Chapter 30: Home for the Holidays, Part I

December, 1981, Milford, Ohio

Kathy and I made good time driving back to Milford on Saturday afternoon. We grabbed a quick lunch in Lafayette, but otherwise we drove straight through to Milford, talking quite a bit along the way. We discussed her relationship with Kurt and mine with Kara. Both of us were happy with where things were and how they were going. I let her know that Elyse and Warren were getting serious, and I let her know about Stephie as well.

“Hmm. That might make it crowded for Kurt and me to visit.”

“We’ll work it out,” I said. “Elyse and I like having you guys there. I was thinking of selling my couch and replacing it with a sofa bed. That would make it easier when we have guests. If you and Kurt aren’t comfortable sleeping in the living room, I’ll use it so you can use my bed.”

“No way, Steve! We can’t take your bed from you like that.”

“You aren’t taking it, I’m offering. I don’t know how comfortable Kurt would be in that situation.”

“Well, we’ll find out! He’ll have to get used to that kind of thing if he’s going to be your friend!”

I chuckled, “I suppose that’s true. You two are getting that serious?”

“Well, I’m not getting engaged anytime soon, but I haven’t seen anything that warns me off. He’s kind, gentle, and considerate.”

“And grateful to have a sexy former cheerleader fucking his brains out, too!” I smirked.

“Well, there is that! He’s the only guy I’ve been with besides you who didn’t think I owed him spreading my legs.”

“And keep it that way! I told you a long time ago that was a bad thing. I’m glad you finally got past that.”

“Me too. Of course, if in eighth grade, I’d just done what I should have...” she sighed.

“It’s all in the past now, Kathy. We’re great friends. Things are working out for both of us.”

“Yes, they are!”

When I dropped her at her house, I walked her to the door. She hugged me and gave me a soft French kiss, her signal to me that she was available in the future should things change with Kurt. That, and her statement that, in the end, we could be good together if we ever wanted to give it a try. She wasn’t expecting it or waiting around for it, but she wasn’t going to let me forget it.

I arrived at the Spencers’ just after 8:00pm, and let myself in with the key that they’d let me keep. Melanie and Pete were in the living room waiting for me. I took my stuff up to the guest room and then went back down to join them. We talked for about ten minutes and then I got up to make a couple of phone calls.

I called Elyse to see how things had gone with Warren. She told me that it had been OK, but she didn’t sound too enthusiastic. She didn’t volunteer any more information, and I didn’t press. I gave her Melanie’s number and said it was OK to call any time.

Next, I called my sister to let her know that I’d be by in the morning to swim and to make her breakfast. She let me know she had some shopping to do and wondered if I’d take her on Sunday afternoon. I told her I would, and we hung up. My last call was to Kara to find out if she wanted to go out. She asked me to come get her right away, because she’d have to be home by 11:00pm. I told Pete and Melanie what was up, then went and got Kara and brought her back to the Spencers’ house.

“Can we use the sauna?” Kara asked Melanie.

“Sure. My parents treat Steve like the son they never had, so he has free run of the house. Do you two want to be alone?”

“It’s OK if you want to join us in the sauna,” Kara smirked. “I’ll get Steve alone afterwards!”

Melanie went upstairs to turn on the sauna and make sure there were two robes in each room. She also put out the towels. A few minutes later, we all went up and went to our rooms to undress and then walked clad in our robes to the sauna. We hung our robes on the hooks outside and sat down. I put copious amounts of water on the rocks like I usually did and steam hissed up from them.

“You love that steam, Steve!” Melanie said.

“Yep, I do. The more the better!”

“Just like sex!” Kara giggled.

I grinned. Kara was opening up and being much freer with what she said, and she was certainly more open about nudity, at least in non-sexual situations. She’d even pushed those limits a bit with Joyce last time. I wondered, but didn’t want to ask, just how far she was going to take it. I’d find out in time, and that was OK with me. I realized that she was experimenting now, before she moved in, because at that point, others would be off-limits, by our agreement, even if we weren’t engaged. That gave her limited time, and it would be interesting to watch it develop.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying that you are very, very different from what I imagined you would be, Kara,” Melanie said.

“Blame Steve!” Kara exclaimed. “It’s all his fault! If he hadn’t flirted with me in chemistry class, I’d still be the old, boring Kara. He helped me set myself free.”

“Just how free are you?” Melanie smirked.

“Mel!” Pete warned.

“No, Pete, let her ask her question,” Kara said primly. “The one she really wants to ask.”

Melanie looked at me and I just shrugged. I wondered what Kara’s game was here. I was sure there was one. And I was pretty sure Melanie was about to get her comeuppance.

“Would you be willing to swap boyfriends for the evening?”

Pete looked shocked, but I looked at him and told him with my eyes to wait for this to play out.

Kara smiled, “Yes, Melanie. On one condition.”

“Really?” Melanie squealed. “What condition?”

“That your boyfriend asks me to fuck. Right here and right now.”

That was her gambit. She knew, from everything I’d told her, that Pete would never do that. I did my best to keep my face stoic.

“No thanks, Kara,” Pete said. “You’re gorgeous, but no.”

“Pete!” Melanie whined. “Please? Please? I really want this!”

“No,” Pete said firmly. “You know better than that, Melanie.”

“This isn’t fair!” Melanie whined. “She said she’d do it! It’s not fair! I want it!”

“Gotcha!” Kara smirked. “I knew from Steve that Pete would never agree! There is no way in heck I’d do that. No offense, Pete,” she added with a smile.

“None taken,” Pete replied with a slight smile, “but that was pretty gutsy to tease her that way.”

“Steve’s told me all about your fiancée!” Kara said. “I decided to have a bit of fun with her and it worked.”

“I hate you all!” Melanie said, getting up and walking out of the sauna.

Pete started to get up, but I stopped him.

“Let her stew,” I said. “She’ll be back in five minutes or less.”

He sat back down, smiling. I was right. Four minutes later, Melanie came back into the sauna looking sheepish.

“I’m sorry, Kara,” she said. “I have to learn to control that urge. I just have a weakness for Steve. I’m sorry, Petey.”

“You and half the girls in Milford, Melanie,” Kara replied. “Name one girl he knows, besides you, that wouldn’t trade places with me right now.”

“Oh, my fiancée would trade places with you,” Pete said. “But Steve’s a stand-up guy. When they broke up years ago, he was adamant about not being with her again. She broke up with me and he still wouldn’t give her what she wanted. Not only that, but he pushed her back to me. I love her more than anything, despite her weakness for my buddy here.”

That wasn’t a truly accurate retelling of history because it left out Melanie’s Prom, but it sufficed for this conversation. And Kara didn’t need to know about Melanie’s Prom, because it was a year and a half before Kara and I had met.

“You’re right, Kara,” Melanie said. “He could ask any of a dozen girls to marry him and they’d say yes. He chose you.”

“I know!” Kara exclaimed happily. “I still find it amazing that just over a year ago, he kissed me for the first time. Then we fell in love. I never expected this to happen, but I’m happy about it. And next Summer, we’ll be living together in Chicago. I just wish it wasn’t seven months away. But, he insists I finish High School and go to college.”

“Of course he does!” Melanie replied. “Steve could never marry someone who wasn’t his equal in every way. It just took him a long time to grow up enough to figure things out. And you helped him a lot in that area.”

“You should be glad you didn’t know him before you did,” Pete said. “He was a standup guy, but his life was one dramatic crisis after the next until you came along.”

“Well, I love my Snuggle Bear for who he is now. I don’t worry about who he was before.”

“Snuggle Bear?” Melanie giggled.

I rolled my eyes theatrically.

“Oh stop it, Steve!” Kara commanded. “You love it when I call you that. And now, Snuggle Bear, I want you to make love to me. Let’s go shower and go to your room!”

Melanie’s eyes went wide at the boldness, and Pete shook his head. Kara and I left the sauna, quickly rinsed off, then went to my room and made love. When we finished, we went to the other shower, washed up, used Melanie’s blow dryer to dry Kara’s hair and then went downstairs to find Pete and Melanie sitting on the couch, cuddling.

“Less than an hour? You’re slipping, Steve,” Melanie teased.

“Cinderella here has to be home by 11:00pm or her evil father will turn me into a newt,” I smiled. “Or at least keep me from seeing her, which would be the same thing.”

We went out to my car, and I headed for Kara’s house.

“That was a pretty risky tease, Kara. What if Pete said he’d do it? I mean, you are the most beautiful girl any of us know.”

“I would have said I was teasing, but I was sure he’d say no. He doesn’t want to let Melanie have you ever again. It would kill him. He knows she’s stuck on you in some way and he’s afraid that being with you would explode his whole world. He’s right, too. She’d dump him in a second if she thought she could have you. You’ve told me a lot about your history, remember?”

“True. And don’t think that I haven’t noticed that you’re getting pretty risqué these days, young lady!”

“I’m just having fun. With the exception of the thing with Joyce at Thanksgiving, it’s all just teasing and fun.”

“And that?”

“I don’t know,” Kara replied, sighing softly. “You told me I’d ask and I’ve thought about it. A lot. But I don’t know.”

“That’s the best reason not to do it I can think of. If and when you’re comfortable, then it can happen. If not, don’t worry about it. I told you that if you were the only person I ever had sex with for the rest of my life, I’d be happy.”

“I know. And you are the only guy I ever want to have sex with. Maybe the only person.”

I pulled into Kara’s driveway, and we still had ten minutes before she had to be inside. I told Kara that I’d be taking Stephanie shopping on Sunday afternoon, but once I’d finished, I’d come get her and we’d go to dinner.

“Kara, I talked to Tracey about her party. It seems the rumors and the facts don’t line up. It’s only couples and with one pre-agreed exception, only couples do anything more than kissing and a bit of groping.”

Kara laughed, “You, of all people, listened to rumors instead of asking?”

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to let you know that I’d been mistaken.”

“So you want to go to the next party?”

“Are you interested,” I smirked.

“I don’t know that I could be that open with strangers. But you could go. You could take Elyse, maybe.”

“She’s working on a relationship with Warren. If that works out, she and I will be done. You know my rule. And Elyse and I aren’t public about our relationship to prevent misunderstandings.”

“True. Were you interested in going? I mean, with the limits?”

“Not really. Now, if it were people our age, instead of fifteen and sixteen, I might. With the limits, of course. But I just don’t see that happening. And I don’t see you going either, unless it was people you were comfortable with.”

“True. Now, come on, walk me to the door before my dad comes out to see what’s going on,” Kara grinned.

We walked to the door, hugged and kissed, and then I got into my car to head back to Melanie’s house. I thought a bit more about the party, and I knew Jessica would love to go and Tracey would love for me to be there, but I was still leaning against going for the reasons I’d given Kara. When I arrived at the Spencers’, I walked inside the darkened house and went up to my room and went to bed.

On Sunday morning, I swam with Stephanie, fixed her breakfast, and after we had eaten, made my call to Karin. I also gave Josh a call and was able to speak mostly Swedish to him. He was about where I had been at that point in my stay, but his vocabulary was a bit lacking. After Stephanie left for church, I spent some time with my dad, then went to make a phone call I should have made weeks before.

I called Katt to see how she and Mikael were doing. It had been a few months since we had last spoken, so we had a bit to catch up on. They were doing great both personally and on the ice, having finished no worse than fourth in five different competitions since Chicago. She told me that Laura was doing great as well, and had even found a boyfriend. She asked about seeing me and I invited her and Mikael to visit me and Kara in Chicago in late July. She said she’d work it out and let me know the details.

When Stephanie arrived home from church, we headed out right away. I had a list of things I wanted to get for my friends. I also wanted to get something for my parents. I’d get something for Stephanie later in the week when she wasn’t along. We went to Tri-County Mall because of the large selection of stores. We ate lunch at the Food Court and then started shopping. Three hours later, Stephanie had found what she wanted for Ed as well as the other things she wanted to get, and I had found everything I was looking for.

“What are you getting me, Big Brother?” she smirked.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!” I grinned.

“I could give you an idea,” she said saucily.

I refused to take the bait, “I already know what I’m getting you.”

“And you know what I want!” she smirked.

I decided to play along, but with my own twist.

“What you’ll get is a spanking if you aren’t careful!”

“Oooh! That’s something we didn’t do before! Would you?”

I grinned evilly, “There is something that’s really exciting thinking about throwing you over my knees and paddling your naked butt until it’s red all over...”

“Steve!” she gasped.

“But, we ended things, Stephanie. For good reasons.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I know.”

I took her hand, and we walked out of the mall and got in the car to head home. I was concerned about Stephanie’s change of heart with regard to us. I wasn’t conflicted for once. I knew what the right thing to do was. It was only a matter of doing it. That was, of course, If I had the strength of character to do it. Or rather, not do it.

When we arrived home, Stephanie and I wrapped all our gifts and stashed them in the closet of my old room. My dad stopped in to tell me that Tracey Jones had called and asked me to call. I knew what it was about. I picked up the phone to call her. She asked me to a party at her house on Friday, and to bring Jessica. I told her I wasn’t really interested. Tracey, true to her usual ways, didn’t pressure me, but just encouraged me to think about it.