Chapter 41: Revelations and Confrontations

June, 1984, Chicago, Illinois

Making love with Josie had been wonderful. Making love with Jennifer had always been sublime. Making love with both of them at the same time was beyond anything I'd ever experienced. Every touch of our bodies, every kiss, every movement, was enhanced by my love for Jennifer and her love for me and Josie. When I came, it was as if I was pouring my soul into Jennifer, welding our innermost beings together, just as our bodies were joined.

I'd had an odd feeling when I first entered Jennifer, one that made it clear to me that there was something wrong, but that feeling was quickly washed away by the waves of pleasure as Josie covered us both with kisses, tender, loving and passionate, all at the same time, as she ran her hands over our bodies. We tested every position we could think of, including me holding Jennifer in my arms while watching Josie pleasuring her. The kiss that followed tasted of Jennifer and me, but came from Josie's lips.

I didn't want to stop, but eventually, the girls literally wore me out. The next morning, I could barely get out of bed. I staggered to the shower and washed off the sweat and fluids from two beautiful girls who had indeed fucked me unconscious — twice! I'd had both of them several times, and they'd pleasured each other as well. If this was what life was going to be like in the future, I'd need to get serious about exercising again.

That evening, Penny came to dinner and after we ate, she spent nearly an hour talking privately with Jennifer, before it was time for Penny to head home. Before she left, I let her know that I was going to be in Ohio for several days, and that when I came back to Chicago, I'd only be there for one night before going to Sweden.

"Will we have a chance to make love?" she asked quietly.

"It'll have to be next Monday. Ask your mom if you can come to dinner with Jennifer, Josie and me. The girls will be cool about it."

"I'm sure! Jennifer is totally cool. You'll be gone for a month, I think, right?"

"Yes. I'll be back July 9th. I'll come see you as soon as I get home. I promise!"

"Thanks, Steve!" she said.

After she left, I asked Jennifer what she'd talked to Penny about. She said that Penny had asked her why she liked girls and not boys, and Jennifer had tried to explain it to her, but Penny seemed confused by the whole thing. Penny also asked about Jennifer and my relationship, and Jennifer had tried to explain that as well, but Penny was confused about that as well.

"Was there anything she wasn't confused about?" I chuckled.

"Yes. How much she loves you. She seems to think that you two might have some future together. She knew you and I plan to have a baby, too."

"Yes, to both of those," I said.

"Wow. And until Josie and me, she was the only one you were sleeping with recently?"

"Yes, Jen. Jackie thinks that she's stolen my heart."

"Has she?" Jennifer asked, cocking her head.

"She made me forget Becky," I grinned.

"That makes her tops in my book!" Jennifer smirked. "She looks yummy, too!"

"Hey, you have Josie!" I chuckled. "But yeah, yummy is one way to put it! When we come back from Ohio, she's coming to dinner and I need you and Josie as cover, if you get my drift!"

Jennifer giggled, "Yeah, you two need to say goodbye properly before you go to Sweden!"

"Exactly. So, what's the plan for the rest of the evening?"

"Same as last night! After all, Bethany gets you starting tomorrow!"

"I might not survive!" I chuckled.

Once again, the girls wore me out, but I gave as good as I got and they weren't in much better shape. All three of us had trouble dragging ourselves from bed in the morning, but we managed. I cooked breakfast for the three of us and after we finished eating and cleaning up, we packed up and got into my car to head for Milford.

June, 1984, Milford, Ohio

The drive to Ohio had been, as usual, uneventful. There was a lot of small talk, but there was one important conversation that had started just after we stopped for lunch at Wendy's in Lebanon, just north of Indianapolis.

"Steve," Josie said, "I've been thinking about your comment about Jenny 'going to the Dark Side'. I'm not sure I like that."

"Jos, he was teasing!" Jennifer said. "Steve's been nothing but supportive. And you have to remember that my relationship with him is really complicated."

"Jen, you don't need to defend me," I said. "I was teasing, and I wasn't. You know that I have no issues with two girls, or two guys for that matter, being together. But this situation is more complicated for me. When you and I started putting things back together, I had certain hopes and dreams. And those hopes and dreams were recognized by other people, too. My sister, naturally, and Bethany, who said that you had the inside track.

"You know full well that I've been trying to figure out how the two of us could be a couple back in Junior High. I blew it, I know, but I always held out hope that in the end, we'd find a way to overcome all the challenges, even when you decided to go to Stanford. It looked so promising when you were in Chicago after the Kara blow-up, and I thought we might work things out. I guess I assumed I could marry you and you would have Josie, or someone, on the side.

"So yeah, Josie, the Dark Side. Don't get me wrong, I would never, ever interfere in Jennifer being happy, nor do I think that what the two of you are doing is wrong. Far from it. I've known that Jennifer was attracted to girls for a long time. I just didn't realize that she would be, as one of my college friends puts it, playing for the other team. If you two move to Chicago, as you've planned, I guarantee not a single person in the house will have a word to say about you two and your relationship. It just sucks for me."

"You really wanted to marry her?" Josie asked.

"Absolutely. As I said, I thought that's where we were headed. I wanted to give her a promise ring years ago, but she turned me down. Now I understand why. Look, I know how bad it is for someone to be confused about their sexuality. I've seen that up close and personal, and I'm sure that Jen has told you about her struggles, but there have been others, too. But that doesn't change where my heart is."

"So you see me as an interloper?" she asked.

"I see you as someone who loves Jennifer and wants to be with her. I want her to be happy. If you make her happy, that's all that matters."

"You make me happy, Steve," Jennifer said.

"I know that, Jen. But in the end, your partner has to be someone like Josie. Being with me and having her on the side won't satisfy whatever emotional need you have. It sucks, but it's something I have to deal with," I sighed.

"Steve Adams, each of the past two nights you were wildly fucked by two hot girls. Quit being so morose about it!" Jennifer said sharply.

"I know, but answer this for me Jennifer — can you be with me, just you and I, to make love, or do you need Josie there too. Be honest, please."

Jennifer was quiet for a moment, then sighed, "As much as it pains me to say it, I need Josie there."

And that answered the question that I had in my mind and basically put to rest any ideas that I had entertained about Jennifer changing her mind. It sucked, but there really wasn't anything I could do about it. And based on what was just said, I couldn't even try.

I hadn't said much the rest of the way home, and the girls had been mostly quiet as well, though there was a bit a small talk. As we exited I-275 at Route 28 in Milford, I had a hilarious thought that cut through my brooding.

"Hey, Josie, are you still game to mess with some of my friends?" I asked.

"Sure! What did you have in mind?"

I explained quickly, and both girls were laughing hard by the time we turned onto Wolfpen-Pleasant Hill. They managed to get it under control by the time we pulled into the Spencers' driveway. Josie and I walked up to the door together, and Jennifer trailed slightly behind. I used my key to unlock the door, and we went in.

"Hi, Trudy!" I said. "There was a change of plans. My sister and I are sleeping here. Jennifer and Josie decided to stay in a hotel."

"What?!" she gasped. "Steve, you can't!"

Josie and I exchanged a very deep kiss.

"We absolutely can. Now, if you don't mind, we're going up to my room to make up for the last few months."

"No! Steve, you can't!" Trudy protested. "That's wrong!"

"Hi, Mrs. Spencer!" Jennifer said, walking into the house.

"Jennifer? What the hell is going on?" Trudy demanded, clearly exasperated.

"Trudy, this is Josie, Jennifer's girlfriend!" I chuckled. "She MIGHT bear some resemblance to my sister!"

"Some? Some?!" Trudy managed between laughs. "You got me, Steve. Again! I was sure that was Stephanie!"

"Keep this quiet, if you don't mind. The three of us are going to play this same trick with a few more people!"

"You two almost gave me a heart attack!" Trudy declared.

"Good!" I chuckled. "I'm going to leave the girls here and head to Bethany's. Jennifer, I'm not sure what plans Bethany has, but I'll call to let you know."

Both girls kissed me and I headed out to my car and drove the short distance to Bethany's house. I grabbed my bag from the car and walked up to the door, and rang the bell. Ed answered and let me in, then led me to the living room. Bethany got up, and we hugged, I greeted her parents, and then Bethany and I sat down on the loveseat.

"Thanks for letting me stay here, Mr. Krajick."

He smiled, "It's a bit late to lock the barn door, so to speak. From what I gather, you two have been together since Junior High. At this point, you're both 21, and have to make your own decisions."

I nodded, "I appreciate it. Bethany, what's the plan for today and tomorrow?"

"What's going on with the rehearsal?" Bethany asked.

"What rehearsal? Given the timing, they skipped it. I know how things work at St. Andrew's from when I was an altar boy. So I'm free both tonight and tomorrow."

"Well, then I want to meet Josie, for sure, and I haven't seen Jennifer in ages. How about we go to dinner?"

"That makes sense. Do you mind if we invite my sister?"

Ed made a face, which didn't surprise me, given that he had tried to get back together with her.

"That's fine. Should we go over and see her? I haven't talked to your dad in a long time, either. Did you want to see Kara?"

"Yes, and her mom, of course. Did you hear about Larry's date for the wedding?"

"Yes," Bethany replied. "I find it amusing that he's still taking your 'leftovers' to 'formal functions'."

I could have heard the 'air quotes' in her voice, even if she hadn't made them with her fingers.

"I don't think that Elyse would like to be referred to as a 'leftover'," I chuckled.

"Is Kara bringing a date?"

"I hadn't even thought about that, but I doubt it. I don't think Joyce will, either. And Stephanie didn't tell me if she was bringing anyone or not."

"She's bringing some guy from school who's back from college, Zach, I think," Bethany said.

Ed made a sour face, which didn't surprise me as I knew exactly what he was missing, I couldn't blame the poor kid.

"Yeah, Zach," I replied. "They went out a few times before he went to college. Let me call Jen and see if she and Josie want to go meet my sister."

Bethany and I went up to her room where I dropped my bag and then dialed the Spencers' house. I told Jennifer the plans, and she laughed when I said I wanted Josie to meet Stephanie.

"But what about your mom?" Jennifer asked. "What are you going to say?"

"The same thing I said to Trudy. Josie's your girlfriend. Heck, I could say 'fiancée' if you wanted."

"No, not yet. I want the three of us to discuss that after the wedding," Jennifer requested.

"Bethany and I will be over in a few minutes," I said.

Bethany and I said 'goodbye' to her parents and then drove over to pick up Jennifer and Josie. Bethany did a double-take, but then figured it out pretty quickly. We had a good laugh and then headed to my parents' house on Overlook. The four of us walked inside and my sister looked like she'd seen a ghost. She blinked hard, twice, shook her head and blinked again.

"Stephanie, this is Josie. Josie, my sister, Stephanie."

"Uh, hi," Stephanie said tentatively.

"Squirt, stand side-by-side and look in the mirror over there."

"Holy shit!" she breathed when she'd done as I'd asked.

"Yeah, we played a trick on Mrs. Spencer and I thought she was going to have a heart attack!"

"You pretended she was me?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes, and I think anyone who hasn't seen you in a few months would easily mistake you for each other. That's how they met — Jennifer saw her across the quad at Stanford and thought it was you!"

"You told me she was cute, Jennifer, but you never said she looked just like me!" Stephanie protested.

"I wanted it to be a surprise!" Jennifer smirked.

"I haven't quite figured out how to mess with Melanie yet," I said with an evil grin, "but I'm working on it!"

"I have an idea for right now!" Stephanie said with a smirk.

Stephanie explained in whispers and Josie stifled a laugh. Jennifer, Bethany, and I just rolled our eyes and suppressed our own chuckles.

"You know Mom," I whispered. "This could backfire!"

She winked and took Josie by the hand, the two girls running excitedly into my dad's office where he and my mom were.

"You guys never told me I had a twin sister!" Stephanie squealed.

Mom's face went into a blank, surprised stare. Dad did a quick look at both and broke out laughing as I followed Bethany and Jennifer in.

"Dad, I know you remember Jennifer. This is Jen's girlfriend, Josie."

"Nice to meet you, dear," my dad said, standing up. "You have a remarkable resemblance to my daughter!"

"That's what Steve and Jennifer said. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Adams."

"Girlfriend?" my mother asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Just what I said, Mom. Jennifer and Josie are girlfriends. As in dating."

"Out!" my mom shrieked. "Get out of this house! Take your degenerate friends and get out of this house right now!"

"Judy!" my dad barked.

"I won't have it!" my mom insisted.

"Gee, Mom," I said with a smirk, "You let Jeff stay here. He's been legally declared a degenerate. With Josie and Jennifer, we're talking about two consenting adults, not a man abusing girls who haven't even been through puberty!"

"Steve," my dad said gently.

"No, Dad. All those years she called me degenerate and my girlfriends sluts are coming back to haunt her. Her precious little angel is a convicted felon, serving time for exposing himself to little girls. God knows what ELSE he might have done to them!"

"It's all your fault!" my mom shrieked. "You and all your degenerate friends corrupted him!"

"I didn't spend ANY time with him. Neither did my friends. Whatever his problem is, it's his problem. One thing I can say for sure is that I've never been arrested, let alone charged or convicted, for anything I might have done with girls!"

"Get out!" she shrieked.

"Dad, we're going out to dinner later; for now, we're going to hang out with Stephanie for a bit. Oh, and before I forget, Jennifer and Josie are moving into the house next Summer, about the same time Stephanie does."