Chapter 21: The Times They Are a-Changin\'

March 1984, Chicago, Illinois

The week started off with my normal set of classes on Monday, and the usual amount of homework and reading for Monday night. On Tuesday, Dave and I went back to work and were given a new task by Scott. The new Plexus computers had arrived, and we were to install the Unix operating system and then connect them with Ethernet. Dave and I looked over everything. I read over the instructions for installing the 'vampire' taps on the thick, yellow Ethernet cable.

"Scott," I objected, "this cable and the taps cost $2,500! If we screw it up, it's ruined!"

"Then don't screw it up!" he replied with a wry smile. "You two will do fine. You're careful to start with, and being nervous about screwing it up will make you doubly careful. We trust you guys."

Dave and I both shook our heads and started unpacking everything. As soon as Scott was out of the room, Dave spoke.

"That's crazy. Two twenty-year-old kids? Why?"

"You heard the man," I said. "He trusts us. And he knows for sure we'll be careful. He gave us the responsibility and now we have to show him that his trust was properly placed. Measure twice, cut once, as I've heard my dad say."

"More like measure eight times!" Dave said, still nervous.

In the end, we had worried for nothing. The vampire taps were nearly impossible to screw up, which I was sure Scott had known. Configuring Ethernet on the two servers was much more challenging, but eventually, after a bit of trial and error and reading the manual at least five times, we got it working and could use the 'telnet' command to login remotely from one server to the other. We called Scott in to check our work.

"I was never worried. On Thursday, you can set up the logins and install the Universe software from VMark. It's very much like Prime Information."

On Wednesday, after dinner, Penny arrived for her computer lesson. Or what had been her computer lesson and had now become a make-out session. We went directly up to my room and locked the door behind us. Penny was in my arms, kissing me ferociously the second I turned away from the door to face her. She broke the kiss, gasping for breath.

"Make me feel good, please!" she begged.

I maneuvered her onto the loveseat and then helped her remove her sweater and her lacy lavender bra. I lowered my head and began gently sucking on her nipple. I moved my hand to unbutton her jeans and slowly lowered the zipper, and then pushed my fingers through the opening, outside her soft cotton panties. The heat was incredible, and Penny gasped as I ran my fingers over her clit and along her cotton-covered labia.

"Ohhh, yes!" she hissed.

I slowly ran my fingers up and down, pressing on her clit with my finger each time I moved across it. Penny gently bucked her hips, trying to increase the pressure. I released her breast and moved up to French kiss her. Our tongues tangled, and I moved my fingers to the waistband of her panties. I broke the kiss.

"OK?" I whispered in her ear.

"God yes!" she gasped, then begged, Please touch me!"

We started kissing again, and then I slipped my fingers inside her panties, feeling her downy pubic hair. I pushed further and moved my finger in a small circular motion over her clit. I got my first whiff of her fresh aroma and instantly had a desire to taste it. I pushed my fingers further, wetting them with the juices that were leaking from her pussy. I pulled them out of her panties, broke the kiss, and Penny's eyes went wide as I pressed the finger that was soaked with her fluids into my mouth. The taste was exquisite, musky and sweet, with a hint of copper.

"You taste wonderful," I said, pushing my finger back inside her panties.

We kissed, and I rubbed her clit until she groaned into my mouth and arched her back, trying to press her clit hard into my finger. I increased the pressure a bit, and Penny's entire body shook with pleasure. She broke the kiss, gasping for breath, and hugged me tightly.

"Oh my God, that was unreal!" she whispered when her breathing returned to normal.

"Next time I'll use my mouth," I whispered.

"You really want to do that?" she asked, biting her lip.

"I do. I love doing that."

"Can I try to give you a blowjob?" she asked timidly.

"Now? Or next time?" I asked.

"Uh, now," she said shyly.

"Yes," I said.

"How do I do it?"

"First, we'll need to get my sweat pants off."

"Will you take off all your clothes? I'll take mine off, too. I want to see you," she whispered.

I nodded and began removing my clothes. Penny watched in fascination as I stepped out of my underwear and stood naked before her. She smiled, then quickly slid her jeans and panties down and stepped out of them. She winked and then did a quick pirouette. She was beautiful indeed — flared hips, flat stomach, light, wispy blonde pubic hair, and pronounced labia.

"Now what?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

I sat back down on the loveseat and motioned for Penny to kneel between my legs. She did that and looked up expectantly at me.

"Just start by treating it like an ice cream cone," I said.

She giggled, grasped my shaft with her small hand and gave my glans a quick lick. The sensation and vision of her tongue on me was so intense that I had to concentrate on maintaining control. Penny tentatively licked me again, then began licking in earnest, just as she would a melting ice cream cone. She did this for a couple of minutes, then looked up at me.

"Am I doing it right? Nothing happened!" she said.

"Oh, you're doing it right. It feels really, really good. If you want something to happen, treat it more like a Popsicle."

"You mean like put it in my mouth and suck?" she asked softly. "Kind of move it in and out?"

"Yes. If you do that, I promise something will happen. I'll tell you when it's going to happen."

"And you want me to keep it in my mouth? And let you shoot?"

"I do, yes."

"And then what?"

"Swallow or spit it out. It's up to you."

"What do you want?" she asked shyly.

"Swallow," I said, stroking her hair.

Penny looked truly nervous for the first time in weeks, but she lowered her head and opened her mouth to accept the head of my dick. She sucked gently, and I moaned softly. She slowly bobbed up and down, sucking gently as she would a Popsicle. I wasn't going to last long, given the intense pleasure I was receiving from the inexperienced girl. About a minute later, I warned her that I was close, but she didn't slow down. A couple more bobs put me over the edge.

"Unngh!" I groaned as a jet of cum spurted into Penny's mouth.

Penny coughed slightly, but didn't stop sucking. I felt her swallow as the second spurt shot into her mouth, then a third and fourth. Penny kept sucking and swallowing until my orgasm had run its course, then lifted her head from my dick and looked up at me.

"How did I do?" she asked.

"Perfect!" I moaned, pulling her into my lap.

I kissed her deeply and our tongues tangled, giving me a taste of my own fluids. Penny moaned softly and turned, trying to straddle me, but the back of the loveseat was in the way. I scooted forward, and she wrapped her legs around me. Penny ground her clit into me as we kissed, and it wasn't long before she groaned and arched her back.

"Can we do it now, please, please!" she begged, breaking the kiss.

"Penny, we agreed on our shared birthday. It's only a month away," I said gently.

"I'll die before then!" she moaned.

"No, you won't!" I chuckled. "Let's stick to our plan."

"Fine," Penny sighed, then added, "Meanie!"

We kissed once more, softly, and then we got dressed. I hugged Penny tightly to me and then walked her downstairs to the door.

"I liked it, Steve!" she giggled. "I can't wait!"

"I liked it too, Penny!" I said.

I watched her walk next door and into her house. When she and I finally got around to the final act in our little play, it was indeed going to be explosive. I made some tea and then went to my study to work on a paper for my ethics class. I had just sat down when the phone rang. It was Carla calling to ask if I wanted to get together on Sunday for dinner and a movie. I told her that I'd be happy to and she asked me to come by around 5:00pm.

On Thursday, Dave and I installed the Universe software from VMark and configured the users. I wrote a quick test program and when I was satisfied that everything was working, Dave and I reported back to Scott. He sent Dave back to work on his cross-assembler project and sent me back to make some changes to the scale that had been requested by Spartus.

On Friday, after class, I picked up Anala for our usual time together. We went straight to my room, made love, then cuddled together in bed.

"How did things end up with Kara?" she asked.

"Pretty much as I expected that they would," I answered. "She has a lot of work to do before she can have a relationship with anyone."

"Are you going to take my advice and invite her to visit again?"

"Probably. I'm not sure yet, but maybe I'll ask her to visit for a few days in late May, after school is out. Speaking of school being out, how are your interviews going?"

"Good. I had second interviews with two places, but one of them is the one I really want — Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. They designed the Hancock Center and the Sears Tower. Getting in there as a new graduate is a ticket to success. I just wish Fazlur Khan hadn't died a couple of years ago. He was so young, only 52. He's the one who was the main guy behind both those buildings."

"Wow. What was the other one?"

She smiled, "Murphy/Jahn. Jahn was a disciple of Mies van der Rohe, who studied at IIT under Frazer Khan. That would be perfect as well."

"Wow. No offense intended, but I didn't realize that you were that good."

"We've never really discussed it, so that's not a surprise. But your friends Jackie and Jeremiah are pretty good as well. Actually, I'd say Jeremiah is a prodigy. He's going to get snapped up by one of the top firms."

"The same as you are?" I grinned.

"Yes. Jackie has a good shot, too, but she wants to start her own firm."

"And you don't?"

"No. I don't want to run a company any more than you do," she said with a knowing smile.

"So true! How are things at home?"

"Deteriorating. All I can say is that it's a good thing my parents are well-educated and mostly modern. In India, I'd be at serious risk."

"Risk?"

"Yes, being forcibly married to someone, or worse, killed outright."

"What?!" I gasped in shock.

"Honor killing is not uncommon, even though it's been outlawed by the government. If a girl disgraces her family, her father or brothers might kill her to redeem the family's honor."

"Holy shit! That's just wrong on so many levels. Not to mention that your sister is the one who is really disgracing the family. You're monogamous, and in a strong, loving relationship. Your sister is, well, free with her love."

"Like you are?" Anala said with an impish smile.

"I'd like to think that there's some difference between me and her. But maybe I'm fooling myself."

"No, you're not. You don't see this as conquests, and you're concerned about how the girls feel. If you weren't, you'd have taken Penny to bed months ago and not cared what happened. You would have taken Kara to bed last week and not cared what happened. No, you're quite different."

"I'm not condemning her, by the way, just the way she's putting up a false front with your parents."

"The way she treats the boys and the way she deals with my parents is bad karma and, in the end, she'll pay a steep price for her deception and the pain she inflicts."

"I wasn't honest with my parents all the time," I said.

"But did you lie to them? Or just keep things from them?"

"Ah, OK. I see the difference, but it's a fine line, don't you think?"

"It depends on your motivations, Steve. Sometimes there are things other people do not need to know. You told me some time ago that Joyce had told you that you were too honest. That's what I'm getting at."

"Yes, she did. And I understand her point, but I'm still convinced that living my life as an open book is a better choice."

"Really?" Anala smirked. "You've told Penny's parents that you're going to make love to her?"

"Touché!"

"Just remember the point — some things are not meant to be shared. That's all Joyce was trying to tell you."

"True. Speaking of which, she's coming to visit in a couple of weeks. She'll be here late on Friday, the week after next."

"Will I be able to meet her?"

"Of course. She and I aren't lovers, so she'll be using a guest room. You're welcome to stay that night, just like you usually do."

"Good. I've really enjoyed meeting all of your friends. It gives me further insight into you. Meeting your sister was even more enlightening. She truly is a soulmate for you, isn't she?"

"Absolutely. She knows pretty much everything about me. She's the only person I let read my journals without any restrictions."

"None of your girlfriends were allowed to read them?"

"Bits and pieces, here and there. Only Stephanie has had full access to them."

"Interesting. And if I asked?" she said.

"Are you asking? I don't want to deal with hypotheticals."

"Yes. I would like to read them."

That presented a serious dilemma. If I let her read them, I'd have to tell her about Stephanie. And I wasn't really sure that was the right thing to do. At some point, I'd probably have to tell her, but I felt that the longer I could put it off, the better. On the other hand, denying her access to them would be hiding my true self from her. And that created its own set of problems.

"Let me think about it."

"OK. It's up to you. I won't ask you again."

"Thanks."

That evening, after dinner, we spent time in the sauna, and then hung out with Cindi, Jackie, and Katy, then went to my room to make love and sleep. On Saturday morning after breakfast, the temperature was just above freezing, so I drove Anala home, then worked with Penny on her computer game. When she left, I headed to karate class and managed to stay out of trouble despite limited practice.

I was seriously considering dropping out of karate, at least until I graduated. I just didn't have enough time to put into it to advance, or, really, stay current. I also hadn't been exercising as regularly as I had in the past, though I hadn't gained any weight. It would soon be warm enough to run, which would help. I reconsidered my idea of joining the YMCA so that I could swim and thought that might be the best overall solution.

When I arrived home from karate, I showered and went to the kitchen to make my lunch. I saw Jorge walking in the front door and asked him to join me. He accepted, and I made lunch for him as well.

"You and Cindi seem to be getting closer, though I saw you flinch a bit when Cindi said you guys are 'just fucking'."

"I talked to her about that," Jorge said. "It's more than that. I know it's weird, but in some ways, she's like a sister to me."

"Sister?" I chuckled. "That's an interesting analogy, given what you're doing together!"

I WAS doing that with my sister, so I could relate. But I couldn't tell HIM that.

"OK, a sister with great benefits," he answered with his own chuckle. "But I tell you, if I'd had a sister like that, benefits or not, I'd probably never have left home! Heck, from what I've heard of you and your sister, I KNOW I wouldn't have left home!"

I chuckled, a bit nervously this time. I wondered if he suspected. If he did, he wasn't saying anything, and the girls here didn't really know about me and Stephanie, beyond how close we were. He hadn't really talked to Bethany, nor had he talked to Kara, and neither of them would have said anything, anyway.