Chapter 48: Spring Break, 1982, Part V

March, 1982, Milford, Ohio

At the Spencers, I quickly changed clothes, then headed to pick up Kara. Our evening followed the usual pattern for this week — dinner, lovemaking, a sauna, and then cuddling on the couch in the basement until I had to take her home.

On Thursday, I swam and had breakfast with Stephanie, and after she left for school, I headed back to the Spencers’. I went to my room and wrote in my journal. I sat down in the beanbag chair to read my history text from school. I was reviewing because midterms were coming up next week. I was comfortable with my computer programming classes and felt I was in good shape for Calculus. It was the European history and History of the English Language classes I needed to study for.

About 10:00am Trudy Spencer stuck her head in the door of my room and asked if I wanted to join her in the sauna. I decided I could just as easily tease her as she had teased me years ago. Instead of saying anything, I simply stood up, quickly stripped off my clothes and walked past her to the sauna. She’d already turned it on, so I went in and ladled water onto the stones. She came in a minute later.

“Cute,” she said with a smile.

“Cute?” I asked, acting as if I was offended. “You call a naked man cute?”

She laughed, “You know what I meant, Steve. What you did was ‘cute’.” She made air quotes. “I guess I deserved that for walking in on you and Melanie years ago. If I was going to comment, I’d say ‘impressive’,” she said with a grin.

“Of course it’s impressive!” I grinned. “But you are a married woman, and far too old for me!” I teased.

“I’m thirty-four! I am hardly old, young man! And if I wasn’t married, I’d wipe that smirk right off your face!”

“In your dreams! I’ve had some pretty good partners!”

“Yes, you’ve had Melanie, but the genes don’t always pass fully to the daughter from the mom!”

We both laughed at the teasing and sat quietly in the steam for about twenty minutes and then got out. Trudy went into the shower first and when she came out, I made sure to brush lightly against her, my arm just barely touching her breasts. I was happy to see her nipples harden immediately. I got under the cool water and rinsed off, willing myself not to get an erection.

“Naughty, naughty,” she said. “You did that on purpose!”

“Who me?” I asked innocently.

She laughed and finished drying off and left the room. I finished my shower, dried off, and went back to my room to get dressed. We went downstairs, and she made coffee and we sat at the kitchen table to drink it.

“You’re a real smart ass, Steve!” Trudy said.

“I try,” I replied. “And you should have known that from when Melanie and I dated. You and I talked about the time Melanie and I came down to dinner naked.”

“True. I guess our daughter really corrupted you.”

“I don’t think so. I think she started to unlock something that was inside of me and, over time, I became aware of it.”

“That’s a very healthy view of sex. I’m even more impressed, given your mother’s views on such things.”

“She and I do not see eye to eye on anything at all. Fortunately, my dad is more reasonable. I do owe you a lot for everything you and Frank have done for me, back then and now.”

“And we owe you for helping bring Melanie back. What do you say we pay off our debts?” she said impishly and invitingly.

I chuckled, “Keep those fantasies where they belong, Trudy!”

“It’s just harmless teasing, and I know you know.”

“Of course, but pretending to take it seriously is my way of teasing!”

I finished my coffee and got up and put my mug on the counter.

“I’m heading out for lunch with a friend. I’m having dinner at the Blanchard’s so you probably won’t see Kara tonight.”

“OK. We’ll see you when you get home, then.”

I drove to Anna’s house in Anderson Township and pulled into her driveway. I went to the door and rang the bell, and she opened it a minute later.

“I got stuck with Kyle again. Mom had to go out for the afternoon. I hope you don’t mind if he comes along.”

“Not at all! He’s a good kid. Let me get the car seat into the car.”

I wrestled with the car seat, but not nearly as much as the previous time. I realized that in a few short years, I’d be doing this for my own kids. I also thought I’d buy a Volvo or a SAAB for Kara, which would make things FAR easier than it was for my little sports car.

Anna wanted pizza, so we headed to a small hole-in-the-wall place on Beechmont that she said was good. The pizza was passable. I now strongly preferred the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza to the thin crust that was the norm everywhere else that I’d ever been. Kyle sat in a high chair and drank a bottle while we ate.

“Thanks for going out to lunch with me,” Anna said.

“I always liked hanging out with you. I’m glad we repaired our friendship. I wish I hadn’t messed it up a couple of years ago, but there isn’t much I can do about that now.”

“Sure there is,” she said. “Be my friend. We have no idea what would have happened, and honestly, you weren’t going to date me back then unless you and Jennifer truly broke up. And you didn’t. So, really, things aren’t worse than they would have been at this point, and I did really enjoy that time in the apartment. I wouldn’t have had that if you hadn’t called me!”

“That’s true,” I replied. “But I recall, quite distinctly, that you weren’t interested in just a casual screw and ultimately that’s what it really was.”

“Yes. And that’s why I was upset with you. I didn’t want to be a casual screw to get back at your girlfriend. But then I realized how upset you must have been given what had happened and decided I’d made a mistake in not really talking it out with you. I tried to tell you at the chess meet, but I guess I wasn’t direct enough.”

“No, I was really wary because I knew how badly I’d treated you. But, even if you had been clearer, by that point, I was sticking close to Bethany and starting up with Kara. The situation wouldn’t have been one that would have worked for you. And in January, Kara and I started going steady.”

“I thought you weren’t steady with her,” Anna said.

“I’m not. It’s complicated, but basically around Prom we quit going steady. It all had to do with Jennifer. Then things went right to hell with Jennifer when she said she was going to Stanford. Because of the way things were, Kara and I just kept dating and we didn’t start up steady again. That’s where we are now. In the Summer, she’s supposed to move to Chicago and we’ll be steady again at that point.”

“That’s kind of strange, but then again, things with you have always been a bit strange,” she giggled.

Kyle finished his bottle and Anna picked him up to burp him. She put a white blanket over her shoulder and held him to her chest, and patted his back.

“Babies don’t burp automatically?” I asked.

“I have no idea, actually. This is what Gina does. It does seem to help.”

“I have no clue about babies!” I chuckled.

“Sure you do. You know how to make them!” she teased.

“That does not take any intelligence. Even the dumbest jock and biggest stoner can figure out how to screw!”

“Good point, but it is a start!” she said with a smile.

Kyle burped and Anna wiped his mouth with the blanket and put him back in the high chair. When we finished, we headed back to her house. She invited me in and went to put Kyle down for a nap. When he was safely in his crib, she went to the fridge and got us each a Dr Pepper. We sat on the couch to drink.

“Would you do something for me?” she asked quietly.

I groaned inwardly, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

“What?” I asked as nicely as I could.

“I want you to love me, screw me, and fuck me. You know, the way you did that first time here in my bed.”

There had to be something in the water. It seemed as if every girl in the Tri-State area wanted to fuck. Even Trudy Spencer was flirting with me. But if there WAS something in the water, why were they coming to me? It really didn’t make a lot of sense, but then again, a lot in my life didn’t make sense!

I’d been with Anna before and I really liked her body and her tight, silky pussy. And I remembered the excellent blowjob she’d given me as well. Then it dawned on me that it wasn’t just this area — girls in Chicago were doing the same thing! I was really confused as to what was going on all of a sudden.

If Anna had been the only one to ask, instead of Susan, Mary, and Krista in Ohio, and Stephie, Jackie, Papiya, and Elyse in Chicago, it would be a no-brainer to say ‘yes’, assuming she understood the situation. That also raised the question of what she was looking for. In the past, she’d objected to what she called casual screws. I certainly couldn’t offer her a relationship, and honestly, if by some quirk of fate things changed with Kara, then there were other girls I’d rather be with than Anna. That would make this truly a dalliance, to use the old term I and the girls used.

“Anna,” I said gently, “you know for a fact that I can’t start any kind of relationship with you and there is very little chance of any kind of relationship in the future. I remember you quite clearly objecting to a casual screw. You even mentioned it at lunch. You’ve never, ever wanted that kind of thing.”

She sighed, “You’re right. And you know what I had hoped for when we had lunch the last time. Since then, I’ve really thought a lot about you. I finally decided that I just want to be with you. I know that it won’t mean anything. I just want to do it.”

“Please don’t drop your standards for what amounts to a roll in the hay. It’s not the right thing to do. Find a boyfriend, a guy you really like, and do it with him. Someone who can at least give you a possibility of a future. I can’t do that. I think you’ll ultimately regret it.”

“You don’t want to?” she asked.

“I DO want to!” I declared. “And that’s the problem. I want to, just as you do, but we shouldn’t. It would be empty and meaningless. An hour or two of pleasure and then we don’t see each other for months, and we go our separate ways. I care too much about you to do that to you. Please reconsider.”

“You would do it if I really wanted to, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. I would, but look deep into yourself. You don’t want to. Just stop and think. You don’t really want this. Your body does, and maybe you’ve convinced yourself that a few hours of screwing will make you feel better, but it won’t. In the end, you’ll feel worse.”

She sighed deeply, “I should call you a bastard for fighting me so hard on this, but I’m sure you’re right. I’m sorry that I pushed you on this. It was a mistake.”

She moved close to me and I put my arm around her. She nestled her head on my shoulder and put her arm across my chest. I held her for about ten minutes, then she moved away from me and got up.

“I hope you’ll call me when you come to town. Just for lunch or something. I promise I won’t ask for this again unless there’s a chance we could have a relationship.”

“I will. I like you, and I’m glad we can be friends.”

I stood and pulled her into a hug. She turned her face up, and I softly kissed her, our lips brushing lightly.

“Thanks, Steve.”

She walked me to the door and watched as I backed out of the driveway. I waved to her and headed back towards Milford. One small part of me was kicking me for not spending a few hours with Anna and her fantastic body, but my conscience was completely clear. I’d done the right thing. I was sure of that. When I got to the Spencers’, I changed clothes and headed to the Blanchard’s house for dinner.

The evening went well. Alan Blanchard was cordial and didn’t try to trap me into saying anything wrong. I was still very much on my guard, but I was more relaxed being at Kara’s house than at any time in the last year. After dinner, I volunteered to help with the dishes and didn’t get the usual cold stare from Alan. I felt that was good progress. When Kara and I finished the dishes, we went to sit in the den. She sat in my lap, rather than in another chair.

“Your dad is OK with us doing this?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her as she curled in my lap.

“No, but Mom said it was OK. I think you noticed Dad was being nicer to you.”

“I did. I can tell he’s still unhappy, but he’s not being nasty at this point.”

“I think Mom threatened to cut him off if he wasn’t nice,” she giggled, blushing slightly.

“Kara! You naughty girl!” I chuckled.

“Well, whatever she did, he’s at least tolerable now. Of course, in two months he’s going to freak out when we tell him I’m moving in with you after you come back from Sweden. I figure we’ll tell him right after graduation, or maybe the next day. I’ll arrange with Mom for you to come to dinner on Friday.”

“OK. I think you should tell your mom in advance that you’re going to tell him, maybe that morning.”

“Good point. I don’t want to blindside her. I mean, she’s figured everything out, but she’s never said anything to him.”

“Your mom has been amazing. We owe her a lot.”

“We do. Now, enough talking. Let’s make out!” she demanded impishly.

We spent the next thirty minutes necking lightly, being careful not to get overheated. At that point, it was time to leave, because it was a school night, so I said goodbye to her parents, thanked them, kissed Kara goodbye, and headed back to the Spencers’. Once again I spent some time with them chatting, then went to my room to write in my journal, then went to bed.

Friday morning was similar to Thursday — swimming and breakfast with Stephanie, studying, a sauna with Trudy, though without any teasing, and the coffee afterwards. Around 11:30am I got in my car to head to Dona’s house for lunch. I had been a bit confused by Dona’s seemingly sudden turnaround, but I thought it might be that enough time had passed that she just couldn’t sustain the anger. A few minutes later, I pulled into their driveway, parked and went to the front door and knocked.

Wilma let me in and told me to have a seat. She and Dona were just putting the finishing touches on lunch and it would be ready in less than ten minutes. Something smelled really good, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. When they called me to the kitchen, Dona greeted me with a smile. We sat down at the small dinette table and dug in.