Chapter 25: The Big C

April, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

My plans to get my schoolwork out of the way for Joyce's visit hit a roadblock when I arrived home on Monday. I had a message on my answering machine from the union electrician. His brief message said that there were some changes and additions they wanted, and he asked me to call right away.

I sighed and dialed the number he'd left. We spent twenty minutes discussing the changes, and I made copious notes. I looked at my calendar, checked my syllabi, and told him I could probably have everything done by the end of the month. If I ran into trouble, though, it would be the end of May because of final exams. He encouraged me to get the work done by the end of April. I promised him that I'd try.

I looked over everything that I had to do for the next four weeks and mapped it out on the calendar. I was very glad that I'd completed the project for the database class, as that freed up some time. But it wasn't enough. I was going to have to use most of my Sunday mornings, some Sunday evenings, and the extra time from my karate class to get the work done in the timeframe he preferred. My birthday, which I'd blocked out completely, and the Voronin's trip to Chicago were impediments as well.

"Shit," I said to myself. I was going to have almost no free time and get less sleep. That said, the money that was coming in was filling my bank account and making it possible to start my own business in a little over a year. The thought of dropping out of school briefly crossed my mind, but I banished it as I turned on the IBM PC to start working on the changes.

At dinner that night, I asked the girls if they would take over cooking for the month, and they readily agreed. That freed up another hour a day, so I was very grateful. The topic of my birthday came up just as we were finishing.

"We want to throw you a party," Jackie said. "It's a Sunday, so how about in the afternoon?"

"Sure. Most of our friends are here then."

"Anyone in particular you want me to invite that doesn't usually come on Sunday?" she asked.

"Penny. It's her birthday, too. I'm supposed to go to her house for her party, which is at dinner, so the afternoon works great for that. Otherwise, Bethany, Anala, Mike from Theta Xi. Andrei from my Business class. My ROTC friends. Pete."

I wanted to invite Becky, but if that got back to Jennifer, I'd be dead meat. I had to figure out how to break that to Jennifer, but I figured the best way was to wait until we were face to face. I expected to get an icy stare and an order not to see her, but I had to try.

"Anyone else?" she asked.

"I'd love to see some friends from Ohio State, but it's not practical. It isn't practical for Kara, Joyce, or my sister to come, either. It would be great to see Stephie, but that's not going to happen."

"Probably not, in all those cases." Jackie said. "What kind of cake do you want?"

"Devil's Food with fudge icing," I said.

"And to eat?"

"With that crowd? It almost has to be burgers, brats, or that kind of thing. Or spaghetti. You know, something to feed an army! And NO presents. Do you hear me?"

The girls laughed, and said, "No!" with one voice.

"Seriously, I do not need gifts," I said.

"Who said anything about need?" Elyse said. "How about the same thing you got for your twentieth birthday?"

She and Jackie looked at each other, then me, then Katy, and started giggling.

"What did I miss?" Cindi said.

"My two giggly friends here, along with Pam, Bethany, and Stephie, tag-teamed me all night. The thing is, if they do that, you do NOT get to participate!"

"What?!" Cindi whined. "Why?"

"You know why! Unless you're getting married on the 23rd or 24th, it's not happening. By your own rule. And besides, I can't even begin to ask Katy to participate in something like that."

Katy smiled at me and nodded. I knew it was an acknowledgment of our relationship, but the other girls only took it as her secondary meaning, thanking me for excluding her.

"Well, then I say that's NOT the gift!" Cindi grumped.

"Speak for yourself!" Jackie laughed. "You're the one who made the deal. He'd have fucked you silly any time you asked if you hadn't done that. And besides, you have the Puerto Rican stallion keeping you warm and happy."

"That's worked out quite nicely, thank you!" Cindi grinned. "Though I did hurt his feelings with the 'just fucking' comment. That was a dumb thing for me to say."

"Wait! Are you two getting serious?" Katy asked.

"No. But I was his first, and he does care about me. He's kind of like Steve, in a sense. I was crass when I said that, even if it's true. He's sensitive, and I missed that."

"Getting soft as you get older?" Jackie said.

"As long as Jorge doesn't!" she smirked.

"OK. OK. Enough," I said, playing Kathy's role because she and Kurt weren't with us. "I think the plans are fine, but no gifts and no fuck-a-thon."

"Party pooper!" Jackie said with a laugh.

"You know that you're getting gifts no matter how much you protest, right?" Elyse said.

"I figured. Just don't go crazy, please."

Jackie leaned over and whispered, "I'll leave that to Penny!"

I chuckled and realized that I needed to buy Penny some kind of gift. It would need to be something that she could show her parents without causing them to suspect anything, which meant it couldn't be too personal, nor could it be too expensive. I had three weeks to sort it out, and I was sure Jackie would help me if I asked her to.

After dinner, I grabbed my books and did homework and read until close to midnight, when I finally went to bed.

Tuesday was a long, long day with work, dinner at the Sig Ep house, and my database class. By the time I arrived home, I was dragging. I thought about using the sauna, but decided instead to simply fall into bed. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, except that Penny came by for her 'computer lesson'. We went straight to my room and had our clothes off seconds after the door was shut and locked. We kissed and ran our hands over each other and then fell into bed. She was wearing cherry lip gloss, and it tasted wonderful. We took turns orally pleasuring each other and she once again begged me to fuck her, but I just pulled her into my arms and cuddled her.

"You are so mean!" she groused. "I want to!"

"I know you do. I guess five orgasms from my tongue aren't enough?"

"I want to have sex, Steve! I ache so bad when I think about it. It's like I have this empty spot that needs to be filled up!"

She did. And I was going to fill it for her. Repeatedly!

"Soon enough! Speaking of that day, the girls are throwing a party for me in the afternoon. What was your plan?"

"You're supposed to come to my party that night. Are you?"

"Of course! And you should come to my party. I guess you'll need to come over before that so we can do what you want!"

"What if I tell Mom I'm going to help set up? I could come over early, like 8:00am and if the party isn't until the afternoon, we could do it all morning!"

I chuckled, "You might be sore, Penny."

"I do NOT care. You are going to do it with me until I say stop! Will we be able to keep doing it after our birthdays?"

"If you decide you like it, I suppose we could do this on Wednesdays, like now."

"If?" she giggled. "Are you nuts? If it feels anything like your tongue, I won't want to stop! I am SOOOO horny!"

"We could use our mouths again, if you want. In fact, we can do it at the same time."

"How?" she asked breathlessly.

I helped her straddle my head, facing my feet. I pulled her down and began gently licking her pussy, while she lowered her head and took my growing erection into her mouth. Penny's moans enhanced the feeling, and I didn't last long. Penny came for the second time, and then I blasted cum into her mouth. Surprisingly, she bobbed and took much more of me in than she had before, sucking and licking furiously as I probed her tunnel with my tongue. Jackie was certainly right — I was going to be wildly fucked on the morning of my twenty-first birthday.

"That was so cool!" she gasped, moving off of me and snuggling against me.

"You liked that?"

"Yeah, I got so excited! Did you like it, too?"

"Absolutely!" I said. "Especially when you took me further in."

"Oh! I didn't know you wanted that. I wonder if I can get the whole thing in my mouth."

I groaned softly, "Just the thought of that is exciting!"

"Then why don't you just fuck me right now, Steve! You can! I want it!"

"I know you do," I said. "Eighteen days. And where did you learn that word?"

She giggled, "School, of course! That is what we're going to do, isn't it? Fuck?"

"Yes, though making love is a more polite term."

"I don't want to be polite! I want you to fuck me all morning!" she giggled.

"Your mom would wash your mouth out with soap if she heard you!" I chuckled.

"Well, I do have your cum all over the inside of my cheeks, so maybe that would be OK!" she teased.

"It sounds to me like you've been talking to someone a bit older than you," I said with a silly grin.

"Mary. I told you that! She told me the words her boyfriend likes. It's OK?" she asked, suddenly sounding like a little girl.

"Yes, Penny, it's fine. And in less than three weeks, Miss Penelope Margaret O'Neil will no longer be a virgin."

She smiled and kissed me softly. We got up and showered, once again being careful not to get her hair wet. She sprayed her body spray over her clothes after we dressed, ensuring that there were no clues to what we'd been doing together. She put on more lip gloss and we kissed softly, then I walked her to the door and watched her scamper home as she usually did.

Thursday was another busy day, though I didn't have class in the evening, so I could finish my schoolwork and work on the programs for the union. I finally went to bed just after 1:00am. Once again, I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. Both Jackie and Elyse had noticed how busy I was, and because of that, were not coming to my room. I missed that, but I also knew that as tired as I was, all we'd do would be sleep.

On Friday after class, I took some time to go register for my classes for the following semester. I'd agonized over my electives, and in the end, had decided to mix things I needed with things I wanted. I signed up for independent study, and paper-clipped my approval form from Doctor Bauer to the registration sheet. I signed up for the brand new software development class that Scott Bannerman was teaching, and then hunted down the course numbers for my electives — Accounting I, World Literature, and World Religions I.

Accounting had been suggested by Elyse so that I'd grasp the basic principles when I started my own company. I wasn't thrilled with it, but she was right. I did need to at least know the basics. World Literature and World Religions both were directly influenced by my relationship with Anala. I'd take the second semester of World Religions in the Spring.

I was happy that I could manage all four classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which would make Tuesdays and Thursdays much easier to survive during my Senior year. I had two options to arrange the courses, and selected the one that started early in the day so that I could be done by 4:00pm. I'd have two morning classes at 8:00am and 10:00am, and two afternoon classes, one at 1:00pm and the other at 3:00pm. I handed in the form, along with the fee, and then headed to Bridgeport to get Anala.

At home, I checked my answering machine and there was a message from Joyce saying that she was on her way and expected to arrive about 7:00pm. Anala and I had agreed to wait to have dinner with Joyce, and we'd use that time for the girls to get acquainted. After I listened to the message, Anala and I went up to my room and got into bed.

"Did you talk everything over with the other girls?" she asked.

"I did, including Sofia. She's in a real quandary as to what to do, but she said she's not prepared to give up just yet."

"What about Karin?" she asked.

"I'm going to tell her everything face-to-face. I think it's the only honorable thing to do."

"I agree. Did you talk to Kara, as I suggested?"

"Yes. She's going to come visit in May, before I head to Ohio for Melanie's wedding. I assume you still plan to house sit as we talked about?"

"Yes. I'd like to see Kara when she's here, if that's OK with you."

"Yes, it is. Also, I talked to Joyce last Sunday. It looks like she actually has cancer."

"Oh no! And?"

"Right now, it's a simple treatment. She can explain."

"OK. What do you need from me today, Steve?"

"Just love me, please."

"Lie back and let me pleasure you," she said, kissing me softly.

Between her mouth and her pussy, she made me cum four times before she stretched out on top of me and pressed her firm body against me. I looked down and admired the curve of her butt and her wonderful brown skin. Her long, silky black hair cascaded over my chest and her firm breast pressed into my side, the erect nipple trying to burrow under my skin.

"That was wonderful," I breathed.

"I enjoy pleasing you, Steve. Will you be able to do it again later?"

"Once, for sure. After that, I suppose we'll find out! But between your mouth and your very tight yoni, I think it's possible!"

"What's the longest you've been able to go?" she asked.

"On very rare occasions, thirty minutes. Fifteen to twenty is the usual."

"We'll try some breathing exercises and see if we can break that record!" she said with a smile.

I smiled and hugged her tight. Sex with Anala was enhanced by our intimacy, and I knew that whichever girl I ended up with, I had to replicate that. If Anala wasn't so set on marrying a Hindu, I'd seriously consider her as the leading candidate. We were nearly perfectly compatible, except for that issue. But that was a huge one, and one I didn't see her changing any more than Katt could give up skating or Tanya could give up her diplomatic career.

Just before 7:00pm we got out of bed, and as was our usual practice, Anala washed me and dried me, before washing herself. She helped me dress, then put on her own clothes, and we went downstairs to wait for Joyce to arrive. We sat in the Indian room drinking tea, with incense burning, until I heard the doorbell. We got up and went to the door. I opened it, and Joyce dropped her bag and hugged me tight, then I introduced her to Anala.

"Have you seen the house before?" Anala asked her.

"Yes, back before he moved in," Joyce said.

I took Joyce's bag to the guest room and then joined the girls in the kitchen. Anala offered Joyce tea and started preparing our meal. I offered to help, but was shooed away.

"I used to cook for Steve like this years ago."

"He told me. You two spent a lot of time together before you became lovers."

"Yes. How much has Steve told you?"

"Everything, more or less. He has a few very private things he hasn't shared. I'm not sure what they are, but until he chooses to share them, they'll remain private."

"He's pretty open, usually. But there are one or two things he keeps to himself. Do you mind if I ask how long it took before you two were intimate?"

"Do you mean before we engaged in intercourse?" Anala asked. "The two things are different. It took about six months to become intimate, and about a year before we had intercourse."

"That's an interesting distinction. Can you explain?"

"I think it's easy. Steve told me about the shower after Birgit died. That was very, very intimate. And yet you did not have sex."

"Oh, wow!" Joyce gushed. "Yes! OK. I get it. He said he didn't even notice what I looked like."