Chapter 38: Transformations, Part II

November, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

I checked my watch and felt I had enough time. We pulled the bed out and this time we made love the conventional way. After she had three good orgasms, I filled the rubber with cum. We were on a co-ed floor, so Julia lent me a large towel and I went to the guys’ showers to wash up while she did the same in the girls’ showers. We met back in her room, dressed, hugged and kissed and I headed to The Bog for a quick bite before my afternoon class. After class, I headed home.

Stephie greeted me with a kiss when I walked into the apartment.

“Stephie, that thing with Julia? We did it today.”

She smirked, “I knew that it was only a matter of time. Is it a one-off thing?”

“That’s what I had told her. She asked me to help her find a guy. I was thinking about Dave.”

“Dave Kallas? What about Cindi?”

“I think they’re going to break up, remember?”

“True, but don’t you think that’ll be a bit awkward if Dave and Julia were to get together? What happens with our Fridays?”

“I guess Cindi will have to find a boyfriend!” I chuckled.

“I suppose so. So how was it?” Stephie asked.

“You will have to ask Julia. It’s not something I should really talk about. I only told you I did it because you asked me to.”

“You’re always honest with me, Yankee. That’s a credit to you. I’m guessing she did OK for a first-timer. You’re a good teacher! But I think we need some serious practice ourselves tonight!”

“Love making? Or were you thinking of being a bit more wild?” I smirked.

“We’ve only made love for a long time. Tonight I want you to fuck my brains out, Yankee!”

“As you wish!” I replied happily.

The phone rang just after dinner. I got up from the couch where I was cuddling Stephie to answer it. I was surprised to hear my dad’s voice.

“Steve, did you hear that the Soviets announced that Leonid Brezhnev died?”

“No, I didn’t read the paper this morning, and I didn’t have the TV or radio news on at all today.”

We talked for another minute and then I hung up and turned on the TV. There was, as I expected there to be, a bulletin from NBC news. I listened for a bit, then went to the phone and dialed Tatyana’s number in Boston.

“Stepa! You call because of death of Premier Brezhnev?”

“Yes. I’m wondering how this might affect you and your father.”

“Is always question when leader change, but Brezhnev has been leader since before I was born!” she said with some sadness.

“Do you know who will be next?”

“I believe will be Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov. He is head of funeral committee. Is good, I think. He and father are known to each other.”

“How is school going?”

“Good. I enjoy. I look forward to seeing you on Christmas, Stepa.”

We talked for several minutes before I hung up and went back to hang out with Stephie and Elyse until bedtime. I did as Stephie asked and fucked hard and fast before we fell asleep spooned together.

On Friday, Dave and Cindi joined us for dinner again. Cindi turned out to have a pretty good sense of humor, ranging from dry wit to fairly risqué comments. Dave’s sense of humor was more sedate, but he did laugh at quite a bit with the rest of us. After dinner, we relaxed with glasses of wine in the living room.

“Steve, you have to explain your relationship, if Stephie doesn’t mind,” Cindi asked. “I keep getting these vibes that it’s very complicated.”

“That’s because it is complicated,” I replied. “I have a girl back home that I’ve dated for a couple of years, but we aren’t exclusive. Stephie and I are dating here, but we also aren’t exclusive. Kara, that’s the girl in Milford, was supposed to come to IIT this fall, but her dad died suddenly and unexpectedly and with all the changes that brought about, she postponed going to college for a year. She was supposed to be living with me already, but now that’s put off until next year. That worked in Stephie’s favor, because once Kara moves to Chicago, I’ll be exclusive with her.”

“Interesting,” Cindi replied. “Stephie, can I ask why you are dating Steve if you know he has his girl back home?”

“We started out as lab partners and friends, but then I decided I really liked him and even though I knew Kara was coming to Chicago, I decided I wanted to be with him. He never lied to me or misled me, if you’re wonderin’ about that.”

“And you’re just letting him go next Summer?” Cindi asked. “Just like that?”

“Hell no! I’ve made my case with the Damnyankee as to why he should be my man instead of Kara’s. I’m hopin’ he changes his mind. And I got allies, too!” she added with a smile.

“Allies?” Dave asked.

“Elyse and Steve’s little sister, plus a few other friends. They think he’s makin’ a mistake with Kara.”

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,” Elyse said. “Without going into details that only Steve can reveal, I’ve just told him that he shouldn’t be committing seriously to one girl at this point, or even in the near future.”

“Now I’m even more curious about Steve,” Cindi said. “It sounds like there’s a real story there!”

I really didn’t want to go into the details of my past with her, at least not in front of Eduardo or Dave. I was especially concerned about Eduardo because if I revealed too much to him, that might cause problems for Elyse.

I shook my head, “That’s not something I really want to discuss at this point. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Someday I do want to know,” Cindi grinned. “I’ll tell you all my secrets, too!”

“Even I don’t know all your secrets, Cindi!” Dave said.

“This sounds like a recipe for Truth or Dare!” Elyse said.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said, my eyes directed towards Eduardo, though he couldn’t see that from where he was sitting.

“Oh, I think it’s a wonderful idea!” Cindi declared.

“Maybe another time is better,” Stephie said, looking at Elyse.

“I suppose,” Elyse conceded.

Dave, Cindi, and Eduardo left about 10:30pm. When Elyse came back from the door, she sat next to me on the couch opposite from Stephie and snuggled close.

“What’s up, Elyse?” I asked.

“I’m not sure what’s bothering me. I like Eduardo a lot, but I can’t decide if I want to move forward with him.”

“Why is that?” Stephie asked. “He seems like a great guy. Steve and Kurt both like him, which says something important, I think. And given you don’t want anything permanent, the fact that he’s going to Wharton in Pennsylvania and then ultimately back to Spain seems like a good thing.”

“It is, but I’m not sure he’s interested in a casual relationship like that.”

“Ask him, silly girl!” I chuckled.

“You do cut to the chase, Yankee,” Stephie giggled. “But he does have a point, Elyse. Take a page from Steve’s book, tell him what you want and see what he says. It seems to work pretty well for Steve.”

“It does, doesn’t it? I’m just not usually that forward,” Elyse said.

I put my arm around Elyse and she snuggled closer.

“Elyse, just talk to him like you talk to me. Everything will be fine. If he can’t deal with it, better to know now. But I’m pretty sure that he’ll be quite happy with that kind of arrangement,” I said.

“You’re right,” Elyse sighed. “I’ll talk to Eduardo tomorrow.”

“Can I assume he’ll be staying the night?”

“If he’s OK with a casual relationship, then yes, I’ll invite him,” she answered. “But I have a couple of questions for you.”

“Sure,” I said. “You know me, I’m an open book.”

“Are you attracted to Cindi?” Elyse asked.

“I hadn’t even thought about it. Why?”

“Oh, she’s sizing you up for something; I’m just not sure what.”

“Well, she’s with Dave and besides, I have Stephie!” I said, pulling Stephie close to me.

“True on both counts. And Katy? What’s up with her?” Elyse asked.

“Nothing other than friendship. We’ve joked a bit, but she’s not interested in someone who can’t be committed to her. And I hardly think that you’d suggest I get involved in an intimate way with someone who felt like that.”

“True,” Elyse said. “And what about Julia? Are you going to give her the Tracey treatment?”

“The Tracey treatment?” Stephie asked.

“I’ll explain in a moment,” I said. “How do you know about Tracey? And what gave you that idea?”

“Bethany told me about it. She said she thought that’s what was going on with you and Katy — that Katy was encouraging you to help Julia.”

“Bethany talks too much!” I grumped, and then explained to Stephie what we were talking about. “But,” I said to Elyse, “it’s not thinking about it. It’s already done. But you can NOT say anything to anyone about it!”

Elyse laughed, “I am SO not surprised. Stephie, you seem OK with him having sex with someone new. Just as a casual thing?”

“Yeah, unless he doesn’t tell me about it. If he was my man, I’d get to say ‘no’, but he’s not, so I don’t. But I think it’s only right that he tells me if he’s going to be with someone other than you or Kara. At least until next Summer, and then it’s up to Kara what he does. Steve, have you been with anyone else since I came back to Chicago? I mean, besides Elyse and Kara? And Julia, of course.”

“No, Peaches, I haven’t. Before you came back, I was with Tatyana, but you knew that. She’s visiting during Christmas break, but you know that as well.”

“And Karin?” Stephie asked.

“I honestly have no idea,” I said. “She hasn’t confirmed that she’s coming in February yet. I know she wants to, but I know she’s also thinking about whether it’s worth it given what’s going to happen with Kara.”

“If you had to choose between Karin, Tatyana, and me, who would you choose?” Stephie asked quietly.

“Peaches, that’s a hell of a question. I answered it for Elyse when she asked, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told her — of those three, you are certainly the least complicated and probably the most compatible. But that’s just speculation at this point.”

“What if you could have me and Elyse, both?” Stephie asked.

“You mean right now?” I chuckled.

“Jerk!” Stephie giggled. “I meant long-term. And maybe Bethany or Jennifer?”

“Not you too?!” I grumped. “Did Elyse put you up to this?”

“She didn’t put me up to it, but we discussed it.”

I sighed, “Stephie, can we drop this, please? As much as I love you, I just can’t have this discussion again.”

“I’m sorry, Yankee. I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said softly. “Take me to bed?”

Elyse kissed me on the cheek and got up from the couch.

“‘Night,” she said.

“Good night, Elyse,” I said.

I took Stephie’s hand and led her to my room. We quickly undressed and got into bed.

“I’m so sorry, Yankee. Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Peaches. I understand. I really do. And I’m the one who should apologize for not being able to give you what you want most in the world.”

“Forget all of that. I’ll worry about it in May. Right now, I just need you to make love to me.”

I made love to her, then pulled her tightly to me and we cuddled until we both fell asleep.

In the morning, when I went to get out of bed to run, Stephie pulled me back into bed.

“Steve, I’m really sorry about last night.”

Stephie’s Georgia drawl was almost completely gone. Her speech was becoming more typically Midwestern in tone and pronunciation every day. I pulled her to me and she snuggled close.

“It’s OK. Is this too difficult? Do you want to change things between us?”

“I do, but not the way you mean. I’m not going to make the mistake Kara made. Until she moves in, I want things just like they are. You’ve never, ever treated me badly; in fact, you treat me like your girl. You always think about me and don’t do anything that you think would hurt me. You love me and I love you. I don’t want any of that to change.”

“I’m happy about that,” I said, stroking her hair.

“Of course you are! You get to get your daily dose of peach juice!” she smirked.

“It’s not just that, and you know it!” I grumped.

“Sorry. I was trying to be silly, but I guess this isn’t the time for that. You really do like being with me, and not just for the sex.”

“I do. The sex is fantastic, but everything else we do together is just as fantastic.”

“Well, I have a question, and you don’t have to answer, but did you and Jackie ever do anything together? I get the idea that you did from the way she behaves.”

“Once. She’d been trying to get me to bed for months and months and I finally gave in to her request last Spring.”

“Hmm. You didn’t tell me about that.”

“No, I didn’t. There have been others, too, since you and I first made love. In Sweden and back in Ohio.”

“I was sure of that! Please don’t get upset with me for sayin’ this, but the way you are behaving confirms what Elyse said.”

I sighed, “I hear you, Peaches.”

“Go run, Steve.”

I got up, got dressed, and headed out to run. I took it slow and ran longer than usual so that I could think about everything that was going on. What bothered me the most was that I could make everyone I knew happy by doing the one thing I didn’t want to do. I concluded that this was one of those times when creating maximum happiness had to take a backseat to what I wanted.

When I came back from my run, I showered and made breakfast. Later that morning, Stephie and I both passed our karate tests and were awarded our new belts — green for me and orange for her. We celebrated with a joint shower, much to the amusement of Kathy and Kurt.

“That was a pretty long shower!” Kurt said.

“I’ll have you know that it takes time to get properly clean.” I said.

Kathy smirked, “Yeah, and you needed to make a very close inspection, inside and out!”

Everyone laughed.

“And he was very thorough, too!” Stephie purred.

Eduardo showed up at noon with his books and joined the rest of us for our regular afternoon of studying and homework. I left for Cicero at 2:00pm, did the demo for Richie and Frank, and was back at the apartment at 4:30pm. Everything had gone well, and it looked like we’d have another six computers installed in the next month. Becky was going to be busy, and I had some modifications to make over the next two weeks.

After dinner, Elyse and Eduardo went for a walk while the rest of us cleaned up the kitchen.

“Is that what I think it is?” Kathy asked.