Chapter 2: That\'s What Friends Are For, Part I

December, 1982, Chicago, Illinois

It was Boxing Day, the traditional day in England, when the masters acted like servants and the servants like masters. I didn't have anyone to switch places with, but I always thought it was a cool tradition. After the girls left and I arrived home from the store, I read the newspaper, ate my lunch, then walked over to Theo's place.

"Frank Sr. is worried that the Feds are listening to his phone calls. He's told Frank Jr. to use messengers, at least for a while. It's OK for you to call your girl, but messages to you and her will come either from me or Richie. Let her know that Richie will stop by and make arrangements to communicate with her. We've thought about these new mobile phones, but they seem to work like radios, so Richie thinks the cops could listen in."

"I suspect so," I said. "They can tap the regular phone lines pretty easily, though tracing the call takes some time with the current switching systems. You have to be careful because they're replacing the old mechanical switches with computers and that's going to make tracing calls even easier."

"How do you know this, kid?"

"I read stuff. There's a bunch of people who try to break into the phone network and make free calls and stuff. I know one guy who does that. He knows a ton of stuff about AT&T's phone network. He might actually be able to help you with avoiding getting caught."

"Does he live in Chicago?" Theo asked.

"Out in the western suburbs somewhere," I said. "I can talk to him."

"Not yet, kid. Let me clear that with Frank. You and me will still communicate face to face and with the notes I put in your box. Nobody's watching me as far as I can tell and you're squeaky clean. All you do is install computers for a business. You don't know nuthin'."

"Very, very true," I nodded.

After getting my envelope from him, I headed back to the apartment. I plugged in the phone that I had unplugged before dinner and dialed Tatyana's number in Washington.

"Stepa! How are you?" Tanya asked when she came to the phone.

"Not very good, Tatyana Ivanovna. Kara and I broke up."

"Oh! Is not good news for you, I know, and you must be very sad. But you must realize how I would think, yes?"

I smiled, though she couldn't see that through the phone, "Yes, Tanya, I know how you would think."

"You can tell me details now if you wish, or wait until I am with you in Chicago in one week."

"Let's talk when you're here," I said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you."

"As am I. I am glad you remembered to call me when something important happened. Is good sign for me."

We talked for a few more minutes and she gave me her flight details, then we hung up. As usual, Tanya was dispassionate about things that happened, concerned only with the fact that I told her about them. She was very stoic, and very calm and practical, no matter what seemed to happen. She was, in many ways, the opposite of me.

That had been an easy call to make. The next one was going to be much tougher. I dialed Kara's number and Nancy answered on the third ring.

"Steve! I wish you had called sooner. I was worried sick. Your dad called me yesterday to say that you were OK, but I'm so glad to hear your voice."

"Mrs. Blanchard, I'm not sure what Kara told you, or even what's going on for sure, but she had a meltdown on Christmas Eve and walked out on me before I could even propose."

"I know. She came home much earlier than I was expecting, but I assumed it was to show me the ring. When you weren't with her and she went straight to her room, I knew something terrible had happened. I tried to get her to talk to me, but she wouldn't. I called over to Melanie's house, and she told me what she'd found and that she'd talked to your dad. I called him and that's when he got very worried."

"I know. I spoke to him. Mrs. Blanchard, does Kara know I intended to propose to her?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but when she was being so obstinate, I told her that whatever it was that was bothering her, it had better have been important enough to throw away her dream because you were about to propose to her and even had the ring."

"I wish you hadn't done that, but I understand. I don't want that to influence her behavior."

"I'm sorry Steve, but I was so flustered I didn't really know what else to say."

"Don't worry about it now. How is she?"

"She won't talk to me. She stays in her room except to eat or use the bathroom, though she did go to church this morning. Can you tell me what happened?"

I really couldn't violate Kara's privacy that way, nor Joyce's, for that matter.

"I can't really say, but the bottom line is that Kara has come to the conclusion that she's been living a terribly sinful life, that she can't go to heaven because of it, and she has to stop doing it, believe it was all wrong, and repent to have any chance of being accepted by God."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. Nancy Blanchard sighed deeply, "Oh dear! Oh my!"

"Yeah. I tried to talk to her, but she simply ignored me and walked out of the Spencers' house. At that point, I just didn't want to be anywhere near Milford, so I came back to Chicago."

"I tried to get her to call you, but she refused. Shall I see if she'll talk to you now?"

I took a deep breath and let it out, "I suppose that's the right thing to do, yes."

She put the receiver down and I could hear her walk away and start up the stairs. I didn't hear anything for a moment, then I faintly heard a raised voice in the distance. A moment later, I heard the receiver being picked up.

"She says that she won't talk to you," Mrs. Blanchard said. "I wonder if a face-to-face conversation would work."

"Probably about as well as when Mr. Blanchard tried to get her together with Lucas," I said flatly.

"I hate to say it, but I think you might be right. What are you going to do now, Steve? I hope you haven't given up on Kara."

"I haven't, but there's little I can do unless she talks to me, and unless she either changes her mind about us or at least makes peace with God about it."

"Please keep in touch with me and please don't give up on her. You two had a beautiful relationship and a bright future ahead of you. Maybe a bit of time will make her come to her senses."

"Maybe. I'll be here, Mrs. Blanchard. I still love Kara, and I want to talk to her when she's ready."

"I'm going to tell her that, even if she doesn't want to hear it. Thanks, Steve."

"You're welcome," I said, hanging up the phone.

I was pretty sure that meant things were over. If Kara had at least come to the phone, I'd have held out some hope. But the fact that she knew I was ready to propose, and that I had the ring and still refused to talk to me, didn't bode well at all. No, I wouldn't give up, but I sure wouldn't expect what would have to be a miracle at this point. I didn't believe in miracles.

The next call I had to make could go either way. I dialed the number and waited nervously as the phone rang. On the fifth ring, a breathless Stephie answered.

"Hi, Peaches," I said sheepishly.

"You durned fool! You had every person you know turning over every rock lookin' for you. They even called the danged Sheriff! What in tarnation were you thinkin'?"

"I wasn't thinking, obviously. I assume you know what happened?"

"I do. Your sister called me. How she tracked me down, I don't know, but she did."

I chuckled, "How many Grants are there in Dawsonville, Georgia, Peaches?"

She laughed, "You got me there, Yankee. Not to dance on nobody's grave or nuthin', but can I move in with you in two weeks?"

I should have been prepared for that question, but I wasn't. I didn't know how to answer that for sure. If things were going to change with Kara, it was going to take time, and, in the end, she knew about Stephie. And honestly, I'd gotten quite used to having Stephie in my bed.

"Stephie, I don't know what the situation is just yet. What I do know is that I am not going to commit to anyone in the near term, not even Kara, assuming she ever speaks to me again."

"Wow, it was that bad?" Stephie asked. "I'm really sorry, Steve. I shouldn't have asked you that question."

"It's not an unreasonable question. I'm tempted to say 'yes', but there are a couple of things you would have to know before you decide."

"Go on, I can probably guess, but tell me."

"First, Tatyana is coming to visit in a week. She'll be gone when you get here, but we're spending the week together. Second, Karin is coming to visit in February. I wasn't sure that was going to happen, but once things blew up with Kara, Karin said she wanted to come. Third, no commitments and no promise to be exclusive. If you can accept that, then yes, you can move in."

"Yes!" she said, and I could almost hear the fist pump over the phone. "When Karin is here, I'll sleep back at the dorm. It's not like I can get that money back now, anyway. What about next year?"

"One thing at a time, Peaches. OK? I know you see your chance, but take it slowly, please. I'm not ready for anything complicated just now. I promise an answer before you have to reserve your room."

"Thanks. And I'm sorry. Forget about all that now. Do you want to talk about what happened now or when I get back?"

"When you get back, Peaches. I assume you're still flying in on the 8th as you planned?"

"Yes. My flight gets in around 3:00pm. See you then?"

That was about an hour after Tatyana's flight would be leaving, so it worked out quite well.

"Yes, I'll be there," I said.

"I'm happy for me, but sad for you, Yankee. I hope you understand."

"I do, Peaches, I really do."

"Good. Now call the rest of your friends and quit actin' like a durned fool!"

I chuckled, "I will."

I hung up and went to use the bathroom. When I finished, I got a Dr Pepper from the fridge and picked up the phone to call Stephanie. The buzzer rang repeatedly. I wondered who it was because the only people even close had already visited. I set the phone back in the cradle and pushed the button to open the door. I hoped whoever this was wouldn't stay long or would let me make a long phone call before we talked. I opened the door and waited.

A blur of strawberry blond hair rushed down the hallway and threw itself at me. Behind that blur, moving a bit more sedately, was a cute former cheerleader I knew quite well. The girl in my arms was wracked by sobs, but the cheerleader was all smiles.

"Hi, Steve," Bethany said.

"Hi, Sweetheart. I guess I'm not surprised to see you."

"You scared the hell out of all of us, especially your little sister," Bethany said.

Stephanie was still sobbing and hugging me as if her life depended on it. I gently moved us into the apartment, and Bethany shut the door. It took a couple of minutes for Stephanie to calm down, but eventually she composed herself. When she did, I almost wished she hadn't. She started beating her fists on my chest, and not softly. I let her, because I'd been beating myself up for a couple of days, and she needed to get it out of her system.

"You fucking, self-centered asshole!" Stephanie screeched. "You let me think the worst for a full day! You're lucky I don't beat you senseless right now for doing that! What the hell were you thinking? I don't care WHAT happened, you can't run away and not let me know that you're OK!" she growled, then started crying again.

"I guess I deserved that," I said.

"Yes, you did," Bethany said. "She's been crying for nearly two days straight, worried out of her mind. I get that you might not want to talk to the rest of us, but Jesus, Steve, doing that to Stephanie? Please don't tell me that you've regressed."

"No," I said. "It was thoughtless and heartless," I said. "I was upset and didn't want to talk to anyone, but I should have called Stephanie. How did you convince my mom to let her come with you?"

"Would YOU have tried to stop her?" Bethany asked.

I chuckled, "Point taken. Does my dad know she's with you?"

"Yes. I picked her up at your house and she hugged your dad goodbye before she got into the car."

"What happened to the party you planned for today?" I asked.

"I canceled it. I asked Melanie to make all the calls for me."

I nodded. I noticed the gold band on Stephanie's right hand and knew exactly what I had to do, and it had to be right then. There really was only one thing I COULD do. I looked at Bethany and she nodded, the corners of her mouth upturned in a slight smile. I reached down and scooped my little sister in my arms and carried her to my room. I kicked the door shut and then I laid her on the bed.

Stephanie smiled at me through teary eyes and watched as I took off my clothes, and then carefully removed hers. I got into bed between her legs. She was dripping wet, and I was rock hard, so I slowly slid into her, lodging myself fully in her tight, silky pussy with one long stroke. Stephanie sighed contentedly when I was all the way in.

"Yesss! THIS is where you belong," she said softly, as we kissed deeply.

I began moving in her and she matched my movements with practiced ease as our bodies worked in perfect harmony. It didn't take long before my little sister had her first of what would be seven orgasms, each one stronger than the last. When I finally couldn't hold back, I pushed in deeply and came more than I ever had in my entire life, the orgasm nearly causing me to pass out from sheer pleasure.

"I love you, Squirt," I said.

"I love you, Big Brother," she gasped. "We waited way too long to do this."

"I know," I agreed.

"I want the same as that first time, Steve. All of it. Before we leave this room."

I smirked, "Well, then it has to be a blowjob next because there's nothing to clean up with!"

"69, Big Brother, as soon as you're ready."

With my gorgeous, naked, little sister next to me, it didn't take long before she engulfed my rock hard shaft and I was sucking hard on her clit. The feel of her lips and tongue, and the gentle sucking brought me quickly to release, and she greedily swallowed every drop of cum that I spurted into her mouth. She turned to lie on top of me, and we French kissed deeply, sharing our tastes with each other.

We kissed off and on for twenty minutes, Stephanie resting her head on my chest and sighing contentedly between the deep, loving kisses. When I felt I was ready, I reached over to the nightstand and got the cherry lube. Stephanie took the tube from me and covered my dick in it, giving me a quick lick to get the cherry taste, then spread plenty on her rear entrance. She positioned herself over me and used her hand to hold me steady against her while she pressed down, taking half my shaft in a single push. She rose up a bit and sunk down further. A third time was enough to fully embed me in her butt.

Using her muscles and motions, she gently rode me while I strummed her clit with my thumb. After her second orgasm, she squeezed as tight as she could, applying maximum pressure as she moved up and down on me. She groaned as her orgasm crashed over her and a minute later, mine took my breath away. We stayed connected for a minute or so before Stephanie lifted off me and lay next to me. I pulled her tight to cuddle.

Chapter 3 »