Chapter 58: Rest and Relaxation, Part II

May 1982, Milford, Ohio

Thursday was very much like Monday, with swimming and breakfast with Stephanie, a lunchtime tryst with Dona, and then a quick lovemaking session with Kara before we went to the Krajicks’ to pick up the apartment key from Ed. Our next stop was Fazio’s to get the groceries for the menu that Kara and Joyce had worked out. We also stopped at UDF for ice cream for dessert. We arrived at the apartment a few minutes before Joyce and Terry — just long enough to unpack the groceries and get the ice cream into the freezer.

I offered to help cook but was quickly shooed out of the kitchen area by Joyce and Kara both. Terry just laughed, and we sat on the couch drinking Cokes.

“Do you cook?” Terry asked. “Or were you just teasing them?”

“I cook,” I replied. “Probably better than Kara, but not close to Joyce. Yet!”

“I heard that, Steve!” Joyce called from the stove. “You do pretty well for not being Italian.”

“He does LOTS of things well, Joyce,” Kara giggled.

I just shook my head, and I saw Terry smirk. He leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, “I know all about you and Joyce. It’s cool.”

I just nodded. I both was and wasn’t surprised that she had told him the details. She had indicated that she wasn’t going to, but I guessed that she was concerned that something would be said at one of these dinners that might give it away, and that it was better to get it out in the open rather than have Terry blindsided.

When dinner was ready, Terry opened a bottle of wine and we sat down to eat and drink. I limited myself to one glass because Kara and I would leave when Terry and Joyce did. There was no need to mess up the sheets in the apartment.

“Steve, are you coming to Grandfather’s house while you’re home?”

“Yes. I was thinking about a week from Sunday. This Sunday I’m spending with my little sister. She’s been missing me and we’re going to hang out.”

Terry asked about my trip to Sweden and we ended up talking about my year there quite a bit. We finished dinner and dessert, and Terry and I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. I also made a pot of coffee, and when Terry and I had finished, we sat down with the girls.

“I need to have Terry around Steve more often,” Joyce said mirthfully. “Steve is so nicely domesticated!”

“He’s pretty handy in the kitchen ... and elsewhere,” Kara giggled.

“How many glasses of wine have you had, Kara?” I asked.

“Just one!” she said primly.

I shook my head. Kara was getting bolder, and speaking freely in front of more and more people, including ones she didn’t know very well. I was getting used to that behavior around our close friends, but having her do it in front of Terry was a bit surprising, though I suppose I really shouldn’t be surprised. She was developing a very healthy view of sex, nudity, and relationships, in contrast to what her dad and her church were teaching. And to me, that boded well for the future, though the nagging problem of church was still there.

When we finished our coffee, Joyce and Terry said goodbye and we all headed out to our cars. Kara and I went back to the Spencers’ and opted for a sauna. About ten minutes after we had settled in, Pete and Melanie came in.

“We thought we’d join you!” Melanie declared. “How are things going?”

“I graduate a week from today!” Kara said. “And fifty days from today, I’m moving to Chicago!”

“Now you’re both counting days?” Melanie said, rolling her eyes. “This is getting sickeningly romantic.”

“For all the logic and all the intelligence, my Snuggle Bear is a hopeless romantic.”

“I know THAT,” Melanie said with a laugh, “I would just never say it out loud because he’d deny it vehemently! He wants you to think he’s Mr. Spock!”

Pete grinned, “He behaves more like Captain Kirk!”

“Gee, thanks for the support, Pete.” I deadpanned.

“You mean the guy commanding the ship and using it as a way to go to strange new worlds and get laid?” Melanie teased.

“I have never had sex with a green-skinned alien ever in my life,” I said smugly.

Pete, Melanie, and Kara all laughed.

“You’re handling Steve’s, well, social life, better than I would have expected, Kara,” Melanie said.

“I love him. I knew the situation when I decided I wanted to go to bed with him and I was willing to accept it. So here I am. But, and he believes this too, that in fifty days, that life is a thing of the past.”

I nodded, grinned, and said, “I do.”

“Not yet, you dolt! Four years from now, you say that!” Kara giggled, leaning over to kiss my shoulder.

A few minutes later, Kara and I left the sauna, and she grabbed my hand to bypass the shower. We had a repeat of the previous session under the comforter, our extremely warm bodies generating tremendous heat and making both of us drip with sweat and gasp for breath.

“Damn, that’s amazingly hot!” I gasped, throwing off the comforter and exposing our naked bodies completely to the cool room air.

“Well, I wanted to do it in the sauna, but with Pete and Melanie there, I just couldn’t.”

“I understand. We’ll need to change the sheets, though, they’re soaked! And I need something to drink after that.”

We put on our robes and went to shower, then dressed and went downstairs to have a Dr Pepper. Melanie and Pete joined us, though they were drinking Cokes.

“You know, you could have screwed in the sauna, Kara,” Melanie teased.

“Not with you and Pete there!” she said, blushing slightly.

“It wouldn’t bother me!” Melanie said with a silly grin.

“Mel!” Pete said. “You know better.”

Melanie sighed, “Yes, Petey. Sorry.”

Pete was heavily outnumbered, not just here, but amongst all of Melanie and my friends. In three years, Melanie had gotten him to loosen up a bit, but he was still very, very conservative and traditional in his views. I’d given up changing his mind, but he was very tolerant of what anyone else did, though he did try to put the brakes on Melanie. That was a tall task, and difficult to do, and she often crossed lines he didn’t want crossed. It was a testament to their mutual love that they made it work — the child of hippies and the son of a career Marine officer. We finished our soft drinks, and I drove Kara home. I walked her to her door, and we kissed good night, and then I headed back to the Spencers’ to sleep.

Friday was just like Thursday, except Kara and I had a double-date with Tracey and Marty. We went to dinner, had a sauna together, then went to see Conan the Barbarian at the theater in Mariemont. We all loved the movie, though we had to rush out at the end of the movie so that I could get Kara in by curfew. I dropped Kara at her house before heading back to the Spencers’ so that Marty and Tracey could get his car and head home.

“Steve,” Tracey said, “I’m having a party next Friday, if you’re interested. I think Kara may even have loosened up enough to participate!”

“Not yet — she’s still uncomfortable about nudity and anything sexual in public, though you’re right, she’s loosened up a lot. Also, she has her Senior class outing next Friday.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that because we’re Juniors. You could bring Jessica. She’d love to see you again, and she’s dying to come to one of my parties!”

“She hasn’t found a boyfriend?”

“She’s gone out on a bunch of dates, but she hasn’t liked anyone enough to sleep with them yet, and that’s one of our requirements. She’s picky enough that she’s not going to jump into bed with just anyone just to come to one of my parties.”

“Let me think about it,” I replied. “Everyone is at least a Sophomore?”

“Yeah, there are two Sophomores, but the rest of us are all Juniors, well, on Friday night we’ll all be Juniors and Seniors! Nobody is younger than sixteen and most of us are seventeen. And trust me, everyone is discreet. If somebody blabbed, it would end our parties!”

“OK. I’ll let you know by Monday,” I said as they got into Marty’s car.

Once they had driven away, I went inside. What she suggested was an interesting idea. I had worried about my reputation in the past, but because the parties were more limited than I had first imagined, I wouldn’t be with anyone at the party besides Jessica if I went. I also felt that Tracey was right about the fact that the kids wouldn’t talk because it would be the end of the parties. And I certainly wouldn’t mind being with Jessica one last time. Kara had given me the option of going before, so this wasn’t a question of behaving or not.

That last thought brought my attention back to Dona. That probably WAS misbehaving, as I thought about it. The problem was, I found it hard to resist that sexy body. I didn’t know what her exam schedule was, nor did I know Kara’s, and it was possible that Kara could see us together, which would create a problem that I didn’t want to deal with. I’d let my desire create a situation that could seriously hurt Kara and me. And that had to stop. I slept fitfully, concerned about the situation with Dona that I’d gotten myself into.

On Saturday morning, I swam and had breakfast with Stephanie, then spent some time with my dad. Before I left to pick up Kara, I called Dona’s house to talk to her. She wasn’t happy with the situation, but said that she understood. She let me know she wasn’t upset, really, just disappointed, though she had known it was going to end. She did remind me to call her if Kara, and I didn’t get together for some reason. I assured her that was unlikely. Dona was cordial and told me to call her if I had free time, which indicated that she wasn’t angry, and that was a good thing. I felt better about the situation, but realized I shouldn’t have started it in the first place when she’d shown up at the house on Monday.

That again made me think about Tracey’s party. The only way I would feel good about it would be to ask Kara if it was OK to go, which would mean telling her about Jessica. If Kara approved of THAT, then I’d go. If she didn’t, then I wouldn’t, and I’d find something else to do on Friday night — perhaps go out with Bethany. The last thing I wanted to do at this point was step over a line that Kara couldn’t accept and mess things up. That would be a disaster of epic proportions for both of us. She’d given me some freedom; I just had to avoid abusing it.

I arrived at Kara’s house just after 9:00am. The ballgame started at 7:05pm and we’d pick up Elyse at 4:00pm and grab something to eat. Bethany was driving Ed and Stephanie and would meet us at Riverfront. Kara and I had until around 3:00pm to ourselves. Kara suggested we head to the Nature Center and walk.

“Really? Rather than make love?” I asked.

“It would be very, very messy right now!” she giggled.

“Sorry, Honey. I don’t keep track of your periods!”

“I think I’ll get a calendar for the apartment. We can keep it in our room and I can mark the days!” she said with a silly smile.

“It’s why I was OK with going to the game tonight and you spending tomorrow with Stephanie. I was pretty sure it was going to come this morning, and it did, like clockwork! At least we’ll know for sure when to have sex to make babies!”

“True! Though I suggest we wait for a few years for that!”

“Duh!” she giggled. “But we have years and years to practice making them!”

“I’m not sure we need practice at this point!” I smirked.

“Do the Reds practice every day? Well, I guess they really need it now, but even when they were winning back-to-back World Series, they practiced nearly every day!”

“True,” I said, pausing. “Kara, Tracey invited me to a party on Friday night. I was thinking of going, but only if you allow it.”

“I told you I was OK with it, but who would you go with?”

“A friend of Tracey’s that I’ve been with before on two occasions.”

“Is this someone I know?” Kara asked.

“I don’t think so. She’s a Sophomore.”

“The one I saw talking to you at school?”

“Dona? No. Not her. She and Tracey don’t know each other as far as I’m aware. Tracey has a close circle of friends and the invitations to the parties are strictly limited to people she trusts.”

“I did say you could go, so I guess I’m OK with it.”

“Kara, if you don’t want me to go, if you’ve changed your mind, just say so. I haven’t said ‘yes’.”

“Go,” Kara said firmly. “You want to. It’ll be your only chance, ever. But, and I mean this, if the party goes beyond what Tracey said, then you need to leave. I know you and Tracey have been together and I guess I wouldn’t have a problem there, but the other girls are off limits beyond what Tracey said.”

“I agree. That was my thinking, too. But if even that bothers you, I won’t go.”

“In some ways, I wish I could go with you, but I just don’t want to kiss anyone but you. Ever. Maybe it sounds silly, but if I am only ever with you, for my whole life, then I don’t feel I’ve done anything wrong by making love with you.”

“It’s not silly at all, Kara. I continue to be amazed at your progress on all these issues. And at the freedom you’ve given me.”

“There are limits, Mr. Adams, and you know it. We’ve talked about them before.”

“I do indeed,” I said.

“Have you been behaving?” Kara asked, her voice taking a serious tone.

That was indeed the question. And the answer, at least with regard to Dona for this past week, had to be a resounding ‘no’.

“I was just examining everything I’ve done since a year ago, and my answer to that is I think I’ve crossed the behaving line once. It was with a girl I’d been with before and shouldn’t have taken up with again, although it was only briefly. I’ll give you details if you want them, but I will say this — I was not with Jennifer, Becky, or Stephanie. I know those are bright lines to never cross.”

“They are. Especially Becky. The other two, well, I told you to use your judgment with Jennifer and you did what I expected of you. As for your sister, well, you know my opinion on THAT and while it’s not like Becky, it’s certainly not using good judgment, in my opinion. Not to mention you gave me your word that it was over. And yes, tell me who.”

“Dona Bingham.”

“I figured as much when I saw her talking to you. You answered truthfully, but not fully, when I asked about her.”

“That’s correct. I had been with her before I got together with you, but also since the Spring. I’m sorry, Kara.”