Chapter 9

Linda Wise lived east of Scott Road and north of Wildcat Road. Linda was my age and cute as a bug ... we used to call good looking girls that ... most bugs aren’t cute ... what were we thinking?

Linda’s mom ... whose name I can’t remember for the life of me ... had been married to a wastrel. He was a good-looking fella ... gods gift ... and he thought so too. He collected ... girlfriends, old cars, motorcycles ... everything. This isn’t about him ... they’d been divorced for a long time. Although I didn’t know it until later, his collections were stashed in a big red hip-roofed Michigan barn. Anyway, Linda was absolutely his daughter ... she had the look and his morals ... or so the gossip went.

I was out visiting ... Mom was out visiting ... and she didn’t let me out of her sight, so I got drug/dragged along. This was my first time here.

“Hello, Linda,” I said, eying her bounteous chest

“Hello, David.” Crossing her arms so as to block my view, Linda responded.

“I didn’t know you lived here,” quick I was.

“Yes,” she sounded ... perturbed ... probably my imagination.

“You’re practically in my backyard,” I said.

“I know,” she said, shortly.

Her mom spoke up, “Linda, take David out while his mother and I have a conversation.”

“Mom!”

“Go on ... and stay out of the barn.”

“Yes mother.”

“And don’t slam...”

SLAM

“ ... the door.”

“Keep your hands to yourself, David,” Linda said.

“Have I done ... or said ... something to you?” I asked.

“Remember Katie?”

“Oh, yeah,” remember Katie I did.

“She said...”

“I never did,” I interrupted. “My dad raised me better than that.”

“But, she said...”

“Linda. You girls might think it’s cool to talk about your exploits, but, regardless of anything Katie may or may not have said ... I will admit to one thing ... She shot me down. I do not talk about my dates nor do I make up stories about girls. The only thing my friends know about me and girls ... I got nowhere, I did nothing. I said nothing that could be misconstrued as sexual. Get it?”

Slightly mystified, she nodded. “So you never?”

“Nope.”

“Katie said...”

“She lied.”

“I think I understand,” Linda said. “Wanna see the barn?”

“Your mother...”

She unbuttoned a couple of buttons on an over tight blouse, “I said ... Do you want to see the barn?”

The remaining few buttons actually needed the top two buttons to keep from popping out of their holes. They were straining to stay buttoned. The pressure proved to be too much for the thread and the next one down popped. Hit me in the chin ... it did. I caught the button as it bounced. This released a view of ample cleavage.

“Yes, ma’am. I’d love to see the inside of your barn.”

“I thought you might,” she grinned. “Good catch.”

She held out her hand and I dropped the button in it.

The barn had huge doors on the end but we hiked around to the side away from the house. As soon as we turned the corner ... she kissed me. I’d had lots of practice.

“Oh ... you do know, Katie said you did.”

“Katie lied.”

“Yes ... she lied. I see that now.”

The far side of the barn had three doors ... two small and one large. We slipped in the barn office. The office had a very long window that looked out on the huge interior.

I distinctly remember the shady view of the contents of the barn. Motorcycles!

None of your business.

We were not quite done before I heard mom calling.

“David! It’s time to go.” She mumbled something that I understood as speaking to Linda’s mom. “I don’t understand it, I had to force him out of the house and now I can’t find him.”

Quickly finishing up unfinished business, I left Linda on the leather sofa and stepped out the door ... around the corner and nearly ran over Linda’s mom.

“Tuck your shirt in,” she reached up and wiped lipstick off my mouth. She sniffed. “You smell like pussy. There’s a water tap in the office and a roller towel. You’ve been in the orchard ... understand?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’d like to come back and talk to you about the motorcycles in the barn.”

“Here’s the deal ... put the BMW together and make it run and you can have any one motor in the barn.”

And she kissed me.