Chapter 23: Halloween Weekend, Part II

October 31/November 1, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

When the song finished, Courtney simply walked away to join Jody, who was talking with Dale, one of the Navy guys. I decided it was time to talk to Tasha, so I grabbed a drink, and walked over to where she was standing.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," she said, looking down.

"Would you like to dance?" I asked.

"I guess."

"You know what? Let's take a walk instead," I said.

We left the attic room and went downstairs, then out the front door. I took Tasha's hand, though she seemed a bit reluctant, and we started walking north on Woodlawn.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't stand a chance compared to all those other girls!" she said, sniffling a bit.

"You're very wrong about that, Tasha," I said gently.

"They're all so experienced and pretty!"

"I think you're pretty. I always have, from the first time I met you at Pascha a couple of years ago."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. As for experience, everyone has a first time. Even me!"

She laughed, which I took as a good sign.

"But it's different for a guy!"

"How so? I didn't have a clue. She had to tell me pretty much everything. Having a penis doesn't magically give you knowledge or information! I knew where it went, but beyond that? I had no idea!"

"So it was bad?" she asked.

"Oh no! It was fantastic. She knew I was inexperienced. And that was a good thing, too!"

"Why?"

"Are you sure you want to discuss this?" I asked gently.

"Uhm, I guess."

"She knew I wouldn't last very long the first time, so she used her mouth. Then, after I was ready again, I could last longer. Supposedly, that's a very common thing for guys for their first time, which girls don't have."

She blushed bright red, though I could barely make that out under the streetlights and with her makeup.

"And girls?"

"Well, if her hymen is intact, it can hurt a bit or bleed a bit, but the pain doesn't last long. And it can be uncomfortable the next couple of days. But after that, it's just pure pleasure. Otherwise, so long as the guy has some experience, he can make her feel really, really good, even the first time. If they're both inexperienced, it can be a bit awkward and it can take some time to figure it out."

"Figure it out? Isn't it just putting it in and moving back and forth?" she asked.

I chuckled, "So the sex ed books would have you believe! There's a lot more to it. Well, OK, that is the basic thing, but there's stuff you can do before or after, and different ways to do that moving."

"Our sex ed class was three days in health class and talked more about periods and babies than about how to do it. There were a couple of drawings in the book and even those didn't give much information."

"I hear that from a lot of people," I said.

"But you could teach me?" she asked shyly.

"I could. But you have to ask yourself an important question. Do you want your first time to be with someone you can't have a relationship with? Or do you want it to be with someone you're in love with?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I told you that I was confused."

"Then it's not time. Should we head back to the party? I still want that dance."

"A slow one?"

"Yes," I said.

We made our way back to the house, stopping in the coach house to check on Fawn and the kids, before heading up to the attic. We had to wait for two songs, but then I heard the opening notes of Every Breath You Take by The Police, and led Tasha out to the dance floor. She melted into my arms and sighed deeply as I pulled her tight and we swayed to the music.

Tasha's body felt very good against mine, and as we danced, her nipples hardened and pressed into my chest, and there was a hitch in her breathing. There was no doubt in my mind what she was thinking about, and I was thinking about the exact same thing. If she didn't ask tonight, it would be soon, that I was sure of. When the song ended, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks," she said.

She walked over to get a drink and I went back to where Kara was standing with Kathy, Kurt, Pete, Melanie, Alex, and Sam.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Alex.

"Great party! Lots of young, cute girls! Good booze. What more could I ask for?"

"A divorce!" Sam laughed. "Then you could help yourself to those 'young, cute girls' you noticed."

"I have you!"

"Yes, you do! And don't forget it!"

"I didn't know that Stacey Nelson was in Chicago," Melanie said.

"She's teaching out in Plainfield," I said. "I ran into her over the Summer when she had a temporary secretary job with my CPA. And if you'll excuse me, I should go say 'hello'."

"Another new dance partner?" Kara teased.

"I dance with just about everyone," I said.

"Except maybe Effy, but she went to a party at IIT tonight."

"I can't say that bothers me, Honey," I said, giving her a quick kiss.

I walked across the attic room to where Stacey was talking to Terry, one of our programmers at NIKA.

"Hi, Stacey! Sorry I haven't had a chance to say 'hello' before now."

She laughed, "What with that string of cute girls you've been dancing with? I'm not surprised!"

"Hi, Boss," Terry said.

That was his usual greeting for me, despite the management structure at NIKA. It didn't bother me, so I'd let it be the first time and he'd kept it up.

"I see you've met my friend Stacey from Milford," I said.

"We were just getting acquainted."

"Then I won't interrupt! Have fun, you two!"

I made my way back across the room to my wife and friends.

"That was fast!" Melanie said.

"Nobody EVER says THAT to Steve!" Kara laughed. "And you know it!"

Pete, Kathy, Kurt, and Melanie all laughed, but Alex and Sam looked confused.

"I dated him in High School," Melanie said. "He turned out to be a bit too crazy, even for me!"

"And that's saying something!" Pete added.

"Did you date EVERY girl in this room except my wife?" Alex asked.

I made a deliberate scan of the room, and nodded, "Pretty much."

"I dated him, too!" Kathy laughed.

"OK, smart ass, you got me!" Alex laughed. "Two wives? And dating your best friends' wives before they married them? I'm smelling something! And it's not poutine!"

"Huh?" I asked.

"French fries with gravy. It's a Canadian delicacy."

"Uh-huh," I said.

"I hate to break it to you, Alex, but it's all true," Pete said.

"This reminds me of the old joke about the guy who bets he can make a horse laugh and then cry," Alex said.

"I don't know that one," Pete said.

"A guy makes the bet, then goes over to the horse. He whispers in the horse's ear and the horse starts laughing hard. Then he unzips his pants, and the horse starts crying. When asked how he won, he said that the first thing he did was whisper in the horse's ear that he was bigger. That made the horse laugh. Then he showed him. That made the horse cry!"

"Nah, that's not going to work for Steve!" Melanie said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Hey now!" I said through my laughter. "Let's not get personal! Remember, I know all your secrets, Melanie Carston!"

"I'd quit while I was ahead, Mel," Pete said. "He always used to win these verbal duels. Your dad always said nobody could wind you up like Steve!"

I chuckled, "Ask her about 'making the beast with two backs'!"

"You almost didn't get any that day, Mr. Adams!" she huffed.

"Your dad almost wrecked the car because he was laughing so hard."

"Why do I feel like I walked onto the set of General Hospital?" Alex asked.

"Well, Sofia, Leila, and Alejandra are all pre-med, and I'm married to a Resident who works at UofC hospital."

"You're a doctor, Kara?" Sam asked.

"No. I'm the future chemistry professor. Our wife, Jess, is the doctor."

"Forget it, Sweetie," Sam said, "this guy has a more complicated life than anyone I know!"

"So no dance with Stacey?" Kara asked.

"She and Terry are getting acquainted. I didn't want to cut in. And Alex, that's one that I never dated. She was a few years older than me and wasn't interested in younger guys."

Karl wandered over at that point.

"Up for some poker with the Navy?" he asked.

"So long as you don't mind signing over your paychecks to me, I don't mind at all!" I laughed.

"Someday, I'm going to figure out your tell, and then I'll have you!"

"Good luck with that one," Pete laughed. "Got room for me?"

"Sure! And Kurt and your other friend can come along, too. That would make ten."

"Well, so much for our men for the evening!" Melanie complained.

We headed down to the dining room and I got out the green felt tablecloth that I'd purchased, along with chips. We'd taken to playing no-limit, tournament Hold 'Em with a $50 buy-in, with the winner getting $400 and second place getting $100, which limited each man's potential losses. Sometimes there was a cash game, but we'd come to prefer tournament style.

Two hours later, just past 1:00am, I was heads-up against Karl. Our stacks were about even, though I was whittling his stack down slowly. The final hand of the game came when I flopped the nut flush. Unfortunately for Karl, he made two pair on the flop and after he bet, I pushed him 'all in'. He called and groaned when I flipped over my cards.

"Four chances," he said. "I need a 10 or a Queen to make a full house."

The Turn and River both came up blanks, and I took the pot, and the $400 winner's share. Karl had to settle for the $100 second-place prize.

"Damn you, Adams!" he said. "I'll beat you yet!"

"The gambler's lament," Nick laughed. "I'm going to win NEXT time!"

"Stow it, Lieutenant!" Karl barked, but all the guys were laughing.

"Hey, what happened to Clayton?" Dale asked. "He usually plays with us."

"Did you see that blonde draped all over him just before the costume contest?" Jon asked. "Would YOU play poker with us or 'poke her' with her?"

The guys all laughed. I realized that I hadn't seen Charlie or Clayton since right after the contest. I hoped Sofia hadn't planned on using her room with Stavros, but she rarely did that, usually opting to stay at his place when they went out. If I sensed the way the wind was blowing, she'd be moving out soon, as I expected them to get engaged before she graduated from medical school in just over four years. Stavros was a really nice guy, and had treated her well, so I could give a good report to Costas.

"Should we find him? It's after midnight and we have a long drive back to base," Dale said.

"I have an idea where he is," I said. "Charlie lives here, so they're probably in her room."

"She lives here? With you and your wife?" Dale asked.

I laughed, "Karl or Nick didn't fill you in?"

"Fill us in?"

"Kara is one of my wives. The other one is a doctor, but she's on duty tonight at University of Chicago hospital. Besides them, there are six girls who live in the house, plus two who live in the coach house. One of my sons lives in the house and the other one in the coach house with his moms."

"Wives? Sons? What?!" Dale asked. "And eight women in the house?!"

Nick put his arm around Dale's shoulder, "I'll explain on the drive back to base! Steve, if you could discreetly let Clayton know that we want to head out, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure," I said with a smile.

I went up and knocked softly on Charlie's door.

"We're decent, Sofia. Come in."

I opened the door, laughing, "Last I checked, I had balls! Clayton, your buddies are ready to head back to base."

They were in Charlie's bed, and she was wearing his shirt, and they had the sheets pulled up to their waists.

"Sorry! I figured it was Sofia coming to bed! Tell the guys Clayton will be down in five minutes."

I nodded and closed the door behind me and went back downstairs.

"Five minutes," I said. "Thanks for coming guys, I hope you all had a good time."

"How could we not? This party was crawling with cute girls!" Dale said. "I even got a couple of numbers!"

"Yeah, but Clayton had the best night!" Jon said. "Slow dances and a couple of kisses don't hold a candle to what that girl was going to do to Clay!"

"Going to?" Nick laughed. "I'd say 'did' is more accurate!"

Clayton arrived downstairs a few minutes later trying to hold back a satisfied grin, and after handshakes all around, all the naval officers left. Pete, Alex, Kurt, and I went to find our ladies. I found Kara and said I wanted to go out to the backyard to smoke my pipe. She came with me to the office and I got my pipe, tobacco and matches, and we went out to the backyard, where Sofia and Stavros were sitting cuddled in a chair, with Alejandra and Trent cuddled in another one.

"Mind if we join you?" I asked.

"Not at all," Sofia replied. "We just came out for some fresh air. But I like the smell of your tobacco smoke, so no problem for me!"

"It's OK," Alejandra said. "Both Trent and I smoke."

"And me," Stavros said.

I lit my pipe and Kara and I sat down at the table, since the lounge chairs were occupied. It was far enough away that if we talked quietly, we wouldn't be overheard.

"Did you win?" she asked.

"Of course," I chuckled. "That's four of the last seven that I've won, and one of the others I finished second. It was down to me and Karl again, just like last time, and I beat him. Again! Did you dance with anyone besides Kurt?"

"Pete, Dave, and Jamie," she said, then lowered her voice, "How's Tasha?"

"Still confused, but she's working it out."

"And Courtney?"

"As obvious as ever. I might have turned her off when I insisted that she get tested for VD and AIDS, and pointed out that it was a short-term thing."

"Jess would insist, especially if Courtney's anything like she seems. And I think Jess is right."

"Me, too," I said. "I don't know what Courtney will do, but after dancing with Tasha, I'm sure that Tasha will ask soon."

"Are you going to ask her to get tested?"

"Yes, but very, very carefully. I was kind of blunt with Courtney."

"What's the plan for later today?"

"Well, that's a good question. It's already after midnight and we need to meet Jess at 5:00am, so I might stay up, walk to meet her, eat breakfast, and then sleep with her until mid-afternoon. There's no race today, because they'll be in Riverside next weekend."

"Then I'll stay up with you. We could get a sauna when our guests leave."

"Good plan!" I said, puffing on my pipe.