Chapter 41: End of the Semester

November/December 1982, Chicago, Illinois

Elyse and I made good time and stopped for gas and something to eat in West Lafayette, then got back on the road towards Chicago.

“Steve, what’s bothering you?” Elyse asked.

“Is it that obvious?”

“You haven’t said two words since we left Cincinnati. I mean, you pull off the strong silent type pretty well, but this is a bit much. What’s going on?”

“I’m just worried about Kara. And Stephie.”

“That does NOT sound good, Steve. Come on, spill it.”

“I really can’t talk about what happened. It didn’t directly involve me, but I had some responsibility for it. Anyway, what I can say is that Kara and I are fine, but I think I’m going to move things forward. I think I need to.”

“If that means what I think it means, Stephie’s going to be pretty upset. She was counting on you for the rest of the school year.”

“I know. I was thinking of just asking Kara to go steady, but I think I’m going to ask her to marry me,” I said.

“Holy shit, Steve!” Elyse gasped. “You can’t be serious!”

“I’m serious as a heart attack,” I replied. “I’m just so afraid I’m going to mess things up. I think this is what I need to do.”

“Jesus, no wonder you were quiet! It sounds like you’ve really made up your mind.”

“I have. On Christmas Eve, I’m going to ask her to marry me. Last year, we started a tradition of celebrating together on Christmas Eve. We’ll exchange presents and make love by the tree. I’ll ask her after that.”

“I knew you were a romantic at heart, but that’s just so sappy! Of course, it’s also perfect. When are you going to tell Stephie?”

“After exams. It has to be. If I tell her tonight, or even next week, I might totally mess up her finals and I can’t do that.”

“I don’t see any other alternative. You have to tell her before you do it, so it can’t wait until January. What about Tatyana?”

“I’ll tell her after Christmas. She’ll still come to visit. We’ve talked about how things would work after Kara moved in, and this isn’t really anything different from what she understood was going to happen. And before you ask, I’ll tell Karin when we talk at the end of December — she’s supposed to let me know if she’s coming to visit in February, though I’m pretty sure she’s not going to since she knows what’s coming. Both of those will be bad. But there will be a worse one.”

“Worse?”

“Bethany. I made a promise to her that I can’t keep. Not because there isn’t time or I don’t want to tell her, but because I promised myself that I wouldn’t be with anyone other than Stephie before I ask Kara.”

“You ASSHOLE!” Elyse spluttered angrily. “You’re telling me now that I can’t have you one last time? Fuck you, Steve! Just fuck you!”

I was quiet for a moment then said, “I’m sorry, Elyse.”

Elyse was fuming. I just let her because I didn’t have anything else to say. I was doing the right thing for me, and for Kara. As much as I cared for my friends, and as much as I loved Stephie, I had to do this.

We covered most of the rest of the distance to Chicago before Elyse finally spoke.

“I’m sorry I said that. You’re doing exactly what you’ve said you’re going to do. And you obviously think it’s the right thing to do. You know what I think about that, of course, but in the end, what I think doesn’t mean a damn thing, does it?”

“I’m the one that has to live with my decision, and I’m the one that has to make it. Your advice has been pretty good, Elyse, but this is what I want to do and what I need to do.”

“OK. I won’t say anything to Stephie, obviously. When is she flying home?”

“On the 11th, in the afternoon. I’ll tell her on Saturday morning. The ride to the airport will be a bit frosty, I suspect. I think I’m going to drive home after I drop her off. When are you heading home?”

“That morning. I’ll plan to leave by 7:00am so you can have the rest of the morning with Stephie. Or do you need someone there to call the paramedics?”

I chuckled, “For me? Or for her?”

“Probably for both of you! If she knows it’s the last time, do you think she’ll settle for anything less than the full ‘Steve Adams’ experience? I sure as hell wouldn’t! And I don’t even get the chance for one.”

I thought about it and, in the end, no harm would come of giving Elyse a last time. If she wanted it, I’d give it to her. But I wasn’t going to say anything just yet.

“I think we’ll both survive without the Chicago Fire Department coming to our rescue,” I said.

We rode in silence until I came to the Garfield Avenue exit. Instead of continuing on the Dan Ryan towards O’Hare, I got off the freeway.

“I thought we were going to pick up Stephie,” Elyse said.

“I have something very important I need to do at the apartment. We have enough time to stop so I can take care of it.”

I parked the car and got out. Elyse went to the trunk to grab her bag, but I told her to forget it. We went inside, walked upstairs and I unlocked the door of the apartment, and then closed it behind us once we were inside.

“How long is this going to take?” Elyse asked.

“That’s up to you. I’m yours until we need to leave to pick up Stephie, which is about an hour.”

“You’re serious? I can have a last time?”

“Yes, Elyse. Whatever you want.”

“Quit wasting time and come to bed!” she grinned, dragging me down the hall to her room.

We quickly undressed and got into her bed and began kissing,

“What do you want,” I said, in between kisses.

“Slow and soft, make it last as long as you can, and grind as much as you can!”

I ran my finger along her slit and it was quickly drenched with her juices. I moved on top of her and slid slowly into her hot, silky tunnel. We moved slowly together, with me grinding against her clit with every forward thrust. Twenty-five minutes and an uncountable number of orgasms later, I pushed as deeply in as I could and filled her pussy with my cum.

Without being asked to, I moved down and began licking and sucking her very sensitive clit, giving her a series of orgasms that built upon each other until she grasped the sheets, arched her back and screamed loudly. I was hard again, so I moved up and entered her. This time, instead of soft and slow, I fucked her as hard as I possibly could, our flesh slapping together as she humped hard to meet my thrusts. After her third orgasm, I slammed hard and deep and fired jet after jet of cum into her.

“Damn!” Elyse gasped.

“Yeah,” I said between heavy breaths.

We lay together for about five minutes, then went to the shower, quickly cleaned up, and then dressed. Elyse sprayed some air freshener in her room and then we went back to the car to head to the airport to get Stephie.

“I was wrong,” Elyse said with a smile. “It turns out that you’re not an asshole.”

“I realized I had done wrong by you and could easily fix it. It’s not going to be that easy with Bethany.”

“Why didn’t you do it at home?”

“I only made the final decision in the car this afternoon. I had been thinking about it, and I talked to Stephanie about it. I wasn’t going to make any decision until Christmas, but today I decided I needed to stop acting like an entitled jackass and put my money where my mouth is.”

“Steve, you are the last person to think they’re entitled to anything! You work hard for everything you have, whether it’s your car, your apartment, your grades, or your friends. You’ve never, ever expected a single thing from anyone. For a guy who’s been with scores of girls, I’ve never, ever, heard you say anything that even remotely resembles the idea that someone owes you sex or that you’ve ever taken advantage of anyone.”

“Annie,” I said.

“Bullshit, Steve. I know Bethany’s opinion on that, and I totally and completely disagree with her. It’s exactly what happened with me and Sean. I didn’t say ‘no’. Hell, I wanted him to fuck me once I was that excited. He didn’t ask, but I sure as hell didn’t try to stop him! And I sure didn’t want to! I’m pretty sure that’s what happened with Annie. Yes, she had been saving herself for something, but so was Kara. As for the other supposed mistakes, Becky and Dona, both of them wanted you so badly that they did everything they could to get you to fuck them.”

“What are you trying to tell me, Elyse?” I asked.

“The same thing I’ve been saying for two years. I just have to make one more attempt. After today, I won’t say a thing about it and you and Kara can live happily ever after. But what you’re doing isn’t you, Steve. I still don’t know what it is that’s driving you to do this, but it’s not right for you. I’ve said my piece and now I’ll shut up about it.”

“I love her, Elyse,” I said softly.

We rode the rest of the way without speaking, the only sounds being the hum of the tires, the throaty thrum of the engine and the music coming from the radio. By the time we parked and walked into the terminal, Stephie’s flight had landed and taxied to the gate. She walked out the door from the Jetway just a few seconds after we sat down to wait. As usual, she ran over and jumped into my arms and I held her tight.

“I missed you, Yankee!” she gushed.

“I missed you, too, Peaches,” I said reflexively.

She purred and held herself tight against me, even as a stab of guilt shot through me, knowing the unpleasant news I was going to drop on her in less than two weeks.

We went to the baggage claim to get Stephie’s suitcase, then headed for the car and drove back to Hyde Park. Elyse made some tea, and then the three of us relaxed in the living room.

“It’s odd to only have two weeks until the semester is over,” Stephie said.

“Yeah, we start a week earlier than a lot of schools, but Northwestern, IIT, and UofC are all on the same basic schedule, which works out nicely,” I said.

“This week is going to be all studying for sure,” Elyse said. “Are you guys going to karate practice?”

“I had planned to,” I said. “It’s a nice break and lets me work off some of the tension that I usually use a sauna for.”

“I know how to work off some tension, Yankee!” Stephie grinned.

“I could see my way clear for that,” I said.

“Jerk!” Stephie giggled. “I saved up my peach juice for ya’ for a whole week!”

“And you know what? I’m really thirsty and I think I can only quench that thirst with peach juice!”

“Well, take me to bed and you can have all you like, Yankee!”

I got up, took Stephie’s tea cup and put it with mine in the sink, then followed her down the hall to my room. She shut the door, quickly stripped off her clothes and lay on the bed, her legs spread. I couldn’t resist such an open invitation and quickly undressed and got between her legs and quickly covered my tongue, then my face, with peach juice. After her fourth orgasm from my tongue, Stephie tugged on my hand, so I moved up and entered her, sliding my dick deeply into her dripping pussy.

“Fuck me, Yankee!” she whispered.

We quickly developed a hard, fast rhythm, our bodies moving in perfect unison. Stephie had another orgasm, then said she wanted to be on top. We rolled over, and she rode me hard until she had an orgasm, then asked me to finish from behind. I got behind her, grabbed her small hips, and held her tightly as I pounded into her. It didn’t take long before I felt the cum rising in my dick and slammed as deeply as possible before firing jets of cum deep inside her. I withdrew from her and we lay next to each other, on our backs, breathing heavily.

“One down, two to go!” Stephie giggled.

“Oh?” I said between heavy breaths.

“Yeah! Next I want to 69 and drink some Yankee juice!”

About twenty minutes later, Stephie crawled on top of me and took me in her mouth. She lowered her pussy to my face, and we used our tongues, lips and mouths to bring each other to orgasm, with Stephie swallowing every drop I spurted into her mouth. After she had cleaned my dick completely with her tongue, she turned and we cuddled together.

“Two down, one to go,” Stephie smirked.

I chuckled, knowing what the last one would be.

“How?” I asked.

“Spooned. Just slow and easy, while you rub my clit,” she whispered.

I got the cherry-flavored lube from my drawer and slowly worked it into her butt, then covered my dick with a liberal amount. We spooned together, and I gently entered her, pushing in slowly until I was fully embedded in her butt. Stephie sighed deeply as I put my finger on her clit and began tracing small circles. My thrusts were gentle and slow as I worked her towards her release, letting my own pleasure build quickly. I did my best to time the orgasms together, but she came first with me about a minute after her.

I stayed deep in her until my erection started to subside, then we got out of bed and took a shower. After washing each other thoroughly, we dried off and went back to my room. We changed the sheets on the bed, then climbed in and pulled the comforter over us and quickly drifted off to sleep in our usual way — spooned together, with my hand cupping her small breast.

Our last week of classes started out as expected — review of the material we’d covered so far this year. I handed in my final assignments for my three classes on Monday. The main outstanding item was the final project for my digital circuits class, which I’d finish with Dave and Julia on Tuesday, with Thursday morning as a fallback, if we ran into trouble, and an agreement, that if that wasn’t enough, we’d meet early Saturday morning.

On Tuesday, I made my collections and payoffs and then headed to the Sig Ep house. It turned out that our worries were for naught. We got our prototype working less than halfway through the Tuesday afternoon meeting, completed the other two boards, and then drew up our schematic ‘as-built’ diagrams. All three boards passed the listed tests and we high-fived each other. We all thanked each other and agreed to work together on future projects, though the only class that the three of us would share was Management Information Systems, which was a theory class.