18: Mary

"I didn't even realize how much I missed talking to you in the morning, sweetheart," I said as I mixed ingredients for a huge batch of bread. All fifteen of us were in the casa this morning, but I also knew that at least two other casas would join us for forms and they would all want to partake of the fresh hot bread when its baking aroma filled the room. The huge bread stones in the ovens meant I could bake eight good loaves at a time. I hadn't been getting up in the morning to bake bread since school started. I'd slipped out of our fort a few minutes before four-thirty to get things started and just began talking aloud as if Rhonda were there listening.

"I didn't stop all at once. I was really devastated the first time someone nudged me to get up at six-thirty to do forms and I realized I hadn't woken up to talk to you at our special time. And you weren't even close to me. You were sandwiched between Samantha and Jennifer. I'm not jealous of them. How could I be with Rose, Whitney, and Liz lying on top of me in some way or another? Elaine, Sora, and Courtney were already up. It was like something important—very important—was missing from my life that morning. I tried to talk to you later, but we had a production meeting. I had homework, and Courtney needed special attention that night because of the jerk in her class that put her down. And then it happened again. And again."

I slammed a fist into the bread dough and then had to clean the sticky dough off my fingers. No sense getting so upset. Life was what it was.

"What do you think of Mary? She wants to make love this weekend and I'm afraid I'll just add one more person I can't give enough to. I love the girl. We've messed around a lot. I'd love to make love to her. But I don't feel like I've courted her, you know? Our first time together should be something we're both looking forward to and I get the feeling it's more like a task to be checked off her list. Do you think Josh will finally step up and make her a novia? I know he and Cassie love her and she loves them. But in a way it's like Doreen and Doug. They are deeply in love and will do anything for each other except make love to one another."

I pulled a cloth over the big bowl and considered taking a shower, but instead I grabbed flour and shortening and started making piecrusts. While people were eating bread, I could have quiche in the oven and everyone would get a full breakfast.

"And Doreen is another matter I need to get straight in my head. She's been so good to me. She wants so much to have a baby when Betts has her next—maybe as soon as next Christmas. Will my life be settled enough that I can even be a half-assed father? Yes, Doug will be the Dad-in-residence. But you know how I am. And they promised as well. I'll be his or her father. I want to be part of my children's lives. I'm beginning to think I should bag the whole chemistry degree and just move full time into television like you are. We'd have to figure out equipment and editing, but if we were running a daily syndicated show, it would bring in enough revenue to support the casa. I just don't know what to do," I sighed.

Arms slipped around my waist and I felt soft mounds of flesh pressed against my back. Little kisses rained down on my shoulders.

"They don't have any idea what you're going through, do they?" Mary whispered.

"Mary! I didn't know you were here. I'm sorry. I just usually have a little chat with Rhonda when I'm working in the kitchen. Sometimes she's here and sometimes not. Please don't think I'm having second thoughts about making love with you," I said as I turned in her arms and pulled her to me.

"You are having exactly the kinds of thoughts I'm having," she said. "When I dreamed this idea up, I was living here and we saw each other every day. We were working on the house and sharing all kinds of things. It was easy-peasy to give you a big naked hug every time I passed you and learn to love you like everyone else does. And then we all had to go back to life as normal. We were 250 miles away from each other. I let it build up in my head as this big remarkable event and just realized that we hadn't been in touch with each other enough for it to mean everything I want it to."

"I do love you, Mary," I said. "And I want to make love to you."

"That's what you said. But you also said you wanted to court me. When you said that, I realized I want that, too. I want to come home from a date with you, giggling over something funny we did or saw. I want to look up into your eyes and suddenly see that this is the night. I want it to surprise me the same way that daffodils surprise me in the spring. I see the green shoots come up out of the snow sometimes. I get excited because spring is almost here. And then, all of a sudden, I walk outside one morning and there are yellow flowers everywhere," she said. She lifted her lips and kissed me. It was filled with such gentle longing that it made me want to weep.

"I wish we'd been able to share everything this year," I sighed. "But I'm not very good. I'm not good at being what everyone needs."

"Oh, you're great at being what everyone needs. What you're not very good at is being what you need." We kissed again. "I'm the same way. You don't know what I did." She dragged my right hand down and pulled it against her pussy. It was soft and smooth and hairless. "I shaved. I thought, 'Brian loves Samantha's pussy. It's so smooth. I'll make my pussy like that, so he'll like it the way he likes Samantha's.' It's silly. I know not all your cónyuge shave. I just kept thinking, 'I'll be what Brian needs to be turned on by me.' And not until I heard you talking this morning, did I realize that you need me to be me. You already have Samantha."

"You're right about that," I said as I continued to rub my finger through her smooth, wet lips. "I want you to be you and I want to be me when we make love. It seems a shame to waste all this effort you put into it, though."

"Brian, you don't have to..." I picked her up and sat her on the breakfast counter. I pulled up a stool and parted her legs. "Oh!" She spread them wider so I could look at her sweet, bare pussy. "It would be a shame to let so much effort go without it at least being tasted," she whispered. I licked around her lips and then parted them to get to her inner labia. She was wet and tasty. I took a long stroke from bottom to top and flicked her clit a couple times before I pulled back to look again. I think I will never get tired of looking at girls' pussies. There is nothing in the world that is more beautiful.

"You're completely intact!" I said. I guess I had a little too much surprise in my voice.

"Yeah. It hasn't been easy. I mean, at first it was because I never even considered sticking so much as a tampon in me when I reached puberty. But then ... Every time you, or Josh, or Cassie..." she hushed to a whisper, "or Jennifer licks me, I just want to have something plunging in and out." Jennifer licks her? Hmm. I stuck out my tongue and lightly traced the contours of the thin membrane, not applying pressure, but firmly enough that she could feel it. She responded so quickly and so hard that I barely got my tongue soft enough to keep from penetrating it.

"You like being played with, don't you, Mary?"

"Yes! Please, do it some more. We don't have to make love this weekend, but please suck me and tongue me some more. I promise I'll do the same for you."

"Mmm. Is Mary what's for breakfast this morning?" Cassie asked as she hopped up on the counter next to her girlfriend. Josh slipped between her legs and gave Cassie a similar tongue-bath. "Oh! Maybe I'm for breakfast!" Soon, Mary and Cassie were caught up in each other's lips as Josh and I competed to bring the two girls to a roaring climax. Josh nudged me and I switched places with him as the girls came down from their first orgasms. Then I was feasting on Cassie's delectable clit and thrusting my fingers into her pussy as the two girls got their second helping.

I washed up and popped the eight loaves into the oven. Then we all took ourselves to the end of the room where the rest of the casa was warming up with Whitney. The other casas were soon with us and we settled down to do our forms seriously. I pulled the bread out of the oven after forms and put the quiches in. Whitney grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the stairs.

"Forty minutes," I called to Rhonda, pointing at the oven.

"Those Mishawaka girls got you all hard, and I need to relax again before my game tonight. Help me relax, Brian," Whitney said as she pulled me onto the bed. There was no question who was in control. Whitney was on top of me and within seconds had me buried deep inside. I marveled once again at how incredible my first lover felt now that we were no longer using condoms. The downside was that I wasn't going to last anywhere near as long as usual. It wasn't an issue because Whitney was already near her peak when I entered her. "I wanted you like this ever since I left for camp after junior year," she cried as she collapsed on me. "We only had a couple months like this and then we used condoms. Brian, I tried not to be jealous of Rose and then of Rhonda, but I wanted you like this so much. I love you!"

I seldom heard such an outpouring from Whitney. While an active and exciting partner in bed and a formidable opponent in sparring, she didn't reveal her emotions that much. I loved her all the more.

Whitney was the only freshman starter and she showed why she'd been given that position. She was a wild woman. She scored twenty points and snagged six rebounds. We clobbered Western Illinois, 82-56, in the first game of the Full-o-Pep/Howard Johnson Classic.

Adam joined us at the game but had to leave the group quickly in order to make ten o'clock curfew for the football team. They'd be traveling to Purdue in the morning for the Old Oaken Bucket, traditionally the last game of the regular season. He promised to come by the barn on Sunday and hinted that he might need some arnica.

"I think maybe I shouldn't relax you so much on game day," I whispered to Whitney as we all got ready for bed.

"Shut up and fuck me, cónyuge," she replied. "I scored four times from the three-point line, two free throws and three field goals. I started for Indiana Fucking University!" I turned her to face the water in the shower and did as she requested.

Since none of us wanted to drive up to West Lafayette for the football chaos, we'd set Saturday as our casa Thanksgiving Day. We used both sides of the kitchen for cooking with all the prep work backstage and all the cooking out front. We had such a big kitchen that it had never occurred to me that it would be too small to get everything cooked for the whole casa. Our 29-pound turkey completely filled one oven. We had all the largest kettles and pans we could muster on the stove, and Donna was showing off her pie-making skills by filling the second oven—pumpkin pie, apple pie, and strawberry-rhubarb pie. I was tempted to start with dessert.

We still couldn't feed Whitney too much. We didn't want her sluggish for the final game of the tournament. But there was plenty of food for those who wanted to pig out. We had a radio going that gave us the play-by-play for the Purdue football game.

Rose had taken Sora to garage sales, auctions, and estate sales all summer and found enough chairs that we could seat sixteen at our dining table. She'd commissioned Doug and Carl to build an extension to the table and Jennifer and Courtney had sewn a tablecloth that covered the whole thing. But best of all, we all sat together and held hands around the table in a moment of thanksgiving for what we had—our family. We didn't say a word, but we each caught and held the eye of each of our hearthmates for a moment. When I stood to start carving the turkey, there wasn't a dry eye among us.

Whitney was right back on her game Saturday night against Missouri, proving her first night's performance wasn't a fluke. We beat the nationally ranked team 70-65. Our men's team with Lionel and Lamar were beating Santa Clara, but that tournament was at Western Kentucky. There was no way we could be at everyone's games and all agreed that, in our casa, Whitney was our first priority.

Adam got out to the ranch in time for lunch Sunday before everyone had to leave. Donna drove back to Oberlin. Mary, Cassie, and Josh headed for Mishawaka. Liz took Nicki to the airport in Indianapolis. As usual, Elaine wouldn't go back to Indy until Monday. Before they took off, I walked out toward the woods with Mary. I wanted to spend a few minutes to make sure she was okay.

"Don't worry, Brian. As usual, you did the right thing," she said. "I want you. I get slippery wet just thinking about you. But I'm not sure if it's because of you or because of the excitement of being fucked. How do you ever manage to handle so many hormonal women? We're bitches."

"Not very well, I'm afraid. Mary, you won't mention anything you heard, will you?"

"Of course not. But Brian, you should know something. We—your hearthmates and your cousins—don't have you as our leader because of what you do. We follow you because of what you are. Don't be afraid to ask for help. None of us want to sap your soul. We just get carried away," she said. I turned to kiss her.

"You're turning into a very perceptive young woman," I said. "Perceptive, smart, sexy."

"It would be better if you said that while your hand was in my panties," she whispered. I had to do a little work to make that happen. She was wearing tight jeans and in order to get my hand where she wanted it, I had to unfasten them and pull them down to her ankles. She didn't want to be the only one with a bare ass, so she did the same to mine. I sat on the wet ground and she wiggled onto my lap. Out there in the field, we touched and stroked each other to a climax.

"I love you, Mary."

"I love you, too. I know you've had all the experience you want, but could you ... would you ... consider being my date to the prom this year? If it's okay, I mean." My cock pulsed against her leg again and she scooped the little drop of come off the tip with her finger and sucked it into her mouth. Her big brown eyes were so seductive I couldn't say no.

Adam stayed over Sunday night and worked out with us in the morning. He was a little surprised to find everyone naked in the big room when he came out of the guest room, but he just fell into line and worked like the rest of us did. Looking around, I was pleased that we were all, in all three casas, succeeding in staying fit and trim. Carl and Doug had even dropped the weight they were gaining early in the summer. The fourteen girls who lived at the ranch, at least most of the time, looked terrific. Adam never made an inappropriate gesture or word and Sora pushed him to the shower afterward.

"Let's get clean. You need some of Brian's magic salve on your bruises," she said. I wondered if Sora was interested in Adam or if she was testing to make sure of his orientation. I guessed it was okay either way. Sora had mentioned once or twice needing a full time boyfriend. She wasn't neglected in the casa, but it was clear that she wanted something that she'd never have with me. I wondered who else in my casa would be finding someone. Elaine? Nicki? Mary? I was going to have to control my potential jealousy.

For his part, Adam expressed his appreciation for the arnica and for letting him join us for workouts. He also volunteered to work as a grip on Saturdays if we needed him. He'd still have football practice for the next month. We were slated to play in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta at the end of the year. I liked him. Sometimes he would spend extra time with Whitney and treat her like his master. I should treat her with more respect.

And then we were back in the swing of things. We all drove up to Terre Haute Tuesday night to watch the Lady Hoosiers take on and defeat Indiana State 76-68. We were undefeated. Whitney was still confusing opponents by switching from guard on offense to forward on defense. And even as a forward, she could still nail that corner shot.

Wednesday night we got our first look in the fieldhouse to watch Lionel and Lamar play in the men's home opener against Notre Dame. That was close, but we took a 70-67 victory. Lamar was anchoring the team in the center and Lionel was struggling to adjust to a forward position. He didn't get much playing time, but he's a freshman on a very competitive team. It was quickly evident that I wasn't going to make every game. There were just too many of them. Friday night, Whitney's team beat Creighton 78-57. The men played against Louisville at home on Saturday. At the same time, I was filming both episodes 14 and 15 before we gave the crew a break for the holiday. When we came back from break, it would be like starting over again with a new crew from Lonnie's next class. Fortunately, filming fifteen shows in each semester meant that we had the first three shows after the first of the year in the can. It would give us time to start filming with the new crew without having to have an episode out that week. Sunday afternoon, Whitney led the team to an 80-64 victory over Kentucky. We were 5-0 for the season.

We just couldn't join the team for the game at Notre Dame Thursday night. It would be four or five hours driving up and again back. And we had classes. I was worried about the classes Whitney had to miss. It turned out, though, that for jaunts like that, the team flew in the university's G-I, straight from Bloomington to South Bend. A bus picked them up at the airport and they were in the Notre Dame fieldhouse within two hours. The school didn't want the team to miss classes, either.

Then it was the week before finals. My final LitCrit paper was due. My final German paper was due. And final exams would follow the same schedule as midterms. That meant evening Lab exams and morning lecture exams. The last one would be biology.

"Hey," I said to Dawn and Cathy as we settled in for class on Friday. "Angela is coming out to the ranch to study tomorrow. She said she'd help us review if you two want to come out."

"Really? Our TA? I didn't know you knew her," Cathy said.

"We're old friends, but I didn't realize she was our TA until after midterms," I said.

"What time?" Dawn asked.

"Let's make it ten Saturday morning. With no filming until next semester, we're all being a little lazy on Saturday mornings," I said. I didn't mention the fact that we didn't get dressed until about then. Or that Angela was coming out to the ranch tonight to join us.

I also forgot that Adam was coming to the ranch for the weekend.

"It's okay," Rose said. "Angela is sleeping upstairs with the girls tonight and you and Adam can share the guest room."

"What?" I practically shouted. Rose looked me in the eye and then busted out laughing.

"Oh. Did you want to sleep with Angela? We could take Adam upstairs."

"Rose!"

"Some days it's just too easy to tease you," Rose laughed. "Adam's got the guest room, but Angela is coming upstairs with the rest of us."

"Has anyone ... Have you ... gone over the rules and warned her?"

"She and Adam have both signed the agreement. That doesn't make them part of the clan or the casa. They haven't signed the charter and we haven't invited them to. But they've agreed to the rules of the house. They've both been here with all of us naked," Rose said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Angela asked for a little attention, but I don't think she's going to suggest making love—or anything really sexual. She really likes how relaxed we are."

"And nude," I laughed. "She didn't want to wear clothes when we were eleven and twelve. She believes we're all nudists."

"Well, look around," Rose said. We were all plopped down around the fireplace and there wasn't a stitch of clothing around. Rose was sitting on my lap and we'd closed our books. We just cuddled in the big chair. She kissed me. I know it used to be that just seeing any one of these girls naked would give me a hard-on. Now it took Rose wiggling in my lap.

"Do they know everything?" I whispered as I pushed my fingers down between Rose's legs. They parted to give me better access.

"Pretty much," she whispered back as she licked my ear.

"Then how about you turn around and straddle me, cónyuge. I want you. I mean really, really want you."

"I'm yours," she purred. She shifted around and began rubbing her pussy against my cock, slowly getting us both wet and ready. "I love you, Brian," she said as she shifted enough to let my cock penetrate her. We both sighed. We didn't do any frantic humping. We did a lot of kissing and petting. The squeezes of her pussy around my cock and the occasional stroke ensured we were both kept on the edge. We heard books closing and paper rustling. I glanced over and saw that Liz had Adam sitting in a dining chair and was cutting his hair. He was positioned so he wasn't looking right at us, but I was pretty sure he knew what we were doing. Angela, on the other hand, was watching with the rest of our casa and had a hand between her legs.