Chapter 57: Three Birthdays, Two Jobs, and a Play, Part I

March/April 1981, Milford, Ohio

I had half-expected Stephanie to sneak into my room on Sunday night, but to my combined relief and regret, she didn’t. We were up early to swim and she once again looked around for any observers and gave me a quick kiss.

“I missed sleeping with you last night, Big Brother,” she whispered. “I wanted to come to your room, but I knew it was too dangerous!”

“We’ll find some time, Squirt, I promise!”

“Good!” she whispered, “My pussy feels so empty!”

“Just your pussy?” I teased.

She stifled a laugh, and we swam our laps, showered separately, and ate breakfast before heading off to school.

The week went by quickly, with Kara hanging out with me during play rehearsals. The rules set by Kara, Bethany, and Stephanie were still in place, so I was pretty much never alone. Kara seemed to be doing OK, though we didn’t get a chance to go out during the week. I did have my weekly dinner date with Elyse, but otherwise, I was home most evenings. Stephanie and I would exchange quick kisses when we had the chance, and the occasional tight hug, but we were both concerned about being caught, so we kept things calm. I knew that couldn’t last and I could tell my little sister was getting really horny.

On Friday, I went straight home from school, bringing Kara with me. Stephanie rode with us, but Debbie and Mary rode the bus home so that Kara could come with me. My goal was to not need her parents to come by our house, and I didn’t want to have to go back out to get her. So far, we’d avoided her parents meeting my mom, but I knew that would probably happen at some point. When we got to my house, I insisted that Kara sit and let Stephanie and me do all the prep work.

Of course, we had to be careful not to do anything at all that might interfere with my mom’s preparing dinner or the rest of the family eating. That more or less prevented me from cooking, so I’d given Larry money to pick up chicken and fixings from Famous Recipe. Stephanie and I set the dining room table, hung some streamers and then went to my room to wait for our guests, who would arrive around 5:30.

Larry showed up first, at about 5:20pm. I put the chicken in the oven to keep it warm, happy that my mom wasn’t using both ovens in the over/under set up we had. I put the rest of the stuff on the table, as we’d eat as soon as everyone was there. Joyce showed up next, just before 5:30pm, followed quickly by Bethany, Kathy, Mary and Josh, and Kara’s friend Susie. Stephanie got drinks for everyone while I put the chicken onto platters and put it on the table. We’d invited Tracey and Marty, but Tracey had told me with a smirk that they already had their own plans. I’d just wished them a fun evening.

Kara nudged me as I sat down. I knew she wanted to pray. My usual crowd wasn’t religious, but I figured nobody would object. I leaned over to Josh and asked him to say the prayer. He sounded almost identical to Kara’s dad when he prayed. I saw Bethany roll her eyes, but otherwise nobody said anything, sitting quietly until he concluded and we said ‘Amen’.

“Thanks, Steve,” Kara whispered.

I nodded, and we all dug in. The conversation was lively, and I noticed that Susie seemed to fit right in with the group as well. She had been the one who had been teasing Josh about being a virgin at the Youth Group, so I really wasn’t too worried, but you could never be sure. Of course Josh was being regularly screwed within an inch of his life by Mary, and he was hanging out at our table at lunch, so he already fit in. His Swedish was coming along well, and I figured he’d be fluent as quickly as I was, if not faster.

When we finished eating, Stephanie brought out a birthday cake that Joyce had made and we all sang to Kara. She blew out the candles, though I couldn’t convince her to make a wish before doing so. When we finished our cake and ice cream, Kara opened her presents. Mary and Josh gave Kara a very nice leather-bound Bible. I was a bit surprised, but Mary nodded towards Josh and I immediately understood. Joyce’s gift was a small clutch purse, and Larry’s gift was a leather shoulder bag. Bethany’s was a pair of stuffed animals, penguins, with an ‘S’ and a ‘K’ on them, respectively. Kathy gave her the new Air Supply album. Susie gave Kara a sweater with her initials on it, KAB.

“Kara, I don’t know your middle name!” I said.

“It’s Anne, with an ‘e’.”

“Mine’s Ann, but no ‘e’,” Stephanie chimed in.

Stephanie smirked as she handed her gift to Kara. She had gone out with Bethany one day and hadn’t told me what she’d purchased. The smirk told me it was going to be something sexy. I was sure everyone at the table knew that Kara and I were intimate; I just hoped my mom didn’t happen to walk in.

Kara unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. She turned bright red and closed the box. Stephanie started laughing and Bethany joined in a few seconds later.

“What is it, Kara?” Joyce asked with a smirk that made me wonder if she wasn’t in on this as well.

“It’s embarrassing!” she said.

“Oh, go on, show everyone!” Joyce said, making it clear that she did know.

Kara blushed even deeper and pulled a white lace teddy from the box, causing everyone at the table to hoot, laugh, or whistle. Kara giggled nervously and put it back in the box and closed the box.

“Nice, Squirt!” I whispered.

Stephanie just smirked. I handed Kara my gift. I had thought of giving her a public and private gift, but decided in the end that I’d just give her one. She tore open the small box and gasped when she opened it. She pulled out a necklace with a diamond pendant. I had spent a fair amount on it and it was clear she realized that it was the real thing.

“Steve, put this on me!” she requested, a tear rolling down her cheek.

I got up and stood behind her and put it on, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

“I can’t give you the diamond ring you want, Kara, but we can start with this,” I whispered.

She started crying and once I’d put it on her, stood up and gave me a huge hug and quick kiss while everyone at the table applauded, even my little sister.

“Damn, Steve, that must have cost you a fortune,” Larry said.

“Business is good, Larry!” I said with a wink.

“I believe it! But wow!” he said with a knowing smile.

“My mom would kill for a diamond like that!” Bethany chimed in.

“He really loves you, Kara,” Susie said.

It was true. I did. Sadly, the diamond necklace was not going to make up for the situation with Jennifer, but at the moment, it was the best I could do. It was what I wanted to do for Kara.

“I love you, Steve!” she said, releasing me from the hug.

“Try on the other gift, Kara!” Mary said with a huge smirk.

“Shush Mary, that’s for Steve to see later!” Josh said, putting his arm around Mary.

“Oh, poo!” she said, causing everyone at the table to burst out laughing.

“So, are you two a couple now?” Kathy asked Mary.

“No. We’re just screwing like bunny rabbits!” Mary said with a huge smile.

“Mary!” I said sternly.

“Oh please, Steve. You know it. Everyone at this table, including Susie, knows it. In fact, I know Susie isn’t innocent either!”

“Mary!” Josh said equally sternly.

“Forget it Josh, she’s in one of her moods,” I said. “I’m guessing she already told you that you guys have to leave early and go someplace private! You have my blessing!”

“Goody!” Mary said.

Josh turned red and once again the table erupted into laughter. Mary got up from her seat, walked over to me, and plopped in my lap. I looked at Kara, who shrugged.

“Steve, Josh and I will be heading out. Thanks for inviting us!”

She gave me a quick kiss on the lips, then got up, grabbed Josh and more or less dragged him towards the door.

“Bye, guys! Thanks!” Josh said as they left.

“Wow, she’s really wild!” Susie said.

“Oh yeah, Mary is crazy! Poor Josh didn’t know what hit him when she asked him out!” I said with a smirk.

“You sound like you might have some personal experience there, Steve,” Susie said. “I mean, with your reputation and all!”

“Down girl!” Kathy warned. “Steve does not talk about stuff like that.”

“It’s true, Susie,” Bethany said. “I can attest to his reputation, but that’s for me to say. Of course, everyone at this table but you knows, given he’s had all of us!” she giggled.

Crap! That would imply I’d been with Stephanie. I figured some levity would defuse that potential problem.

“That’s NOT true!” I said firmly. “I have not had Larry!”

Everyone laughed even harder than before, including Larry. I was pleased that he didn’t get bent out of shape by the comment. He and I had never talked about his not liking girls, but certainly my female friends were pretty sure he was gay. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn, so I really didn’t think about it. Now I could safely point out that Stephanie was there safely.

“Bethany,” I continued, “I’ll also remind you that my little sister is sitting next to my girlfriend, Bethany!”

“Oops! Sorry!” she giggled. “Yeah, that might be a bit odd!” she said, covering her mistake.

“A bit?” Susie said. “More than a bit, Bethany! Eww! I could never even think about something like that with my brother! Gross!” she said quite vehemently, with a quick shake of her shoulders.

Fortunately, neither Bethany, Kara, nor Stephanie gave anything away by facial expression. We all simply let that conversation die out.

“So, Steve, are you going to kick us all out so you can go off with your girlfriend and try on that teddy?” Susie said with a smirk.

“It won’t fit me, Susie!” I said, leading to gales of laughter.

“Now THAT would be a sight, wouldn’t it?” Joyce said through fits of laughter, a tear running down her cheek.

Kara, who was beet red, said, “I think I’ll save it for Steve’s birthday!”

Stephanie offered tea or coffee to everyone and we enjoyed each others’ company until it was time for me to take Kara home. We said goodnight to everyone and Stephanie told me that she’d clean up while I drove to Kara’s and back. I got a hug and a kiss from each of the girls, including, to my surprise, Susie, who surprised me with a quick peck on the lips. Kara and Stephanie exchanged a hug and kissed each other on the cheek, and Kara hugged everyone else.

We walked out of the house to the car.

“What’s with Susie?” I asked.

“Oh, you know that she’s heard about your reputation. I think she wants the ‘Steve Adams Experience’, but she can forget it!”

“That sounds like a ride at King’s Island!” I chuckled. “But don’t worry, I have no interest and I’m committed to you.”

“I know! She’s harmless. Anyway, I’m sorry we don’t have time to go to the apartment tonight. I want my dad to change my curfew, but he’s kind of adamant about it. Do you think you could ask him to change it to 11:00pm?”

“I can try,” I said. “I’m not sure how much good it will do, though.”

“Come in with me so I can show off my necklace. That might help him change his mind.”

I agreed that I would. When we got to her house, we went inside and she took her gifts to her room. I wondered how she was going to manage the teddy, but her dad didn’t ask, so I figured she’d get away with it. She came back down the stairs and we went into the living room.

“Mom, Dad, check out the gift Steve gave me!” she said, giddy with excitement.

“Wow! That’s beautiful, Kara! Steve, is that a real diamond?” Mrs. Blanchard asked.

“Yes, Ma’am, it is,” I said.

“Isn’t that a bit expensive?”

“Mom, he can afford it. And he told me he can’t give me a ring, but this would be for a start.”

“Now that is good to hear, honey!” her dad said.

“Dad, Steve has a question for you,” Kara said.

“My answer is ‘yes’, of course. You may indeed marry my daughter!” he said with a big smile and a wink of his eye to me.

“Daaaaad!” Kara whined. “That is NOT the question! Please don’t pressure him. We talked about this!”

“Mr. Blanchard, what I wanted to ask is that now that Kara is seventeen, if you could see your way clear to allowing her to stay out until 11:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays if she’s with me.”

“She put you up to this, didn’t she?” he chuckled.

“Well, Sir, I would never dare go against her wishes!”

“Let us discuss it, Steve. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy and you are a polite young man. We’ll consider it.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Kara walked me to the door and gave me a tight hug and a deep kiss.

“I love you!”

“I love you, too. Want to have breakfast tomorrow?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, then lowered her voice, “Can we make love tomorrow? That would be the perfect birthday gift!”

“Right after your party tomorrow night, I’ll take you to your room and make love to you!” I smirked.

She laughed, “I think that might be a problem! I meant after breakfast!”

“Of course we can.”

We kissed again, and I headed home. Stephanie had finished cleaning up and was waiting for me in the kitchen with tea.

“You missed it, Big Brother. Mom had a fit about all the noise and told Dad she didn’t want rowdy parties like that in the house.”

“Rowdy? We were laughing and joking. I can’t wait to get out of here.”

“Don’t worry. Dad told me it wasn’t a problem. He’ll talk to you tomorrow, probably.”

“Thanks for cleaning up, Squirt.”

We finished our tea and headed down the hall. She looked around and pulled me into a tight hug and kissed me, pressing her tongue into my mouth. She broke the clinch quickly.

“I can’t stand it, Steve! I need you!”

“I know Squirt. But we have to be careful!”

“Fuck it, Big Brother. No, actually, fuck me! Later!” she smirked and went into her room.

I went into my room and wrote in my journal, then read a bit before finally getting into bed. I fell asleep only to be woken up by a warm, soft, naked body in my bed.

“Squirt! What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Shut up and fuck me, Big Brother! Now!” she whispered urgently.

“This is dangerous.”