the boxes, the girls returned from the video store. Everyone got drinks, then slices of pizza.

"What movie did you decide on?" Miranda asked.

"Well," Bianca smirked, "it was a tough decision between Debbie Does Dallas, Insatiable, and The Opening of Misty Beethoven!"

"In Paula's memory?" Lucy asked.

"She did know her porn," I observed. "But I know Bianca well enough that she's teasing."

"I am, though we did check out the movies in the back room. I thought about Caligula, but decided we should go with something from the regular collection."

"Caligula?" I asked. "The Roman emperor?"

"It's a mainstream film about the emperor with hardcore scenes," Lucy said. "What did you get?"

"Little Darlings," Bianca replied.

"Of course you did!" Juliette smirked. "A contest between two girls to see who can lose her virginity first at Summer camp!"

"Which is why it received an 'R' rating," Lucy said. "God forbid teenagers see a movie about teenagers doing what teenagers have done forever! I'm pretty sure it has no nudity and no sex."

"We'll just have to make our own live-action!" Juliette exclaimed.

"There are ten of us," Sylvia said, "and while Jonathan is great, he is limited physiologically!"

"We can use the competition format," Julianne suggested. "Take turns blowing him for five minutes, and the three girls who get him off get to fuck him. I think that would still let Sally have her romp."