Chapter 2

Ted stopped in his tracks upon opening the door. He briefly scanned her body before staring intently into her eyes. Merilee had learned long ago that his fascination with her face was in no way a rejection of her body. Saying only “Jeremy’s staying over at Arne’s”, she undid his tie quickly, then loosened his belt and got his trousers unhooked and unzipped. As he grabbed his pants to keep them from falling with one hand, she took the suit coat that he had carried in from the car in the other. When he had not made any progress by the time she hung the coat on a chair back, she got on her knees and untied his shoes. Then, she stood up and told him “You do the rest while I get ready.”

Merilee pulled out another dinette chair, bent over the seat resting on one arm and started working on her clit with the other hand. Her back was to him and her legs were spread, so he got a very enticing view of what she was doing. While she knew that most of her body was just pleasingly average, she loved to expose her beautifully shaped pussy to him.

Ted’s suit pants and tie did not get the careful handling Merilee had given his coat. In fact, he guaranteed a trip to the cleaners. His boxers were almost a casualty, as well, as the effort to get them down past his protruding cock nearly tore them.

The barely controlled anger at having another evening stolen to accommodate some coworker; the disappointment that his best intentions of trying to reignite some passion had been a casualty of duty - again; the growing disgust at the posturing and banality of all those sales dinners; Rachel’s eyes reminding of the neglected treasure of his Merilee waiting at home; the resignation that romance would have to wait until Jeremy retired; Ted did not realize that all of those emotions had built a dammed up reservoir of arousal. The totally unexpected, unprecedented sight of Merilee posed in such obvious invitation breached that reservoir instantly.

He had outgrown his quick trigger days at quite a young age and good control had been a strength of his love making. So, he was in no danger of spewing all over her inviting ass before he entered her. Still, if she had not been so busy on her clit, there would have been no chance for her to get there before he passed his ability to hold back.

Merilee had no plan for what next, and of course Ted was totally out of planning mode. Feeling a little shaky, Merilee got them standing. Taking ahold of his still stiff, slippery shaft, she led him out through the patio door to the hot tub.

There had been no way to make certain their hot tub was not visible to some neighbor. It seemed to be sheltered enough and they had always joked that if someone was using a telescope, they should just take pity on the poor pervert and help them out. The issue of privacy was definitely not on Merilee’s mind that night. It was mild for a winter night and there was no wind, so the heat of the water made a few feet above the surface tolerable.

All the way to the tub, she had been squeezing him rhythmically. At first, he was very tender, but there was no way he would let on. By the time she sat him on the tub rim, the tenderness was gone and he was stiffening quickly. Probably because they were both still slick and she was still swollen, she slid down effortlessly when she sat right on his erection. This kind of sex in the open was totally unprecedented for them. It made him uneasy, but that emotion just seemed to add to the arousal. When she started bouncing energetically, no amount of exposure could have distracted him.

Seated with her impaled on his lap was a very difficult position for him to provide any thrust. Actually, it was not easy for her to bounce, either. He had no desire to change positions, though. Her breasts moving right in front of his face were just too thrilling. He wanted her to reach completion where they were. He doubted he had recovered enough himself, but that was fine. There was little danger the evening would end there.

It took some use of his hands on her crotch and his lips and teeth on a nipple, but he was able to scoot to the lowest level of the hot tub with a limp but purring lover after about ten minutes.

It was in bed later that the question came. Merilee had decided on the ‘truncated truth’ she would tell him.

“This certainly is not a complaint, but what brought that on?” he asked.

“A couple of things, actually. When you called about having to do that dinner, I could hear the frustration in your voice. But there was something else that told me what you had hoped to be doing at home. Well, I was all for that and I kept getting hornier as I waited for you. Also, I had lunch with Katrina. Even if she will never be slim, those two are in such great shape and they are so disciplined about working at it. I’m foolish if I think I can keep depending on genetics and decent eating. The U has great facilities close to the office and free. So, my schedule will be changing so I can do workouts.

“You know, in a year and a half, Jeremy will probably be away at school. I want you still willing to do naughty things all over the house with me,” she finished.

She quickly realized she should not have mentioned Jeremy. Ted lamented “He might just want to keep living at home.” Then his tone changed back and he boasted “Can’t imagine when I wouldn’t want to do naughties with you. Maybe Jeremy catching us wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. Imagine if he came in instead of me tonight and saw you waiting to be fucked. Don’t you think that might wake him up a little?”

Little did he know!! But the thoughts his tease produced guaranteed the evening would be extended.

She knew he was wound so tightly you could strum him, but Merilee could not resist teasing Jeremy a little. Friday, she had hurried home so she could get him to Katrina’s and return well before Ted got home. Ordinarily, there would be plenty of time, but why take chances.

Jeremy was home already, of course, and she came right into his room to find him rummaging around in his closet. She made a quick trip to his bathroom for his toothbrush, grabbed his swimsuit, and held both out to him. “Here’s your traveling wardrobe and here is your luggage.”

“But...”

“Honey, you want the women to think you’re excited about this chance, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but...”

“Then, when they open the front door for you, you are going to be naked. You will stay that way until I bring you some clothes on Sunday.”

“F ... front door? But ... Oh! I guess no one can see...”

“And if someone did?” she challenged.

“Mom, maybe I can have that attitude someday, but I don’t see how. I sure don’t feel that way now.”

“Mind over embarrassment, Honey.”

Merilee’s planning paid off. When Jeremy rang the Menninger doorbell, both sisters answered, nude. When they saw him, they squealed girlishly and dragged him inside. Katrina paused only briefly to wave happily at Merilee. For her part, Merilee was wondering how she could possibly restrain herself. If she attacked Ted too voraciously when he got home, he might get suspicious.

Merilee arrived at the Menninger home promptly at 10:30 on Sunday. Although she had been expecting it, it was surprisingly difficult to leave her few garments in the entry closet. That was nothing, though, compared to the shock of her naked son literally lifting her off her feet in a hug. Fortunately, the shock was enough so she could not focus on her naked breasts pressed against his bare chest, or his erection brushing against her as he swung her around.

When Jeremy put her down and kept one arm around her back, it was just so natural to put hers around his waist. It suddenly struck her that in all of the vigorous, satisfying sex she had enjoyed with Ted over the years, she could never remember walking naked, arm-in-arm with her husband like she was with her son.

Wisely, the sisters had brunch ready. As soon as they were seated with food in front of them, Katrina told Merilee “I think you can see from Jeremy’s reaction that he considers the weekend a positive experience.”

“I got that impression,” Merilee agreed, unable to suppress her grin.

“We will need more computer help next weekend,” Celeste added, “provided Jeremy has made an honest effort to interact with some of the girls in his classes and has at least one date scheduled.”

“That sounds fair,” Merilee agreed.

Addressing Jeremy, Merilee asked “Do you feel better able to talk to some girls, now?”

“It still scares the shit out of me,” he said with unexpected crudeness, “but they don’t seem as, uh, baffling any more.”

They ate quietly for a while, then Katrina announced “We think we should just talk about our plan with Jeremy here. Do you have a list?”

Looking uncertainly at the sisters, then at her son, Merilee actually stammered “Wh ... why do you want to include him?”

With a shrug, Katrina answered “We think he might have some ideas that would make our plan better.”

Still looking uncertain, Merilee went back to her purse and returned with a paper with five blocks of data. “These are five ‘possibles’ that I came across that seem to fit your criteria.”

“Any of them have single mothers? Better yet, single mom, only child?” Celeste asked.

“I did not look for that, but let me on the Net and I can check,” Merilee answered. “Why is that important?”

Katrina responded “After what happened with you and Jeremy, we decided we should try for full support and cooperation from the mom. If she is single, it will be easier, but that won’t stop us if she is supportive.”

“But what if the mom doesn’t have a good relationship with the son?” Merilee questioned.

Letting out a sigh, Celeste explained “The experience with you and Jeremy has highlighted a number of things. What we are considering is risky. If everything isn’t right, it won’t benefit us or the boy.”

“Maybe it would be different for a guy going away to college, but if I didn’t know that you wanted this for me and why, I couldn’t have done it. I wouldn’t have even tried,” Jeremy admitted.

“I guess I can see that,” Merilee agreed. “Let’s go find out more about these five.”

After some investigation, Merilee revealed “One divorcee and one widow. The widow has just the one child. They live two to three hours away, so the boy will have to live on campus. The divorcee has two daughters a few years older than the boy.”

“So the boy has almost three mothers, probably,” Katrina commented.

“You didn’t ask, but one boy has a single father and one sister,” Merilee announced almost gleefully.

“Forget the kid. Let’s go check out the dad,” Celeste blurted out to general laughter.

“They’re in state, too, about the same distance away.”

“That brings up a point,” Celeste admitted, “How are we going to make initial contact with these people?”

Surprising the women, Jeremy interrupted. “Before you start planning that, how would you feel, Celeste and Katrina, about having a friend of mine for a weekend?”

“Tell us more.”

“People joke about Arne and me being brothers. We are about the same size and coloring. He’s in all but one of my classes.”

“So he’s a brain, huh?” Celeste probed.

“There are about seven us with a chance at top honors, and Arne is one. He has a sister, but she’s a b..., uh, she’s no help with his social problems.”

“What about his mother?”

“One-time cheerleader. The sister’s a clone. None of what you asked of mom and me would work there.”

“The dad?”

“What kind of man could live with his mom?” Jeremy shot back. “Arne jokes that he wonders if his father can remember Arne’s name.”

“So, your friend Arne is a classic introvert caught in a family of extroverts, huh?”

“For sure.”

“What makes you think Arne would be interested?”

“When he sees me starting to talk to girls and go on dates, it’s going to kill him.”

“Arne is a really nice kid,” Merilee chimed in. “I’ve always wished there was something I could do. He comes over a lot, but I think he doesn’t want to be a nuisance. I think it’s to escape.”

“Does he talk to you and Ted when he’s there?”

“He’s very polite and he responds in conversation. I would not say that he’s talkative, though,” Merilee recalled.

“Any difference in how he reacts to you versus Ted?” Katrina probed.

“Oh. I guess he is more reserved with me,” Merilee revealed.

Katrina and Celeste stared at each other for quite a while. “Jeremy,” Katrina finally asked, “are you as close to any other guys as you are to Arne?”

“Not really. There are five of us that share most classes and eat together, but Arne and I get together more out of school. We sleep over both ways often.”

“Well, this is not the kind of thing we had in mind,” Celeste explained, “but even a non-shrink like me can see that this could come between you and your best friend. Would you be willing to have Arne here with you next weekend, Jeremy?”

“Darn! I wouldn’t be able to come for Sunday lunch, then,” Merilee complained.

“Sure you would. Same rules,” Celeste declared.

“But ... but, Arne...”

“Hon,” Katrina said softly, “besides teaching him about females and sex, he needs to see some women that are as different from his family as possible.”

“And you want me to ... but I’m not...”

“You’re a real, fun, loving woman who would gladly strip for your son’s best friend if it helped him see women in a different way. You would even be happy to tell him all about the last week.” Katrina said that to Merilee with ‘I dare you’ all over her face.”

“I don’t know how many times Arne has said he wished you were his mom,” Jeremy revealed.

“But ... but ... naked?!”

“OK, brunch Sunday is not the issue, here. Schedule Arne for the whole weekend at your house, Merilee. Talk to his mother, and everything. If she wants to call him, though, make sure she calls his cell because he will be here. Does that work for everyone?”

“How much should I tell him?” Jeremy wondered.

That stumped the three women until Katrina decided “Don’t tell him anything. Get him home Tuesday or Wednesday so Merilee can explain it all.”

“Me?!”

“You,” Katrina declared firmly. “Right now, you are his fantasy mother. You are the woman with the most credibility in his eyes.”

“How ... how did I end up in this ... this...?”

“This supermom role, you mean?” Celeste teased.

As they were leaving, Katrina told Merilee “I’ll bring lunch to your office Monday. Leave some extra time. I’m sure you will want to hear all about it. I don’t think Jeremy’s version will satisfy you.”

Walking into school Monday morning, Jeremy had a sense of unreality. How could he focus on something as mundane as schoolwork after what he had experienced the past three days?

Right in their usual place by the trophy case stood a number of the school’s varsity athletes and their collective ‘harem’. Rather than passing without attracting attention, as he usually did, Jeremy stopped in his tracks at what he saw.

All of the signs that Katrina had talked about just jumped out at him. He saw affected postures, first. Then the attempted perfection of dress, hair, and makeup. Just the way the girls positioned themselves around the acknowledged ‘queen’ almost made him laugh.

The incipient laughter was quickly squelched when Arne grabbed his arm and dragged him away. “Geez, Jeremy! What are you doing? We don’t need any more hassles from that crowd.”

He would have loved to stand and watch a little longer with his new insight, but Arne was probably right. That group could be pretty merciless with ‘outsiders’, and nerds were their favorite targets. Arne must have thought his friend had started drugs from the poorly disguised smirk that Jeremy flashed at him.

He had thought about it over the weekend, but Jeremy spent a good part of his unused brainpower for the first two classes thinking about who he could ask on a date. Somehow, the question of whether he would even be able to ask did not trouble him at all.

As the second period class was leaving, he decided who he would ask. Dena Jorgensen was in most of their classes. She was not in the competition for top honors, but she got mostly A’s. The reason he thought of her was as a contrast to all of the primpers and posers he had seen in the hall. He knew she was gregarious because she seemed to be always chatting and giggling with friends. But it was not forced humor. She just seemed to be a happy person. She was nice looking, too.

But what would he ask her to do? He did not like the idea of asking her out, then having to find something that fit them, later. That occupied his mind for another couple of classes until he overheard Dena talking about practice after school. Drama practice! He remembered his mom talking about a campus theater production, but he did not remember the exact dates. It would have to be during the week. No way was he giving up any weekend time - at least not the next weekend.

After lunch he took his assigned seat beside Tana. Since both were painfully shy, they had worked hard to ignore each other. This time, though, Jeremy did not feel like ignoring her. She was phenomenally smart. Despite trying not to be noticed, she had a lovely face and she moved very gracefully. All he said was a simple ‘good afternoon, Tana’, but it must have doubled her pulse, the way she flushed. She did manage “H ... hi, Jeremy” before refocusing on her books, her desktop, or whatever refuge.

This class was American History and not offered as AP. Most of the advanced students were in the section, though, simply because of scheduling complexity. The teacher was good, but rather opinionated. Jeremy had spent the whole semester so far sitting on his many disagreements with some of the teacher’s opinions. For whatever crazy reason, that was the day he chose to voice his very first objection.

It was a good objection, too. The teacher had missed or ignored some verifiable historical facts that greatly weakened his position. Jeremy pointed out those facts and what they did to his opinion.

Now, until that point, Jeremy had reluctantly and very briefly, although correctly, answered any class questions directed at him. In his entire high school career, no one could remember him offering or asking anything unbidden. The teacher was as shocked as anyone, and ended up babbling his way out of his position rather clumsily.

For his part, Jeremy had noticed his classmates’ shock, and found himself almost as surprised as they were. Instead of blushing and cowering, though, as he would have done the previous week, he looked around the room, meeting several pairs of eyes directly. When he looked at Arne, his friend’s mouth was hanging open. He now remembered hearing Tana gasp next to him. Dena smiled at him and nodded vigorously.

The rest of the day, he found Arne constantly staring at him, but never making any comment.

When Katrina placed the lunch on her desk at noon Monday, Merilee just sensed there would be none of their usual friendly sparring this time. “Hon, I’ve always envied your success in the marriage derby. If Jeremy is really Ted’s clone, I underestimated how successful you were.”

“So Jeremy made a good impression?”

Katrina seemed to be figuring something out and a twinkle in her eye foretold a return of some levity, at least a little. “Between Celeste and I, he made over twenty very good impressions,” she finally revealed.

“So your computer problem is well in hand?” How could Merilee resist?

“Everything was handled beautifully,” Katrina replied soberly. That lasted all of three seconds before the friends fell into a giggling hug.

“Besides getting some wonderful relief from our long drought, we were thrilled to see that the line of truly nice men has not completely run out.” Katrina actually teared up at that. “Jeremy is so naturally nice I worry about him being taken advantage of. Just that thought erased any guilt I may have felt about our weekend. I really believe that he has a different outlook in school today.

“Besides the obvious that I don’t think you need to hear details about, we spent a lot of time on female anatomy, of course. We actually spent more time, though, on female behavior. I have been assembling a course on human sexuality for some time, not knowing if I would ever have a chance to use it. Well, Jeremy ate it up.

“I got him to talk about things he had found on the net. He was reluctant, but we were persistent. We sat and discussed some of them in detail. Believe me, I have notes on all of them. I think they can be useful with Arne if he comes next weekend. He did surprise me with the, uh, explicitness of some things he found.