Chapter 28: It Just Keeps Getting Crazier

Wednesday, October 18, 1961 12:10pm

“Sorry I’m late,” Candice said, slightly out of breath. “I had to see the teaching assistant about my accounting mid-term.”

“Oh ... not a problem, I hope,” Jesse said with concern.

“No,” she sighed as she put her cafeteria tray down. “I’ll be okay with my grade. He wanted to date me,” she said with a sigh. “I had to be blunt with him. I told him I already have a steady boyfriend, and I wasn’t interested in trading down.”

Jesse almost choked on his sandwich. “You didn’t say that, did you?”

Candice laughed and pointed at him. “You should see your face. You bought that hook, line and sinker,” she said, still chuckling at his gullibility. She composed herself at last and said, “No of course I didn’t. I was polite, but firm. He was pretty disappointed, but I’m not worried that he would cause me a problem. I’ve heard of that kind of thing happening in reverse. You give a TA a date and your grade goes up. I’m not going to do that,” she finished emphatically.

Jesse smiled now. “I didn’t know that kind of thing went on here. He sounds like he might be one of those kinds of guy.”

She shrugged. “It’s not a new thing for me. I even had one of my high school teachers come on to me. I do tend to attract the attention of guys, you know,” she smirked.

“You definitely attracted my attention,” Jesse smiled. What he wouldn’t give to let her know just how much attention he paid to her in their other life.

“Jesse, I’m not dumb. I know what I look like and I know when I’ve got a good thing. I have no intention of trading you in for a better grade, or a date. You’re stuck with me for the future unless you decide you don’t want that.”

There was no mistaking the tone of her voice. She wasn’t kidding.

“I’m a very lucky guy, Candice. I wouldn’t want to risk that for a minute. You’re stuck with me too,” he smiled.

“Good ... then that’s settled. Now, what are we going to do this weekend?”

Friday, October 27, 1961 12:05pm

“Did you pick up your costume yet?” Candice asked Jesse.

“Yeah, I got it yesterday afternoon. Glad I reserved it too. There wasn’t much to choose from by then. There must be a lot of Halloween parties planned.”

“I’m ready too,” she smiled. “And no, I haven’t changed my mind. I’m not going as Lady Godiva.”

It had been a standing joke between them for two weeks when the Student Union Halloween Ball was announced. Neither of the two would reveal what their costume was, but Jesse had promised it wouldn’t be Superman, or some toga-type Roman costume. Candice gave no hint what her costume would be either. He would have to wait until he picked her up to find out.

Jesse had chosen a Navy officer’s costume, complete with the “fruit salad” chest decorations. He went for the closest he could get to his grandfather’s uniform from WWII. It wasn’t the most elaborate costume, but it suited Jesse just fine. His father commented on just how much he resembled his grandfather in uniform. He obviously approved of Jesse’s choice.

Saturday, October 28, 1961 6:45pm

Jesse stood, mouth agape, when Candice answered the door to her room. The first thing that came to his mind was “Oh, I’m in trouble now.”

“Candice, you look ... amazing. But don’t you think it’s a little too ... revealing?”

“Don’t you like it, Jesse?” she asked with a smirk.

She knew perfectly well he was stunned at her appearance. She had chosen a costume from the Parisian Folies Bergère, and with a blonde wig, she looked every bit the part of one of the legendary dancers.

In fact, Jesse was wondering if she didn’t look a little too much the part. He immediately wondered how her magnificent breasts would be contained in their place in the skimpy upper part of her dress. He wondered if her appearance might cause a riot at the party.

“You think I’m too hot to handle,” she teased as she moved into him and rubbed her scantily covered breasts against him.

“Oh yeah,” he nodded. “Maybe we should just stay here and not tempt anyone.

Candice laughed. “If you think I went to all this trouble to stay indoors, Jesse Peterson, you are sadly mistaken. After all, every other guy is going to wonder how you got a date with me, right? That ought to give you quite a reputation, don’t you think?”

She was taunting him now, and he realized it.

“Okay, Candice, you win. I’m probably going to have to spend most of the night fending off guys who want to cut in on me.”

“Aw, sweetie, you say the nicest things,” she smiled, kissing him softly, not wishing to smear her lipstick. “I like your costume too. All you need is a ship’s crew to salute you. You look amazingly handsome and at home in that uniform.”

“I tried to copy my grandfather’s uniform from the war,” Jesse said. “In your case, I’m not so sure how many people are going to care about the origin of your costume ... just what it looks like on you.”

“What do you mean? I spent a lot of time picking out this costume. It’s not too risqué or too revealing,” she challenged.

“Take it easy, Candice. I’m not criticizing you. It’s just that ... well ... it doesn’t leave much to the imagination. You’re really going to cause a stir tonight.”

“You mean because of my big tits?” she said, looking decidedly irritated, Jesse noticed.

“Calm down, Candice. You’re a beautiful woman and that dress will let everyone know just how beautiful you are. I’m not crazy. I want to be the guy who is with you tonight. You know me better than that.”

“Yeah ... I guess. I promise I won’t embarrass you tonight, okay?” she said quietly, having calmed down.

“I never thought for a moment you would,” Jesse smiled warmly, “but you certainly have my blood pressure rising.”

“Is that the only thing that’s rising,” she grinned, rubbing her impressive chest against him.

“No ... and you know darn well it isn’t.”

“Good. Now, let’s go before we’re late,” she said, grinning and giving his crotch a quick rub.

Jesse was a little surprised at her actions. They were much more aggressive than he expected. Perhaps it was what he could expect differently from high school. The women seemed much more self assured at college. He’d bought a half-dozen condoms at the drug store earlier in the week, and two were safely stored in his wallet. It would be up to Candice to decide when or if he would need them.

“What a fun party that was,” Candice said as they walked to Jesse’s car. “I can’t believe how many people were there. It must have been over three hundred.”

“You were the star, Candice. There wasn’t a single guy who didn’t lust after you tonight. I’m surprised you didn’t win ‘best costume.’ You certainly had the male vote. The female vote might have been in doubt though. I don’t think they were thrilled with the competition tonight.”

“That’s okay. I only wanted to impress one guy,” she said, hugging his arm into her breast.

“I noticed you paying close attention to me. I felt about ten feet tall. I think a few of the guys were ready to kill me to get me out of the way.”

“You know, my roommate Dory isn’t going to be there tonight. Why don’t you spend some time with me? We won’t be interrupted,” she said in a sultry voice.

“I’d like that,” he smiled. “I can’t stay overnight, but we can spend some time together.”

“You’d like to stay overnight?” she said in surprise.

“Of course. I can’t think of anything I’d like more than to wake up with you beside me.”

“Oh,” she managed. “I’ve never done that. I mean ... I’ve never slept with anyone ... all night.”

“I’d like to be the first,” Jesse said, holding her to him and kissing her passionately. “It just can’t be tonight. My parents would be worried where I was or if anything happened to me.”

“Yes ... of course. But ... I’d like to have you spend the night too. Maybe we can arrange something in the future. But tonight, I’ve been waiting for a chance for us to be together. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s do what we’ve both been waiting to do. Okay?”

“Of course it’s okay,” Jesse smiled warmly. “I can’t think of any better way to celebrate tonight than with you.”

Sunday, October 29, 1961 1:40am

In the aftermath of their lovemaking, Jesse lay on his back, awake, hearing the soft rhythmic sound of Candice as she slept. He sighed, leaned over and kissed her lightly on her cheek. Slipping carefully out of bed and getting dressed, he made his way out of the apartment and toward his mother’s car. It was almost two in the morning and he knew there would be questions later in the morning about where he was and what he was doing. His response would require some thought. He was half inclined to tell the truth ... the whole truth.

As he drove home, he wondered just what had unsettled him about having sex with Candice. She was a lovely and happy young woman and he should have been able to maintain his elation over her inviting him into her bed so soon after their meeting. He couldn’t think of any difference between this Candice and the one from the future. But it was the feeling he was left with that unsettled him. All the experience in his “other life” had taught him what to do and how to please his partner, but it was afterwards that he was left with an uncomfortable feeling.

In his head, he assumed Candice was destined for another man. Even though the two worlds in which he had co-existed weren’t identical, he knew instinctively from her comments that Pete Giesbrecht was her chosen future husband. He couldn’t blame her for that. Pete would be a doctor and both a successful and prosperous citizen in Cranbrook. And it wasn’t the fact that Pete could offer her more than Jesse could. The simple fact was that Candice wasn’t in love with Jesse and Jesse wasn’t in love with Candice. In the new century it was called Friends with Benefits. However, another ghost was wandering about in his thoughts.

Was the voluptuous young Candice just a way station on Jesse’s trip through life? If so, which life would turn out to be the permanent one? Likely this original one, he thought. True, he longed for all the fascinating new devices of the future, but he was safe and secure in his “real” life in the twentieth century. There was nothing to catch up on or mask from others aside from his foreknowledge. He was simply eighteen-year-old Jesse Peterson, a first year student in university with a part time job and a loving family. The appearance of Candice made him wonder again what his life was destined to be. There were no answers to these questions, of course. There was no one he could consult about this confused life he was living. There was no Eve Mikeska to steady the ship and believe in him.

He sighed as he pulled into the driveway of his home. So far, there were no answers at all.

“What time did you get in last night?” his mother asked him as he sat at the breakfast table.

“A little after one, I think,” he answered without looking up.

“Did you have a good time?”