Chapter 71: A Lot to Be Thankful For, Part II

November 1984, Chicago, Illinois

Just after Sofia, Wen, and Leila returned home, I started making dinner. Jorge and George arrived later, as I was getting everything on the table. After dinner, we went to the video store and rented The Star Chamber and Twilight's Last Gleaming for a movie night. I popped popcorn and when I sat down; I sat between Bethany and Sofia, which to me seemed like the safest place in the room. George sat in Jorge's lap and the rest of the girls spread out around the room. When we finished watching the movies, Bethany and I headed up to bed.

"So you didn't take Alejandra up on her offer?" Bethany asked as we cuddled after making love.

"She's Sofia's friend, and it feels wrong to mess around with a girl who's a friend of a lover of mine, if that makes any sense."

"You're expanding your types of girls who are off limits?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Probably, yes. It certainly could create trust issues. And it could ruin friendships."

"Exactly. Alejandra was going to talk to Sofia, but I discouraged her. Not forcefully, but hopefully enough."

Bethany laughed, "And if she asks Sofia, Sofia's going to say that it's up to you and Alejandra."

"Which changes nothing in my book," I said. "Remember when Kara told me to behave? And that I had to figure out what that meant? That was a very difficult minefield to navigate. I suppose if Sofia comes to me and gives me explicit permission, I'll consider it, but even then, I might not. It just doesn't feel right. If Alejandra, or Leila for that matter, were girls I'd met anywhere except as Sofia's friends, I'd give them a tumble, as you called it."

"You're working out your balance as well as defining parameters for the future. This is good, Steve. I think all of us would be more comfortable if there were some limits!"

"Yeah, Karin and Sofia both raised the issue of me being a 'pussy hound' as Sofia called it, or being willing to stick my dick in any available pussy, as Karin called it."

"There's one available right now, if you're interested," Bethany offered.

"Sofia? Alejandra? Leila? Wen?" I teased.

"Jerk!" Bethany said, but she was laughing. "I meant hot cheerleader pussy, of course!"

I enjoyed it once again before we fell asleep in each other's arms.

On Monday morning after breakfast, Sofia asked if I'd take a walk with her. The temperature was just below freezing, but that didn't bother either of us. We put on our jackets, hats and gloves and headed up Woodlawn, walking hand-in-hand. I waited for Sofia to talk, because it seemed like she had something on her mind.

"What is it with you?" she asked in Swedish as we turned the corner at 48th Street.

She sounded exasperated.

"Alejandra?" I asked.

"And Leila!" she said.

"Other than dancing with them and watching the race with Alejandra, I haven't done a thing!" I protested. "In fact, when Alejandra sat down close to me during the race, I told her I was worried about upsetting you."

"I know," Sofia said flatly. "She told me. She also said it was clear that you wanted to be with her."

I sighed, "Being physically attracted to someone has absolutely nothing to do with actually doing something about it. I discussed with Bethany last night that I was thinking about amending my rule."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. No girls who are attached, no girls who are dating friends, and no friends of any of the core girls."

"Not even with permission?" she asked.

"I'm not asking you for permission. Permission is one of those sketchy things. Even if Pete had given permission, I still never would have done anything with Melanie. Heck, Mikael willingly and happily gave me express permission before AND after the wedding and I turned Katt down, much to her annoyance. In both cases, as much as I wanted the girls, it wasn't right."

"You broke your rule with me," she said quietly.

"Not according to your dad when he told me to have sex with you during that first return trip!" I chuckled.

"He what?!" she asked, aghast.

"He told me to forget that you had Jöran, because it wasn't going anywhere and just take you to bed. In almost those words."

"I'm going to kill him when I get back to Hovås!" she declared, but she was laughing.

"Your dad knows exactly what he wants, and he sure isn't going to let anything get in the way. What was it you said about Greeks?"

She smiled, "That we're ruthless in getting what we want."

"Your dad's doing what he can to help you!"

"I'm still going to kill him!" she insisted.

"I'd prefer you didn't. If you do, they won't let you come back. Ever!"

"That would be a problem," she smiled. "In any event, it's true. I know what the battlefield looks like and I have to adapt to it. Look, if you want to have sex with Alejandra or Leila, it's up to you. And I mean that. Honestly, if that's the price I have to pay to win, it's a very small price. But we do need some kind of agreement when we get engaged."

"When?" I chuckled.

"I'm playing for keeps! Yes, WHEN we get engaged."

"So tell me your conditions."

"I don't know just yet. But there have to be some limits, Steve."

"I know that. There would be some kind of limits no matter who I end up marrying. It's just a question of where the line is drawn. Tatyana would draw the line at engagement. That would be it. Just her for life. Karin would be OK with Jennifer and Elyse, until they had their kids, but after that, just Karin for life. Bethany is a bit more flexible."

That wasn't entirely true. Elyse had given me an option that effectively had no limits. The funny thing was, she said she wasn't competing because she didn't have to. I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that. Maybe it was what I'd discussed with the other girls — that Elyse already had a promise from me. Or maybe it was something else.

"And Kara?" Sofia asked.

"Kara's decided she'll be happy being my lover for the rest of her life, having kids with me, but with no need for a marriage certificate. Oh, she'd jump at the chance to marry, but if not, she's said that she'll have kids with me and then be the stay-at-home mom to care for any kids I have with Jennifer, Elyse, or my wife."

"I'm not sure I could handle that," Sofia replied. "Is that non-negotiable?"

"Everything is on the table, obviously. I could decide to marry Tatyana, in which case I'll probably need to defect to keep Jennifer from killing me! I wouldn't be very safe around the rest of you, either!"

Sofia laughed, "So you COULD be convinced not to have kids with Jennifer and Elyse?"

"Anything is possible, but I'd say it's difficult to see a way forward that doesn't involve Jennifer and Elyse in my life as the mothers of some of my children."

"Are you OK with me talking to them?" Sofia asked.

"Yes. You've already talked to Bethany and Kara, as well as the other girls here. I'll give you Jennifer's number in California. Just make sure you use the phone in my study so that I pay for the call."

"OK. I'm trying to find a way to make this work that I can live with. It's difficult, but I'm resourceful. I do promise not to have anyone killed!"

I chuckled, "You're not Sicilian!"

"Greeks are worse," she giggled.

"You're determined; I'll say that much for you!"

"I came here, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

"We aren't engaged yet. Have your fun. I won't be upset, I promise. You don't need my permission, but you have it. Just expect conditions. You have yours; I'll have mine. And we'll negotiate."

"Your dad wasn't kidding when he said you were like your grandfather, was he?"

"No, he wasn't!" Sofia said. "My grandfather was a shrewd businessman!"

"I need to introduce you to my friend Joyce. She's Sicilian. She'll be in Chicago in January, most likely."

"Another girl you're sleeping with?"

"No, not for a long time. And most likely, never again, because we had some serious issues. She's a friend, but that's about it."

"What about Penny?"

"That's going to taper off. Jackie talked to her about finding a boyfriend closer to her age so she can date in April."

"Good. I don't want to see her hurt. She's a sweet girl. But she's had her fun with her older guy, and now she needs to be a teenager. If this were Sweden, I might think differently, but I've seen that the US is VERY different. Is it true that they would put you in jail for being with Penny?"

"Quite possibly. Illinois' age of consent is seventeen."

"What a load of crap!" Sofia declared vehemently. "I couldn't legally have sex with you when I was fifteen? Who runs this country?"

I sighed, "People like my mom. Are you sure you want to live here?"

"Yes, it's just there are some really dumb laws and some really prudish people. I mean, could you see RFSU posters with dancing condoms on the subway here?"

"No," I chuckled. "People like my mom would have a stroke! And a lot of people seem to think hiding birth control information and stopping sex education will stop teenage sex."

Sofia burst out laughing, "That's the dumbest thing I have EVER heard, and I've heard some pretty dumb things!"

"And yet, it's true about America. Talk to Kara when she comes back. She can tell you all about it because she grew up in that kind of environment."

Sofia shook her head, "Unbelievable."

"I was born here and I say the same thing."

"Can I ask for something?"

"Sure." I said.

"Can we make love? Now?"

"Right here on Woodlawn Avenue? I think we'd get arrested!" I chuckled. "And it's a bit cold!"

"I'm hot!" She giggled. "I suppose that your bed will have to do!"

We walked briskly back to the house and, after taking off our shoes by the door and hanging up our coats, we went up to my room. The sheets were still in disarray because I hadn't made the bed that morning, and I was sure that they smelled of Bethany. That didn't deter Sofia, and we were in bed as soon as we had our clothes off. What started as a slow, passionate act quickly turned into a frantic, driving fuck that had our bodies slamming together until we both experienced the overwhelming pleasure of our joint release.

"Well, that was interesting!" I chuckled, lying next to Sofia on the bed.

"I just couldn't control myself!" she said through heavy breaths. "It's like a switch flipped inside me and I just needed to be fucked hard and fast."

"That's not normal for you," I said. "Usually it's slow, soft, and loving."

"True, but it's not the first time we were like that. Maybe it was because the bed smelled like Bethany!" she giggled.

"Sorry about that. I didn't expect you in here today."

"Expect the unexpected!" she smirked, kissing me.

"Should I be afraid?" I asked with a silly grin.

"Only if you disappoint me!" she laughed.

"How about a bubble bath?"

We got out of bed and I drew a warm bubble bath and we got into the claw-foot tub in my bathroom. Sofia settled back against me, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her. We sat quietly for about ten minutes before she spoke.

"Are you satisfied with our lovemaking?" Sofia asked.

"Yes, absolutely! You know what I like best. Don't worry about that!"

"I wondered if that might have something to do with you wanting to be with other girls."

"No, it has nothing to do with you not satisfying my physical needs."

"So it's mental or emotional?"

"And spiritual, too. Anala has been teaching me about true intimacy, which doesn't require sex. But, for me, I guess the sex is a sign of closeness, friendship, and emotional bond. I think, at my core, that what I've realized is that enforced sexual fidelity seems wrong. Society seems to want to force everyone into a very narrow path that would exclude Jennifer, and me, and a lot of other people from expressing their sexuality.

"The more I think about Jennifer and Josie, the more I'm convinced that Jennifer's expression of her sexuality is no more and no less right than Josie's, or mine, or yours. At our core, who we are can be expressed in many ways. Who I am is expressed by physical contact. It's my way of showing love, care, and friendship. It also happens to be a hell of a lot of fun!"

Sofia laughed, "I'll give you that last part. I've never, ever objected to sex, or even the idea of multiple sex partners." Her voice became more serious. "My issue is one of commitment to a single person when you're together, whether or not you have some piece of paper issued by the government, or worse, a church. One of the reasons I kind of shifted my view from living with someone to wanting to get married was the formal commitment to being faithful to each other.

"That's where the conflict comes from. Don't get me wrong, I love sex with you and I'm glad we did it and are doing it. I learned from the situation with Pia, Katt, Tina, and Karin that I could handle sharing you when it was informal, so to speak. I'm sure I told you that I felt that was necessary to get what I wanted and still want. But as I said outside, and a few times before, the compromise I probably have to make is beyond anything I'd thought about. In a way, I'd always hoped that you would change.

"I told you I didn't have a problem with Alejandra and Leila because I don't see them as any different from Katt or Tina. You're not going to run off with them. The problem comes later, WHEN," she giggled, "we get married. It's like I said. I need to come up with what I think I can handle, and then we need to talk about it. My preference would be that we were exclusive, but I'm willing to try to find a compromise."

"Everything I said before about how I express myself is true," I said, "and I will honestly admit that I struggle with whether or not that's the right solution for me in the long-term. Maybe it's a slowing down over time. I've done that from time to time when I needed to get my stuff together, like last Summer before my trip to Sweden. Maybe years from now I won't feel the same way that I do now. But I can't promise that's going to be the case."

"Maybe we can try an experiment," Sofia said. "Are you willing to try to work with me on this?"

"Let's hear what you have to say," I said.

"A New Year's resolution that you won't have any new girls without permission from Bethany, Kara, and me."

I chuckled, "A new Triumvirate. I told you about that, right?"

"You did. This would be an act of good faith — that you are truly willing to compromise. If you can't do something this simple, I don't think any of us could ever trust you to not just continue to act like a dog when the females are in heat."

I chuckled, "Is THAT what I'm doing? I do believe I turned down your friend from Argentina and you're the one who made her available. In fact, that's more or less Elyse's prescription right now. That I find the right balance, which includes taking advantage of some opportunities. Some. But not going crazy."

Sofia laughed, "What's her definition of crazy? You have me, Bethany, Kara, Penny, and Elyse herself, plus Tatyana. Jennifer is a special case, I guess, because she's going to be here alone, which puts her off-limits."

"It has to do with girls outside the core group. Elyse felt I was pushing back too hard against my own insecurities and was working myself into a real funk. Her prescription was for me to have some fun. I did, though I'm wondering again where the line is between having fun and going overboard."

"That's a good thing. I'm not the only one who has raised the issue with you, am I?"

"No. Karin did, which I think I told you about, and so did Tatyana and her father."

"Interesting. The American girls all seem to think everything is just fine with your behavior, while the Swedish and Russian girls don't."

"That does seem to be the case. Pia would agree with you as well, and I suspect so would Tina. Here, I guess I've surrounded myself with girls who are tolerant of how I've chosen to live my life. Jennifer, and Melanie before her, never felt they needed to rein me in at all, and Bethany originally wanted me just to help her get past her fear of sex after her rape. Elyse decided long ago that she wasn't monogamous, at least not in the traditional sense. Penny, well, Jackie says that she's like a kid with a new toy and is just having fun."