Chapter 49: Just Like Starting Over

August, 1983, Milford, Ohio

"Again?" Bethany gasped as I slid into her for the fifth time that night. Or rather, that morning, given that the clock showed 3:55am.

"You said we were going to fuck ourselves silly," I gasped, as I started thrusting hard into her.

"Yeah," she gasped, "but between your dick and your mouth, you haven't let up on my poor pussy for nearly five hours!"

"Are you telling me to stop?" I asked.

"No, damn you!" she growled. "Fuck me hard!"

Bethany wrapped her legs tight around my thighs and humped hard against me. We finished that fifth time with crushing mutual orgasms and I collapsed sweaty and exhausted onto my Sweetheart. After a moment, I moved next to her and pulled her to me and we quickly fell asleep.

I woke to a soft knock at the door and Melanie's voice calling our names. Bethany woke just after I did and planted a quick kiss on my lips. I decided to tease Melanie, so I called out for her to come in. She opened the door and wrinkled her nose.

"Jesus. It reeks of sex in here. You two were still going at it when I got up to use the bathroom at 3:00am! When did you finally stop?"

"After 4:00am," Bethany teased. "Jealous, Melanie?"

"Bitch!" Melanie laughed.

"I think you're right, Bethany, she IS jealous. She'll probably go drag Pete to bed to work out her frustration. But I have a tip for you. Stay away from her during September and October because Pete'll be in training and she is not going to get any. She's really cranky when that happens."

"You asshole!" Melanie growled. "I WILL get you for that!"

"You still owe me for about a dozen things, Melanie," I teased, "and yet, you've failed to get me even once! If you're horny, I can lend you a dildo or vibrator from my toy collection!"

"Arrrrggh!!" she screamed, slamming the door.

"Toy collection?" Bethany asked.

"Ask me in Chicago," I replied with a grin. "I'll show you!"

"So you DON'T share everything with me!"

"You want to share everything? You just say the word!"

"Uh oh," she giggled.

"Come on, let's get cleaned up," I suggested. "My sister is going to be pissed because I missed breakfast and swimming. She's probably at work now, though."

I cracked open the window and lit the lavender candle in the room. Bethany and I put on our robes and went to the bathroom next door and showered together. Neither of us had the energy to fool around, so we just shared the soap and spray, then dried off, put on our robes and went to get dressed. When we had our clothes on, we stripped the sheets from the bed and took them down to the washing machine in the basement, then came upstairs to the kitchen.

"You kids need something to eat?" Trudy asked.

"Yeah! I'm famished!" Bethany said.

"I bet, you little hussy!" Melanie grumped.

"You're just jealous!" Bethany giggled.

"Girls! We did this once already!" I interjected, trying to calm the teasing; an impossibility, given these two.

"No, we did it five times." Bethany smirked. "Plus all those orgasms from your tongue and mouth!"

Then she moaned theatrically.

"Arrggghh!" Melanie screamed, stomping out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Trudy laughed, "I'll make you two some waffles and bacon. Will that do?"

"Nicely, thanks," I said.

"Melanie called your little sister early this morning and told her that she didn't think you'd make it over for breakfast," Trudy said with a laugh.

"We kind of went overboard last night," I said.

"What happened? Melanie seemed to think something bad had happened."

"Stephie and I broke up, I think," I said.

"You think?" Trudy asked. "You don't know?"

"He knows," Bethany said. "He's just giving Stephie the benefit of the doubt for the next week or two. The short version is that a guy who she's known since they were both two years old asked her out. Steve's convinced they'll end up together, which kind of leaves him out."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Trudy said. "Are you doing OK?"

"He's fine, Mrs. Spencer," Bethany said. "He finally admitted last night that Jennifer is the girl he belongs with."

"Well, it's about fucking time!" Melanie said, coming into the room.

"Melanie, do NOT say anything to Jennifer. Do you hear me?" Bethany warned. "This is NOT for her ears. It wasn't meant for yours. Not yet."

"Why?" Melanie asked, sounding like a petulant child.

"Because he's not ready to tell HER yet. I got him to tell me. One step at a time. Just lay off, OK?"

"Fine!" Melanie grumped.

"Melanie Marie Spencer!" Trudy barked. "You love this young man more than anyone, including Pete! Cut it out!"

More than Pete? Now that was a revelation. And a dangerous one!

"Mom!" she shrieked. "Shut up!"

"Ladies, all of you, enough!" I said firmly. "Could Bethany and I eat in peace, please?"

"Sorry," Trudy said.

"Sorry, Steve," Melanie said.

Bethany just smiled. We ate our waffles and bacon, we each drank a glass of juice and we took our coffee cups to sit in the living room. Melanie and Trudy joined us a few minutes later, after they had cleaned up the kitchen.

"So, what are you going to do?" Trudy asked.

"Same as I always do. Take things one day at a time. Stephie is still going to live in the house with me, just not in my room. I had turned the former maid's quarters into an office, but I'm going to make it back into a private bedroom for her."

"That's very nice of you, Steve. I guess it would be too late to get a room in the dorms."

"I'm sure she could get on the list — there are almost always rooms that only have one person and even if not, every year there are some people who don't come to school. But I'd never make her do that unless she wanted to."

"Who else will be living there?" Trudy asked.

"Elyse, plus our friends Katy, Jackie, Julia, and Cindi. There are also two guest bedrooms in the basement, and Kathy and Kurt will probably visit every weekend, the same as they have in the past. And Pete's going to be there in November, I guess, so I'm sure he'll visit when he can. And then in a year, we'll have to put up with Melanie!"

"Put up with?" Melanie ask with outrage. "Just watch it, Buster! My fiancé is going to have a gun and a badge!"

"So? I bet he agrees with me!" I smirked.

"Not if he values his life, he doesn't!" Melanie declared.

"Well, that'll keep him from saying it, not from agreeing!" I teased.

Melanie crossed her arms and looked daggers at me.

"Melanie, relax!" Trudy said. "Why do you let him bait you like that? I swear, he has your number so dialed in that all he has to do is look at you to set you off."

"Mom!" Melanie whined.

Trudy ignored her and turned to me, "You seem to have built yourself a nice support system. Bethany isn't all that far away, is she?"

"It's about two-and-a-half hours to Madison from Chicago," Bethany said, "though he doesn't visit often enough."

"The last time I visited, I thought I might get arrested!" I said.

"What?!" Melanie gasped.

Bethany laughed and explained the situation with Gene, and how he'd reacted to my visit, and what had transpired when he confronted me. We talked for a while longer, then Bethany and I left to head to my parents' house. Stephanie hadn't arrived home yet, but my dad was home from work. I asked him to come out on the deck to talk because the last thing I wanted to do was give my mom any extra information.

The three of us went out on the deck and I explained to my dad what had happened with Stephie, making sure to not sound like I was mad at her or blaming her for her choice, or what I assumed her choice was going to be. Like everyone else, he asked what my plans were, and I explained how I thought the living arrangements would work and that, as before, I was just going to take one day at a time.

When we finished talking to my dad, we went to hang out in my old room until my sister arrived home from her volunteer work. She arrived home about forty minutes later and came flying into the room, almost bowling me over with her hug.

"Are you really OK, Big Brother?" she asked.

"Yes, Squirt. I'm fine. Bethany has been a big help."

"I heard from Melanie!" Stephanie smirked. "How many times did she help you?"

"Five," I replied. "Melanie's just jealous!"

"Five? Forget Melanie, now I'M jealous!" she said, pretending to pout.

I wondered if I should say anything to my sister about Jennifer, but decided that it was best if I didn't at this point. She'd have a very difficult time keeping it to herself, especially given that she and Jennifer talked fairly regularly. I decided that I'd tell Stephanie after I told Jennifer. She'd be upset, but I had legitimate cause for concern.

Like everyone else, Stephanie asked how things were going to work in Chicago and I filled her in. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was hoping I didn't invite someone else to share my bed before she got to Chicago, but my look told her not to ask nor say anything about it. That was something that would have to be discussed down the road, and would really depend on who else was living in the house.

"When are you heading home?" Stephanie asked.

"Tomorrow morning after I swim and have breakfast with you?"

"And you'll actually make it here?" she smirked.

"Yes, I promise. It was special circumstances last night."

"What are you doing the rest of today?" she asked.

"I was thinking of stopping in where Kara works. I want to see her in that environment because it seems like she functions better there than anywhere."

"Do you think that's smart?" Bethany asked.

"I know it's a risk, but she hasn't had a bad reaction to me in any circumstance, and she even seemed to perk up at the hospital when I showed up. Remember, she asked me to stay in her room that night, too."

"I suppose it's not too risky. Did you want me to come along?"

"What do you think? I don't know how she'll react to seeing us together. It's hard for me to judge what she's thinking about anything."

"That's a good question," Bethany said. "Why don't you drop me at home, then pick me up afterwards."

We said 'goodbye' to Stephanie, and I dropped Bethany at home, then drove to the small engineering firm at the bottom of the Klondyke hill. I parked in the lot and saw Kara's car — her dad's old car — with her bear sitting in the passenger seat with a seat belt on. I chuckled and realized she was, in many ways, treating it like a real person. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but I wasn't going to worry about it at this point.

I walked in the front door and saw Kara talking on the phone at the reception desk. She was dressed in the same ultra-conservative manner as the times I'd seen her since the incident, but looked more animated and happy than when I'd seen her at home or taken her to lunch. She saw me and got a big smile on her face, but didn't otherwise acknowledge me until she hung up the phone.

"Steve! What are you doing here?"

I realized I hadn't thought this through completely, and didn't want to upset Kara or give her any hint that I was in a bit of turmoil.

"I was in Georgia for the race, just like last Summer. I decided to stop in Milford on my way back to Chicago."

That was all true, it just wasn't all the information.

"And you stopped to see me? That was really nice of you!"

"Thanks. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing OK. Work is good. I'm seeing Doctor Mercer twice a week now."

"How's your mom?"

"She's good too."

A distinguished looking man, probably in his mid-fifties, came out into the reception.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Mr. Hendricks, this is my ex-boyfriend, Steve Adams. He's in town for the day and just stopped in to say hello."

"He's not bothering you?" Mr. Hendricks asked, still keeping a wary eye on me.

"Oh no! Not at all. He's helped me a lot since I had my problems in December."

"OK. Nice to meet you, Steve," he said, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hendricks," I said, taking the proffered hand and shaking it.

He turned and went back through a door that I assumed led to the offices.

"He's been very protective of me since Christmas, and especially after I was in the hospital."

"I noticed he was giving me the eye," I said with a smile. "I'm glad you have people looking out for you. I don't want to keep you from your work, so I'll be going."

"I'm glad you came by, Steve. Please call me sometime?"

"I will, Kara." I said.

She got up from behind her desk and walked up to me, gave me a quick hug, and immediately went back to her chair. I smiled at her, said 'goodbye', then headed out to my car. Instead of driving to Bethany's, I went back to my parents' house because I wanted to use the phone. I called Doctor Mercer's office and asked if she was available. The receptionist said that she was in with a patient but would be done in ten minutes and that she'd have her call me then.

"How is she, Steve?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm not sure. She seems a lot better, but she apparently was always like that at work, so I don't know if it's just that she was there or if she's made some overall progress. I guess I'll find out from Doctor Mercer."

I waited for about twelve minutes for the phone to ring and when it did, I shooed my sister out of my room. She made a face at me, but shut the door behind her when she left.

"Doctor Mercer, I just saw Kara at work. She seemed a lot better. I was wondering if it was just that she was at work or if there's been some overall improvement?"

"She's making progress, Steve. We've spoken in detail about the situation with Joyce, and she's slowly starting to come to terms with it. It's still a long road, and there are quite a few obstacles. She has made some progress on the whole 'doomed to hell' issue — she at least acknowledges that it is possible to receive forgiveness, and that's huge. It's such a touchy subject, but I talk to her in as neutral a fashion as I can. She said you told her something that helped."

"I just quoted John 3:16 to her. My only goal was to plant a seed of doubt in her certainty that she was lost. I guess it might have worked."

"Maybe. She's sort of hinted at this before then fallen back on the predestination to hell answer. It kind of comes and goes. Remember, she had more than eighteen years of indoctrination and it's not going to go away overnight. She's told me about how the two of you debated the Bible and how you were working hard to get her to see other viewpoints. In general, I think it's a good thing to be open minded, but Steve, I think you pressed her far too fast when you two were first seeing each other."

"I came to that conclusion as well, Doctor. She wasn't able to cope with all the chaos I brought into her life."

"That's right. And that's why you need to be very, very careful with her in the future. I'm not talking about anything romantic, but even as her friend. She's very fragile and might be for a long time. Just keep that in mind."

"I will. Thanks, Doctor Mercer."

"You're welcome. And thanks for being her friend, despite the circumstances."

"I couldn't do anything else," I said.

"I know. You're a good young man, Steve," Doctor Mercer said. "Just keep working on the things we talked about in the past and you'll do quite well for yourself. And you know where to come if you need help."

"Thanks," I said, and we hung up.

I opened the door to my room and Stephanie came over from her room.