Chapter 32

9 p.m. Sunday

As Andy struggled to get the air conditioner into the window without dropping it onto the street below, Camille went into her bedroom to call Evan. It still bothered her to hear Andy curse – and he was doing a lot of that.

"I was starting to think I was going to have to call you," Evan said when he answered the phone.

"We had some things to take care of," Camille replied. She wished Andy would get the damned air conditioner in because it was hot as Hades in her room. "Andy has school tomorrow and I have to go back to work."

"I was joking," Evan cut in. "I know you have things to do so I left you to them. I wouldn't have bothered you this evening. You'll notice I didn't call you as much as I've wanted to."

"Sorry," Camille said. "Before I forget: Did you give Andy money last night?"

"No," Evan answered. "I might be a bit daft but I've figured out that trying to pass cash to you or Andy is a fool's errand."

"You are a fool sometimes, Evan," Camille noted. Evan was grateful that she laughed afterward.

"Why do you ask?" he wondered.

"He found $250 in the pocket of his tux last night," Camille answered. "He thought you might have slipped it there."

"Please let him know that I didn't," Evan said. "But also let him know that he can come to me if he needs something."

"You know he won't do that," Camille stated. She hoped that Evan understood the same applied to her.

"I know," Evan answered. "I have spoken to my solicitor over here and she is singularly displeased with me."

"Was your visa not in order or something?" Camille asked.

"My visa and entry stamps are fine," Evan replied. "But it seems that I'm on the hook for quite a large sum of child support. She will be in contact with you this week to see if we can work out a payment schedule. The lump sum, I'm afraid, might send potential investors fleeing."

"You owe child support only if I attempt to collect it," Camille pointed out.

"You're wrong," Evan stated firmly. "I owe it whether you want it or not. Either parent may begin procedures and I've chosen to do just that. There is nothing you can do about it."

Camille silently stewed as she considered his words.

"How much are we talking about?" she finally asked.

"I'm afraid I don't have the complete figures in front of me," Evan admitted. "It's fortunate that you've lived in the same county for all of Andy's life. That meant we're not going to have to deal with differing jurisdictions and fluctuating rules of law – or so she says. I passed along my earnings and worth for the past 18 years. She seems to think I'm approximately three-quarters of a million dollars in arrears but fears that might be a bit conservative."

Evan heard a loud noise through the phone.

"Camille!" he yelled. "Cammie, are you there?"

"I'm here," Camille said. "I dropped the damned phone. Did you say 'three-quarters of a million?' As in, seven hundred-fifty thousand dollars?"

"That's what I'm told," Evan said. "With fees and interest, she said it might go to twice that amount. That's why I might need a payment plan. It's not the amount, mind you. I can come up with that relatively easily. It's more a matter of what having such a large amount show up would make investors think – particularly when word leaks out that the payments are for child support I've neglected to pay for 18 years. People tend to take a dim view of 'dead-beat fathers' was the term my solicitor used to describe me, I believe."

"Evan, that's not true!" Camille said. "If I had told you ... I know you would have..."

"The courts hold a differing view, I'm afraid," Evan noted. "In fact, if I were to anger you, I'm pretty sure you could have me slapped in irons and hauled away for a couple of years. My point is, I owe it. The circumstances are irrelevant. I owe the money and you will receive the money."

"Do we have alternatives?" Camille wondered. "I don't want to see your name in the dirt because of something I did."

"My solicitor has encouraged me to seek a private agreement with you and Andy," Evan admitted. "I told her I did not believe that would prove fruitful. I'm afraid I left her of the opinion that you would seek more because she wouldn't have understood the reality."

Camille felt a trickle of sweat run down the middle of her back as she stared at the wall opposite her. She heard Andy cursing again.

"The money in his pocket might have just been left there," Evan cut in, anxious to change the subject. "He hired the tuxedo, after all. Did he check the pockets before when he tried it on?"

"I have no idea," Camille admitted.

"Do you need me to return his suit tomorrow?" Evan offered. "It seems the only two people I'm interested in seeing are otherwise occupied so I have time."

"I drive right past there on my way to work," Camille replied. "I'm going to drop it off – after I check every pocket to make sure nothing else has been left behind."

"Can I speak to Andy for a few moments?" Evan asked. "I'd like to see if he had an entertaining evening last night."

"He's trying to put an air conditioner in the window," Camille said. "And failing miserably, I might add. I might have to have you come over tomorrow to repair the holes I'm sure he's about to put in the walls."

"I noticed it was a bit ... stuffy ... in there when I visited," Evan said. "Why have you waited so long?"

"We just bought the damned thing!" Camille said angrily. She took a deep breath and her voice turned conciliatory. "Andy decided since he didn't know who to give the money back to – and that no one was likely to own up to giving it to him – we should use part of it on an air conditioner. We haven't had one in years. It goes in the window and it's heavy as hell. He's afraid he's going to dump it out and it'll kill someone walking by."

Evan sat silently for a moment.

"Cammie, I've taken a suite at the Renaissance for the next six weeks," he said. "There is room for both of you there."

"Evan," Camille cut in.

"I'm not pressuring you," Evan pointed out. "I'm making a statement of fact. There is room there. Mum is flying over as soon as she gets the paperwork sorted out. The silly bird let her passport expire so it'll be the end of the week or maybe even next week. There is a backlog this time of year but her name does tend to get people moving. She plans to stay through Andy's graduation – if that is acceptable. Even while she is here, there is plenty of room if it's too hot or too loud or if one of you just needs to get away from the other for a night. I'll admit that I haven't been around young men in several years but I once was a young man and I remember some of the things Andy is going through – and I'm certain Mum can recall vividly the times she wished she could run screaming into the night. It is here if either of you wish to use it."

"Thank you, Evan," Camille said. "And you're right. He and I have been around each other more this week than usual. It's started to grate on each of us. I will let him know that you've made the offer."

"That's all I ask," Evan said.

"I think I finally got it," Andy said from the door of Camille's bedroom.

"Then get out of the doorway and let some of the cool air in here," she said with a laugh. "Your butt blocking it doesn't do me a whole lot of good."

"You're not too old for me to turn over my knee," Andy rejoined, winking at his mother. "Hi, Evan!"

"And how do you know I'm speaking to your father?" Camille asked.

"Well, first off, I heard you call him Evan," Andy said, rolling his eyes. "And secondly, who else would you talk to?"

"Perhaps I was speaking to Regan and telling her all the times you wet the bed as a child," Camille said. "If you're not nice to your old mother, that is a conversation that will be had."

"Yes, Ma'am," Andy said, feigning contriteness. "I'm just going to get out of the door and let the cool air in. Perhaps you'd like for me to draw you a bath or fix you a cold drink."

Camille heard Evan laughing on the other end of the phone.

"Right now, I want you to beat it so I can talk to Evan," Camille said, smiling. "I'll keep him on the line until Regan has to turn off her phone."

Andy glanced at the alarm clock beside his mother's bed. The time read 9:20 p.m. and he hadn't heard from Regan yet. He started to wonder if she would call him or if she had gotten too caught up in the happenings in her dorm room.

After taking a several pictures of Joy and Ruth 69-ing on Ruth's dorm bed, Regan gave up all pretense of objectivity. She had just leaned down at the foot of the bed and taken a picture between Ruth's legs as Joy's tongue danced across the other girl's clit.

Regan stood, whipped her T-shirt over her head, unsnapped her shorts and took offer her underwear so she was just as naked as the other two girls in the room.

She put the camera on the nightstand and sat down on her bed with her hand between her legs. Ruth and Joy were too caught up in what they were doing to understand Regan's actions but they finished before the third occupant did. It was Joy who turned her head first and found Regan masturbating only a few feet away.

Joy had planned to ask if Regan wanted to see anything else. Instead, she crawled up to the end of the bed. She and Ruth touched and kissed each other for a while longer to help Regan along. In truth, neither of them minded.

Joy caught sight of her phone sitting on Ruth's stand and shifted to get it. Regan's ragged breathing told them that she was well on the way to getting off and Joy wanted more pictures to document the occasion. She took several pictures from different angles as Regan's fingers danced across her clit. She even caught the moment of Regan's orgasm – although she didn't know it.

While Joy was taking pictures, Ruth had moved to sit directly across the room from Regan. Regan watched intently as Ruth fondled her large breasts and occasionally slipped a hand between her own legs to play with her pussy. It wasn't until Ruth lifted her left breast upward and sucked on the nipple that Regan went across.

"Oh, God!" Regan muttered as her hips began rotating on their own. She had never seen anyone do that to themselves and it was just the visual arousal she needed to add to the tactile stimulation her fingers were producing.

Joy turned and saw Ruth's tongue licking the tip of her breast and her eyes widened.

"Cool," she said softly. Joy was so entranced by Ruth's efforts that she missed Regan greedily stuffing her fingers in her mouth after she came. Ruth, for her part, thought Regan deserved a little bit of privacy so she kept up her activities. She had never tasted herself and was intrigued when Regan began licking her fingers. Ruth put her finger between her legs and collected some of the moisture that Regan's display had produced. She put the juice on her nipple and then brought it back to her lips.

"You have to stop!" Regan said hoarsely from her bed. Ruth was thinking about the taste of her pussy and was paying no attention. Otherwise, she would have seen that both Joy and Regan had put their fingers between their legs as they watched her.

Ruth released her nipple from her lips and looked up with a small smile. She had decided it wouldn't be the last time she accomplished that particular feat.

"What does that feel like?" Regan asked. She tried to heft her breast upward but couldn't do it. Her tongue was more than an inch too short to reach the nipple. Joy simply looked down at her smaller breasts and knew she didn't stand a chance. "Is it like when ... Joy ... was doing it?"

"Did what you just did feel the same as when Andy is doing it?" Ruth asked. "No, I'm sure it didn't. It felt good but it's different when someone else is doing it."

"Because your brain already knows what you're going to do," Joy answered. "There is no – anticipation, I guess – anticipation of what's coming next."

She sat down cross-legged on the edge of Regan's bed and passed the camera over.

"I took pictures of you," she said. "I am a seriously warped girl. I thought watching you play with yourself was sexy as hell. I either had to take some pictures or I was going to force Ruth's head back between my legs."

"I must be warped, too," Ruth agreed. Like Joy, she was now cross-legged, her pussy on clear display, on the opposite bed from where Regan and Joy sat. "I really enjoyed watching. I'll probably have to hit the shower for purposes other than cleanliness tonight."

"You might as well just do it in your bed," Regan said, slightly embarrassed not only by the praise but by the fact that she had been aroused by watching two of her friends have sex.

"True," Ruth laughed.

"You can delete any of the pictures you see," Joy said, her hand still extended with the phone.

"We're all incriminated," Regan joked. "I do want to take some pictures to send Andy – with everyone dressed."

"I want some pictures of the three of us together," Ruth chimed in. "Without clothes on. My phone has a timer. Does yours?"